Can horror be told? Unlike literature, what are the limits of the representation of reality that journalism promises us? In this essay on the famous Laocoonte, by G.E. Lessing (1766), H.C. Buch discusses his own experience in war zones. Based on the structure of Lessing’s Laocoonte, chronicles, literary narrations and biographical episodes are blended with reflections on the media, literary journalism, ethical responsibility of the war correspondent, and human conduct in the face of violence.