Favorite Horror Characters: Ash Williams - A lesson in resiliency?
I love Ashley J Williams. Ash is played by the charismatic and good-looking Bruce Campbell. His character goes from an innocent romantic to a smarmy asshole who continues to fight for the human race against deadites. It spans over movies, shows, and games; some of them linear-ish, some of them straight up remakes. What lessons in resiliency could the common person learn from Ash?
First off let’s define Resiliency: The American Psychological Association (APA) says that resilience comes from being psychologically flexible and being able to adapt to difficult situations.
Sometimes after trauma(s) this can be extremely difficult to do due to having an understandably difficult time with change, since change steps into the realm of the unknown which can be very scary; even if the change is a healthier or better situation. We know what we know and familiarity can masquerade as safety, although at times it is the opposite of closer to it.
There is also a term called Post-Traumatic Growth which according to (Psychology Today, 2026) & (Tedeschi, 2023) describes as “the positive psychological change that some individuals experience after a life crisis or traumatic event.” This doesn’t deny that the trauma(s) can also be deeply troubling, affect everyday life, and have symptoms of PTSD. This concept of post-traumatic growth was researched by Tedeschi and Calhoun starting in the 1980’s after interviewing people with physical disabilities and/or traumatic grief. They found that there are 5 main categories of growth that can happen over time.
Raimi, S. (Director). (1987). Evil Dead II [Film]. Rosebud Releasing Corporation.
These 5 categories of Post-Traumatic Growth according to (Tedeschi, 2023) include:
Recognizing as well as embracing new opportunities.
Forging stronger relationships with our loved ones as well and with victims who suffered in the same way.
Cultivating inner strength through the knowledge that they have overcome massive hardship.
Gaining a deeper appreciation for life.
Relationship to religion and/or spirituality changes and evolves.
How many of these did Ash Williams evolve through or into? He saw many of his friends be taken over by deadites due to a book he read (or played), or whatever form the Necronomicon took. This in some forms led to him constantly moving, drinking, having a laissez-faire attitude (depending on which Ash we see). The newer Evil Dead’s have somewhat of a bleak and ‘nothing can stop this destruction’ /everyone is on the chopping block outlook versus our taking for granted that Ash Williams will never die (full disclosure, I never finished the show though, I still need to do this). Ash is our constant. He evolves into a smart-ass bad-ass that will use any means necessary to stop the deadites, protect the people around him as much as he can, and although he makes a lot of mistakes/might make things worse before their better, he usually figures it out.
Chainsaw hand evolution
To be fair, I have a hard time picking a favorite version of the original Evil Dead’s. They all have their own signature and different types of entertainment. Straight up horror (Evil Dead & The Evil Dead Game), horror comedy (Evil Dead II & Army Of Darkness & Ash vs The Evil Dead). I just know I hold them close to my cold, horror-loving heart.
So what is there left to say except…”Gimme some sugar, baby.”
References
American Psychological Association. (2025). Resilience. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience
Donna. (2024, September 26). The Chainsaw-Wielding Hero: A Deep Dive into Ash Williams of Evil Dead - Important Things You Should Know. Retrieved May 21, 2025, from Important Things You Should Know website: https://stage.dance.washington.edu/the-chainsaw-wielding-hero-a-deep-dive-into-ash-williams-of-evil-dead/
Leighton, S. (2018, March 23). Ash vs Evil Dead: Breaking down the psychology of Ash Williams. Retrieved June 8, 2026, from 1428 Elm website: https://1428elm.com/2018/03/23/ash-vs-evil-dead-psychology-ash/
Psychology Today. (2026, May 29). Post-Traumatic Growth | Psychology Today. Retrieved from www.psychologytoday.com website: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/post-traumatic-growth
Tedeschi, R. G. (2023). The post‐traumatic growth approach to psychological trauma. World Psychiatry, 22(2), 328–329. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.21093
