What defines a survival horror?

[Hunter of Shadows]

RE and SH games has all shooting but they are damn scary.

I'm not saying they aren't, I'm saying that survival horror isn't a shoot em up

SH would be survival horror because you're just an average joe, ammo is very scarce and the guns can be difficult to use.

But other then that, is being able to gun down any enemy you see survival horror? No it isn't, survival horror is like when you play Amnesia or any other horror game where either you can't fight back, or you can, but it's healthier to avoid confrontation simply because combat is ineffective because whatever you're facing is too powerful for your weapons or you're just an average joe and can't reasonably be expected to face off against things like that(i mean even if Daniel could get a sword or an axe or a bow or something, he'd still be outmatched by the gatherer's by a long shot)

unearthly got what I was saying in the sense that any game where you have the heft of heavy ordnance like an automatic rifle or grenades or anything like, means the game is no longer survival horror(unless even heavy ordnance is next to useless against whatever horror you're against)

It's then an action shooter

Does this make it less scary if the game is any good? No, all it means is that the game is NOT survival horror