Essay in Progress

I have been working on an essay about the Salem Witch Trials. Below is my attempt at a thesis:

Disregarding the moral question of the Salem Witch Trials, I wish to explore the elements of horror present, to dissect the event on the level of narrative, thereby uncovering those parts which may be used in the art of scary storytelling, for it is to be understood that true horror is not assaulting our nerves with many sudden frights, it is a lingering chill carried onward with us when returned to the comfort of home; once there we find no comfort, only quiet moments, and some long walks, of pregnant contemplation. It is the contention of the following essay that true horror is found in the text, The Wonders of the Invisible World by Cotton Mather, by its incorporating certain elements: 1. When that which is familiar becomes alien; 2. The uncertainty of what now remains familiar; 3. The certainty that a response is necessary; 4. The right response—the place where reason or intuition leads—is permanent, dreadful, and the seeding of much regret or repentance; and 5. That lingering uncanny. There is evidence that this sort of entertainment was a motive for Mather, and these elements, present in his work, facilitated wonder.