Audience: beliefs, values, needs (Zahra Sabira)

Article: “Mysterious ‘Devil’s Letter’ Decoded”

A nun allegedly possessed by the devil and wrote a strange letter in the 17th century in code. Over the years researches such as; occultists and cryptographers try to decode the letter, but they still can’t get the message. However, the letter was broken by a recent research project in Italy. They decode the message using computer algorithm technology that they got in the ‘dark web’. The devil’s letter itself states, “God thinks he can free mortals. This system works for no one.”

The articles consist of 9 short paragraphs that provide brief information about the issue. Although it’s a short article, the author manages to make the audience understand the point of the topic however, the author left some important details like where did the issue happen and when the issue was solved. In the article states, “The creepy missive was purportedly composed by Sister Maria Crocifissa della Concezione in 1676”, the article doesn’t explain where is the setting and what causes the nun to be possessed.

This article talks about solving a mysterious event that involves the existence of a devil. The topic of the article is not only about mystery but also there is a horror topic. The statistics shows that 36% of males enjoy talking or reading about horror than females. Males stereotypically enjoy violence more than females. However many females do enjoy horror just as much as males. The audience for this article is mostly male from the age of 15- 24 years old. Young adults tend to enjoy thrills more rather than older people.

Older adults rely on television, newspaper or radio to read the news while younger people like to use their mobile devices; therefore more young adults are interested in reading horror articles. If you are wondering which social class is most likely to read an article the answer will be the middle class and higher-class society. Why is that? Because of people in middle to a higher class can easily reach a mobile device or other electronics that can be used to read articles, while the lower class could not afford to buy or use an electronic device.

I think people that would be attracted to read this article are the ones who like to be thrilled and feel excitement or even adrenaline. People that enjoy reading horror articles not only seeking for further information but they also want entertainment. Horror articles is not for everyone, people that interested usually has a background that connected to the topic.