The 'Return of the Repressed' theory by Sigmund Freud basically says that elements of the past, or parts of our unconscious mind, reappear in the conscious or behavioral part of us.In 'The Interpretation of Dreams', published in the early 1900s, Freud suggested that the reason we have no memories from the first few years of life is because they are repressed. He said that all memories can be retained through various means. 'What is forgotten is not extinguished but only repressed; its memory traces are present in all their freshness, he said, '... they are unconscious - inaccessible to consciousness'.
He believed that repressed wishes are not 'destroyed', but forever re-emerge as derivatives of the unconscious - a form of the unconscious mind in which the desire or symptom becomes distorted, often recognisable. In 'Moses and Monotheism', Freud expressed that early childhood instincts could renew their demand in the future, penetrating the conscious mind.
In those first few years we have to repress our basic, primitive urges and emotions in order to take our place in society. Do you think horror allows us to experience those primitive rages and desires, in a 'safe' context?
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