Horror Genre Iconography/Mise-en-scene

Typical horror film iconography includes ghosts, vampires, zombies, masked killers, weapons like knives or axes, abandoned houses, graveyards, crypts, and supernatural objects such as candles, masks, or religious symbols. 

The usual mise-en-scène tends to use dark, isolated settings, low-key lighting, shadows, damaged or bloodied costumes, and props that suggest threat or decay.

Horror often relies on instantly recognisable symbols so the audience knows the genre right away. Common examples are haunted houses, masks, dolls, blood, weapons, and figures such as demons, possessed children, or serial killers. These objects and characters work as shorthand for fear, danger, and the supernatural.

Mise-en-scène in horror usually creates unease through setting, lighting, costume, and character placement. Settings are often isolated, rural, deserted, or Gothic, while lighting is typically low-key with strong shadows and a dark colour palette. Costumes are often casual for victims but distinctive for villains, such as masks or clothing that conceals identity, and characters are frequently positioned to make the villain dominant and the victim vulnerable.

Together, these elements build suspense by making the environment feel unsafe and the threat feel close but partly hidden.