This is all just contemplative thoughts from what I've read about, watched, and discussed. It's mostly formed through taking Horror Films and Supernatural Japan this semester. Anyways:
What about the unknown makes it so fearful? To be painfully simple, it's unknown. But, let me delve into this more. The moment something becomes unknown, we are unable to label it in any way. Without the ability to label it, we can't exert power over it, even if it's power imagined in our heads. The unknown then is like a monster from a horror genre, any one among the wide genres in that. It is a sadistic killer, a vengeful ghost, a karmic force, etc. but no matter what it is, it is horrifying because it is unknown and the worst thing about the unknown is that we don't know whether to fear it and if we should, how to combat against it.
An example of this is the fact I do love a good Vampire book, but in real life when anyone jokes "wouldn't you love to met one then!?" my answer will always remain the same "No, that'd be ridiculously dangerous." A vampire from the original Dracula to the newest types in Twilight is still a dangerous creature that's driven purpose is to destroy us humans/mortal, yes even when they are 'good' as they are fighting against the urges. Therefore, if I met one, even if it is fighting the urge to drink my blood or drain me of my energy, it is physically dangerous to me.
Continuing with the example, I feel that if I was to even encounter a 'bad' vampire, I'd have some power over it. If given the chance and needed, I could stake them in the heart, attempt holy water throwing, hold a cross, not invite them into my house, burn their coffin, attack them with silver, and in a last attempt throw garlic at them or cut open an animal and hope they hunger for that more than I instead. If all these attempts were to fail for me, this vampire becomes an unknown vampire for me, it is not Dracula, it is not from Twilight, it is not from Anne Rice, or any other Vampire book I have read. It is completely unknown. I am defenseless physically and mentally.
What is terrifying about the unknown to me is exactly that. There is not even an idea of where to start on the monster (the unknown) one has encountered. Where do you even attempt to begin? How do you destroy the unknown? Here comes something even more terrifying, you must delve further into the unknown in order to destroy it. If you wanted to say, destroy the upper class family and yet didn't know their weakness, you could either go around trying everything and more likely end up in jail, or you could infiltrate the upper class, gain knowledge, and become mentally prepared (even if only slightly). Now, turning this back into mainly the diverse Horror genre of the unknown monster this is a common theme/issue in horror movies. The character in the Grudge must learn more about the ghost and thus thrust herself into open danger in hopes of finding information to destroy the ghost with. Same thing with Halloween, one of the characters must find out something to kill this psychotic thing that won't die, find out why it is here and hopefully stop it somehow.
But with the unknown you must delve deeper into it, open yourself up to danger and your wits, and race against time. Can you find that piece of information in time? Say, it is the start of a zombie apocalypse only unlike in the movies you can not bash them in the head and kill them, they still move. You must find several other zombies to hit in several other spots to find a weakness. Then to stop zombies entirely after this weakness, you must avoid them, kill all zombies you see, or find a way to reverse or kill of several of these zombies at once. You must race to do so because they are zombies, they are unknowns so hopefully they aren't fast as the movies always perceive them quite slow because they become troublesome in the movies even when slow!
Do you see my point? You have something you are faced with that you must destroy and that alone is difficult, you are killing. But now you are racing against time and now you must also force yourself into this problem all the more. The unknown is disturbing. Granted, not everything that is unknown can be terrifying in the case of fearing for ones life. In this case it is as I am talking of the horror genre therefore it is, but the unknown can be kind/misunderstood. In fact, many times in history this is what has happened, the Native Americans for example. This in no way justifies what they did to them, but because they feared them and didn't understand their ways they labeled them 'savages' saw them in a way as 'zombies' and something that needed to be destroyed. In this case, Fear has gotten the best of the victim and they are just killing off everything Unknown because they refuse to delve into it and to understand it.
This though connects back with something I did want to bring up, the fact most 'monsters' in horror films are abnormal or horrific, this is what makes them monstrous. If they aren't, there is no reason for there to be fear from this unknown thing that doesn't wish you harm. No matter what, the unknown must be horrific and monstrous to justify a reason for fearing the unknown for more than the fact we have no knowledge or understanding of it. Sure, it would be disturbing to wake up to an unknown ghost near your bed, but until they wish you harm or attempt it themselves, there is no reason to fear them or need to delve into them.
It is only when the unknown is horrific and monstrous does it become terrifying and not just a fear.
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