Quotation by Robert C. Solomon

In fear, one flees. One can pretend to fear, accordingly, by pretending to flee, a vigorous activity in which there may be little visible difference between pretense and reality. In horror, on the other hand, there is passivity, the passivity of presence. One stands (or sits) aghast, frozen in place, "glued to one's seat." ... Horror involves a helplessness which fear evades. The evasive activities of fear may be pointless, even self-defeating, but they are activities nonetheless, activities that can be feigned. Horror is a spectator's emotion, and thus it is especially well-suited for the cinema and the visual arts.