It's true that from "horror" to just "horrid" (in our modern sense of the word, i.e. "horrible", not Catherine Morland's!) changes a great deal from one generation to another.

For example, when the original _Frankenstein_ with Boris Karloff was shown, in many theatres, children were not allowed (and to this day it has the equivalent of an "R" rating in some European countries). Now, to many viewers, the "scares" in the film are quite tame, because we've gotten used to far gorier stuff on screen.