Linguistic means of creating the "Stranger" - monster in English-language horror novels

The aim of the article is to consider the linguistic means of creating a monster as a member of the basic opposition "us-them" in horror novels at different levels of the language system. The appeal to this opposition remains relevant, while the novelty of the study is created by the appeal to the material of horror literature. The author analyzes scenes of the description of monsters in the novels of S. King, K. Barker and N.Ballingrud. The linguistic means of creating a portrait of the "out-group" monster are considered in detail. Thus, understanding the mechanisms of horror of the "out-group" allows to relieve social tension.