splatterpunk

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noun

A movement within horror fiction distinguished by its graphic, often gory, depictions of violence.

Scrabble 20

Meanings

nounsplatterpunk (countable and uncountable, plural splatterpunks)

plural splatterpunks

  1. uncountableA movement within horror fiction distinguished by its graphic, often gory, depictions of violence.
  2. countableA fan of splatterpunk fiction.

    Although the gore may be too sparse for most splatterpunks, the then-taboo subject matter and overall bleak tone of the film should more than please them, as well as fans of low-budget 70s horror.

    2001, Scott Aaron Stine, The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1960s and 1970s
    1 more example

    It is interesting to note that even as the arguments fly back and forth between the splatterpunks and the traditionalists of horror fiction, other forces appear to be eroding the ground on which the splatterpunks have made their stand.

    1989, Marc A. Cerasini, How to Write Horror and Get It Published, page 95

Origin

From splatter + -punk, coined in 1986 by David J. Schow at the Twelfth World Fantasy Convention in Providence, Rhode Island, USA.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

splatterpunk. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/splatterpunk

MLA

“splatterpunk.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/splatterpunk. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “splatterpunk,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/splatterpunk.

Source: splatterpunk on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.