The Philosophy of Horror: Or, Paradoxes of the Heart


Noël Carroll - 1990
    In this book he discusses the nature and narrative structures of the genre, dealing with horror as a "transmedia" phenomenon. A fan and serious student of the horror genre, Carroll brings to bear his comprehensive knowledge of obscure and forgotten works, as well as of the horror masterpieces. Working from a philosophical perspective, he tries to account for how people can find pleasure in having their wits scared out of them. What, after all, are those "paradoxes of the heart" that make us want to be horrified?

Fangoria's 101 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen: A Celebration of the World's Most Unheralded Fright Flicks


Adam Lukeman - 2003
    Working closely with Fangoria’s experts, including Editor in Chief Anthony Timpone, Adam Lukeman has compiled a must-have guide for casual horror fans and hardcore horror junkies with Fangoria’s 101 Best Horror Films You’ve Never Seen. With a brief synopsis for each of the included films, lists of cast and crew, “Terror Trivia,” and little-known facts about these lesser-known but must-see gems, Fangoria’s 101 Best Horror Films You’ve Never Seen offers a feast of gruesome information. Featured here are flicks that were dumped by their distributors or were initially flops, like Cherry Falls, Manhunter, and Pumpkinhead, foreign winners such as Cronos, The Vanishing, and Funny Games, and straight-to-video sleepers waiting to be discovered, including Shadowbuilder, Jack Be Nimble, and Nomads. There are even surprise entries directed by industry giants—movies like George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead, Brian De Palma’s Sisters, or Dario Argento’s Opera—that are frequently overshadowed by the filmmakers’ other, better-known works but are worthy of further examination. Entertaining and informative, Fangoria’s 101 Best Horror Movies You’ve Never Seen offers more than a hundred reasons to look beyond the often ho-hum Hollywood hype fests . . . when you’re really in the mood to feel your flesh crawl.From the Trade Paperback edition.

The Tell-Tale Heart: The Life and Works of Edgar Allan Poe


Julian Symons - 1978
    Symons reveals Poe as his contemporaries saw him a man struggling to make a living out of hack journalism and striving to find a backer for his new magazine, and a man whose life was beset by so many tragedies that he was often driven to excessive drinking and a string of unhealthy relationships. Fittingly written by another master in the art of crime writing, this volume brilliantly portrays the original creator of the detective story and reveals him as the genius and unashamed plagiarist that he was."

Our Vampires, Ourselves


Nina Auerbach - 1995
    Working with a wide range of texts, as well as movies and television, Auerbach locates vampires at the heart of our national experience and uses them as a lens for viewing the last two hundred years of Anglo-American cultural history. "[Auerbach] has seen more Hammer movies than I (or the monsters) have had steaming hot diners, encountered more bloodsuckers than you could shake a stick at, even a pair of crossed sticks, such as might deter a very sophisticated ogre, a hick from the Moldavian boonies....Auerbach has dissected and deconstructed them with the tender ruthlessness of a hungry chef, with cogency and wit."—Eric Korn, Times Literary Supplement"This seductive work offers profound insights into many of the urgent concerns of our time and forces us to confront the serious meanings that we invest, and seek, in even the shadiest manifestations of the eroticism of death."—Wendy Doniger, The Nation"A vigorous, witty look at the undead as cultural icons."—Kirkus Review"In case anyone should think this book is merely a boring lit-crit exposition...Auerbach sets matters straight in her very first paragraph. 'What vampires are in any given generation,' she writes, 'is a part of what I am and what my times have become. This book is a history of Anglo-American culture through its mutating vampires.'...Her book really takes off."—Maureen Duffy, New York Times Book Review

Science Fiction: The Illustrated Encyclopedia


John Clute - 1993
    This lavish volume, studded with graphics and nuggets of information, is the pleasing result. Science Fiction : The Illustrated Encyclopedia showcases the prophecy and pageantry of science fiction. It weaves together world history with literary history and technical developments with SF trends, providing a cultural context to the Zeitgeist of the genre. Words truly cannot do justice to the visual delights of this colorful tome: time lines, charts, author biographies and bibliographies complete with photos and signatures, illustrated analyses of SF traditions, magazine covers, classic book covers, film and television snapshots, and historical photos. Use it as a reference, read it through, or pick it up and enjoy it in bits. Science Fiction : The Illustrated Encyclopedia will arouse curiosity, joy, and pride in the hearts of SF lovers. --Bonnie Bouman

The Eye of the Story: Selected Essays and Reviews


Eudora Welty - 1978
    In addition to seven essays on craft, this collection brings together her penetrating and instructive commentaries on a wide variety of individual writers, including Jane Austen, E. M. Forster, Willa Cather, Anton Chekhov, William Faulkner, and Virginia Woolf.

Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema


Jamie Russell - 2005
    Covering hundreds of movies from America, Europe and Asia, this history chronicles the zombie's on-screen evolution from Caribbean bogeyman to flesh-eating corpse.

The Art of Horror: An Illustrated History


Stephen Jones - 2015
    Amazingly, there has never been a book quite like The Art of Horror a celebration of frightful images, compiled and presented by some of the genre's most respected names. While acknowledging the beginnings of horror-related art in legends and folk tales, the focus of the book is on how the genre has presented itself to the world since the creations of Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley first became part of the public consciousness in the 19th century. It's all here: from early engravings via dust jackets, book illustrations, pulp magazines, movie posters, comic books, and paintings to today's artists working entirely in the digital realm. Editor Stephen Jones and his stellar team of contributors have sourced visuals from archives and private collections (including their own) worldwide, ensuring an unprecedented selection that is accessible to those discovering the genre, while also including many images that will be rare and unfamiliar to even the most committed fan. From the shockingly lurid to the hauntingly beautiful including images of vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, demons, serial killers, alien invaders, and more every aspect of the genre is represented in ten themed chapters. Quotes from artists/illustrators, and a selection from writers and filmmakers, are featured throughout.

The Book of Lists: Horror


Amy Wallace - 2008
    Chock-full of creepy information from the netherworlds of movies, TV, literature, video games, comic books, and graphic novels, The Book of Lists: Horror offers a blood-feast of forbidden knowledge that horror fans are hungry to devour, including: Stephen King's Ten Favorite Horror Novels or Short Stories—learn what scares the master! Top Six Grossing Horror Movies of All Time in the United States— which big shocks translated into big bucks? Top Ten Horror-Themed Rock 'n' Roll Songs—maybe it is devil's music' after all! And much, much more! Drawing on its authors' extensive knowledge and contributions from the (living) legends and greatest names in the horror and dark fantasy genres, The Book of Lists: Horror is a scream—an irresistible compendium of all things mysterious, terrifying, and gory . . . and so entertaining, it's scary!

Destroy All Movies!!!: The Complete Guide to Punks on Film


Zack Carlson - 2010
    Plus hundreds of stills, posters, covers, candid shots and images, many in full color! The most comprehensive and insane book ever made about punk and/or movies!!!

Happy Herbivore Abroad: A Travelogue and Over 135 Fat-Free and Low-Fat Vegan Recipes from Around the World


Lindsay S. Nixon - 2012
    Nixon has lived in eight states, visited 46, spent a year as an expat on a Caribbean island, and traveled to more than 35 places abroad. As a celebration of Nixon’s jet-setter lifestyle, Happy Herbivore Abroad combines traditional comfort foods from home with international inspiration and stories of her adventures.A little of everything—basics, comfort food, international cuisine, and travelogue—Happy Herbivore Abroad provides your palate with more than 135 of Nixon’s crowd-pleasing vegan recipes low in fat, high on health, and made with everyday ingredients. True to the Happy Herbivore creed, these vegan dishes are easy to make, easy on your wallet, and completely plant-based.As they say in France, bon appétit!

The Mammoth Book of Slasher Movies: An A–Z Guide to More Than 60 Years of Blood and Guts


Peter Normanton - 2012
    From classic Hollywood masterpieces like M (1931) to the recent “torture porn” craze with flicks like the Saw franchise, this collection gives a master’s overview of the genre.

Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth


Kim Paffenroth - 2006
    For nearly forty years, the films of George A. Romero have presented viewers with hellish visions of our world overrun by flesh-eating ghouls. This study proves that Romero's films, like apocalyptic literature or Dante's Commedia, go beyond the surface experience of repulsion to probe deeper questions of human nature and purpose, often giving a chilling and darkly humorous critique of modern, secular America.

Tales from the Crypt: The Official Archives


Digby Diehl - 1996
    Contains the official biograpy of the Crypt Keeper, a history of EC Horror Comics, 105 covers, and other stories, facts, and features relating to Tale from the Crypt.

The Slasher Movie Book


J.A. Kerswell - 2010
    Taking its cue from Hitchcock, grind-house movies, and the gory Italian giallo thrillers of the 1970s, slasher movies brought a new high in cinematic violence and suspense to mainstream cinema. For six bloody years (1978–1984) - the “golden age” of slashers - cinema screens and video stores were stalked by homicidal maniacs with murder and mayhem on their minds.The Slasher Movie Book details the subgenre’s surprising beginnings, revels in its g(l)ory days, and discusses its recent resurgence. Packed with reviews of the best (and worst) slasher movies and illustrated with an extensive collection of distinctive and often graphic color poster artwork from around the world, this book also looks at the political, cultural, and social influences on the slasher movie and its own effect on other film genres.