The Horror of Aging: Vision Loss as Theme

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-shot-of-a-blind-eye-6608260/
The Horror of Aging: Vision Loss as Theme
Aging is a universal experience, yet it is one that many fear and resist, especially as it brings with it a gradual and sometimes terrifying loss of control.
The physical and mental deterioration that comes with time can be a horrifying prospect, and one of the most unsettling ways this manifests is in vision loss. From the creeping frustration of blurred words on a page to the complete isolation of blindness, the loss of sight is not only a medical condition; it can also be a source of profound psychological terror.
This subgenre of horror has been explored in literature for centuries. For instance, in Roald Dahl’s 1959 short horror story The Landlady, aging is linked to gradual bodily, mental, and social decline. In his gothic work, Dahl focused on the challenges of aging for older women, which symbolized the fear of losing autonomy, the onset of vulnerability, and the collapse of the self. For budding horror writers, among the most evocative ways vision loss can be depicted, is through the theme of presbyopia and other age-related conditions that degrade eyesight.
The horror of presbyopia: A relatable, creeping loss of clarity
Some horror themes may resonate with women more than men and vice versa. In the case of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic, the female protagonist Noemí, is trapped in a gothic mansion, oppressed, and terrified. Much of the theme explores dealing with a patriarchal society that causes Noemí psychological distress, something relatable for many women.
On the other hand, presbyopia is a common age-related condition that affects individuals of all genders. For men and women over 40, presbyopia manifests as difficulty reading small print or seeing objects up close. Unlike other visual impairments that may come on suddenly or progressively deteriorate, presbyopia is a slow, insidious change—one that sneaks up on individuals who may not realize what’s happening until they find themselves holding books or smartphones at arm’s length.
In the world of horror fiction, presbyopia’s gradual onset can be a particularly unsettling form of age-related fear. It represents a slow erasure of control, as the clarity of the world around us slips away. The simple act of reading—a task that was once routine and enjoyable—becomes an impossible chore. Many turn to reading glasses for men and women to combat presbyopia, one of the most popular solutions for restoring close-up vision. While a simple pair of spectacles can alleviate the issue and magnify what’s in front of you, the need for constant reminders of one’s deteriorating faculties becomes its own form of horror. In a sense, reading glasses serve as a symbol of our reliance on external tools to maintain a grasp on our autonomy, making the inescapable process of aging more explicit and tangible.
Blindness as a symbol of horror
Beyond presbyopia, the complete loss of sight often occupies a central role in horror and dystopian fiction. Vision loss represents more than just a physical condition; it is an existential crisis, a theme that reflects the fragility of the human experience. One of the most poignant and terrifying depictions of blindness in literature is in José Saramago’s Blindness.
In this novel, an inexplicable epidemic of sudden blindness strikes a city, causing society to crumble as its citizens lose their literal sight as well as their moral compass. The blind, now forced to rely on their senses in a world designed for the sighted, are driven to brutal survivalism. Saramago’s portrayal of blindness becomes an allegory for the breakdown of societal structures and the overwhelming vulnerability of the human condition.
The horror in Blindness is amplified by its portrayal of the collective loss of vision. The people who remain able to see become outcasts, exposed to the harsh realities of a collapsing world. The gradual transition from sighted to blind is an unnerving experience, emphasizing that the loss of vision is not just a personal tragedy, but a communal one, underscoring the way in which we depend on our senses to navigate both the physical and social world.
Through the lens of fiction, visual impairment—whether gradual or sudden—symbolizes the fragility of the human body, the terror of losing one’s connection to the world and, perhaps, even to oneself.