themes in xenohorror include:
- objectification, lack of empathy for another species when it results directly towards violence. this included predator / prey dynamics, human / animal dynamics, humans / alien dynamics, etc.
- lack of autonomy / being at the mercy of another being (usually human)
- domestication instincts, innocence
- lack of full understanding of your surroundings
- esoteric spirituality (spirituality outside of the understanding of a species or group within species)
- abandonment / dependency on another being, just to face hardship / psychological terror because you lost said lifeline
- apathy of humans towards the protagonists suffering, to the extent of despair
- experimentation, body horror
- natural horror / horror based on natural elements, like rabies, natural disaster, a tree or building falling apart- but because there is a lack of understanding, all of it seems much greater than it would from a human lens.
- unconventional emotions towards things normally perceived as either scary, or normal to humans - panic during fireworks, mixed feelings towards death and dead bodies
- heightened sense of the paranormal, typically with lack of ability to communicate with guardians of other species
- sci-fi horror elements, though perhaps focusing on how things familiar to the human world are terrifying vs the otherness of alien worlds
- man vs nature, from the perspective of nature and the torment inflicted on it by man
i will be posting some of my own stories of this genre on this website aswell! they are going to be linked on this page when they are posted :3