The history of horror films goes back to the 18the century of 'gothic horror'. This was when the first horror was written 'the castle of otranto' which was released in 1764 and was by Horace Walpole. This was the first time that supernatural was incorporated instead of pure realism.
Horror in the 19th century was still 'gothic horror' but it blossomed into what modern readers in the 19th century liked to call horror literature in this century. Most common films in the century were from the works of; Mary shelly, Edgar Allan Poe, Sheridan le faun and many more. Each of these create an iconic image seen in modern screens and stages.
Horror in the 20th century was were horror films hot the boom. Cinemas were inspired by these and horror films started to become a strong tradition based on horror fiction which is still a big hit today. The violence and gore hot the screens most in the 1960s-1970s. Most people thout these were pretty graphic.
Today's horror films today aren't as scary as they used to be. Most are full of 'jump scares' which doesn't mean it is a "scary" part in the film it's just something what you don't expect or changes in the volume of music may cause them. Another reason is that the trailers are making films out to look like they are going to be amazing but when the films come out nothing compares towards it.
