Why animated horror can get under our skin

Shows about switched identities and friendly ghosts to make you reflect on the psychological effect of the animated horror genre

- Somak Ghoshal

In the days of cable TV in India, one of my favourite shows was Courage: The Cowardly Dog, which aired on Cartoon Network from 1999.

The eponymous dog had a pink body and bad teeth. He was terrified of everything, but always ready to protect his human, an elderly woman named Muriel, who lived in the middle of nowhere with her husband Eustace.

It was classic Stephen King territory, set in the rural south of America, invaded by aliens from outer space, terrifying doppelgangers, shadowy monsters, spooky chickens, and more—all of it packaged as animation. Alongside this gallery of rogues, poor Courage had to deal with cantankerous Eustace, who couldn't stand the sight of him and took great delight in terrorizing him by pulling out an outsized scary mask.

Watching the show with my little brother, I enjoyed the droll humour that series creator John Dilworth put into every episode—however macabre and absurd the plot might be, there was always the comfort of knowing it would all end well. But for my sibling, who is nearly 12 years younger to me, it was quite another matter to be jolted by the bizarre turn of events, and be often frustrated by Eustace and Muriel's incomprehension of Courage’s stream of warnings, delivered in a pidgin of pitiful barks, groans and whimpers. My brother’s reactions reminded me of the time I nearly fainted watching The Exorcist as a dare from a sadistic cousin.