Turkish Horror Cinema in the Reproduction and Dissemination of Popular Religion

Mass media have an important role in producing and popularizing popular culture. Cinema, one of the mass media, can be effective in the reproduction and dissemination of both popular culture and popular religion and piety. In this article, Turkish horror films are discussed in the context of popular religion. After the 2000s, it has been observed that Turkish horror films on the theme of magic, genie, and devil have been increasing. Some films produced in this area are attracting great attention. In these films, there are elements of beliefs that are not commonly accepted in the religion of Islam, especially the belief of invisible creatures and beliefs that are common in popular religion. Considering only the names of these films with considerable audience, it can be understood that religious elements and Turkish horror cinema were brought side by side. In these films, it is important to examine how religious elements are included, what meanings they are attributed to, and in general which religion horror film is used by this Turkish cinema. In the context of popular religiosity, this article addresses the following questions: What are the elements of popular religiosity in Turkish horror films? In Turkish horror films, how are the beings such as gin and demon shown? How do religious elements take place in Turkish horror cinema? What kind of religiousness is spread in Turkish horror cinema? The aim of this article is to show how religion and religious elements take place in the Turkish horror films that were released after 2000’s and which religious concepts these films are based on. In other words, the aim of the study is to determine what kind of religious belief and religiosity are produced and disseminated in the horror cinema, to show how the location of the supernatural beings which are shown as the source of fear and their place in the religious beliefs in the films. The article is important in understanding how religion takes place in Turkish horror films and how it pays for religiousness and how it contributes to religiosity. When asked to put forward the religious factor appears to be the influence of religious beliefs in Turkey should also be considered. In this article, selected films were subjected to descriptive analysis. The data were categorized according to previously determined questions and deduced. In the qualitative analysis method, the data can be arranged according to the themes raised by the research questions or by considering the questions or dimensions used in the interview and observation stages. A thematic framework was