The Horror Theory Reader
University of Minnesota Press (Verlag)
978-1-5179-1782-1 (ISBN)
Why do we enjoy horror? The emotional responses the genre provokes—fear, dread, and disgust—are ones we typically seek to avoid, so what is the appeal of narratives and artistic representations that seek to scare, startle, shock, and repulse? In The Horror Theory Reader, Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock assembles theorizations of the genre’s appeal from antiquity to the present day to explore the “paradox of horror” that has for millennia preoccupied theorists and consumers alike.
Beginning with an introduction situating the history of horror in the context of moral panics, this carefully curated volume then is organized into three sections that introduce early attempts to explain horror’s fascination; present perspectives from horror writers, filmmakers, and scholars; and offer nuanced considerations of horror’s intersections with disability, queerness, race, and gender. Featuring classic commentaries on the genre by H. P. Lovecraft, Alfred Hitchcock, and Stephen King alongside incisive essays by philosophers, literary and film scholars, cultural critics, and others, The Horror Theory Reader is indispensable for scholars and will be of interest to anyone curious about our paradoxical enjoyment of appalling and fearsome things.
Contributions by: Joseph Addison; Aristotle; Anna Letitia Barbauld; Dani Bethea; Edmund Burke; NoËl Carroll, CUNY Graduate Center; Brigid Cherry; Mathias Clasen, Aarhus U; Douglas E. Cowan, Renison U College; Meghan Downes, Monash U; Berys Gaut, U of St. Andrews; Julian Hanich, U of Groningen; Sheri-Marie Harrison, U of Missouri; Matt Hills, U of Huddersfield; Alfred Hitchcock; David Hume; Mark Jancovich, U of East Anglia; Stephen King; Petra Kuppers, U of Michigan; H. P. Lovecraft; G. Neil Martin, Regent’s U London; John Morreall, College of William and Mary; Monika Negra; Nina Nesseth; Anne Radcliffe; Fredrich Schiller; Walter Scott; Tim Snelson, U of East Anglia; Christopher St. John Sprigg; Susan Stryker, U of Arizona; S. Trimble, U of Toronto; Kendall Walton, U of Michigan; Linda Williams, UC Berkeley; Robin Wood.
Retail e-book files for this title are screen-reader friendly with images accompanied by short alt text and/or extended descriptions.
Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock is founder and president of the Society for the Study of the American Gothic and professor of English at Central Michigan University. He is author or editor of many books, including The Monster Theory Reader and The Age of Lovecraft, both from Minnesota.
Contents
Introduction. "Won't Someone Please Think of the Children?!" Thinking Horror Through the Lens of Moral Panic
Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock
Part I. Early Inquiries and Quick Takes
1. From Poetics
Aristotle
2. Of Tragedy
David Hume
3. On the Reason We Take Pleasure in Tragic Subjects
Friedrich Schiller, translated by George W. Gregory
4. From A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and the Beautiful
Edmund Burke
5. From "Why Terrour and Grief Are Pleasing to the Mind When Excited by Descriptions"
Joseph Addison
6. On the Pleasure Derived from Objects of Terror
Anna Laetitia Barbauld
7. On the Supernatural in Poetry
Ann Radcliffe
8. On the Supernatural in Fictitious Composition; and Particularly on the Works of Ernest Theodore William Hoffman
Walter Scott
9. Introduction to Supernatural Horror in Literature
H. P. Lovecraft
10. Introduction to Uncanny Stories
Christopher St. John Sprigg
11. The Enjoyment of Fear
Alfred Hitchcock
12. From Danse Macabre
Stephen King
Part II. The Paradox of Horror
13. Fearing Fictions
Kendall Walton
14. The Paradox of Horror
Berys Gaut
15. From The Philosophy of Horror; or, Paradoxes of the Heart
Noël Carroll
16. Enjoying Negative Emotions in Fictions
John Morreall
17. Fear for Your Life: The Appeals, Functions, and Effects of Horror
Mathias Clasen
18. An Introduction to the American Horror Film
Robin Wood
19. From Sacred Terror: Religion and Horror on the Silver Screen
Douglas E. Cowan
20. From "Discipline and Distraction: Psycho, Visual Culture, and Postmodern Cinema"
Linda Williams
21. Frightening Fascination: A Phenomenology of Direct Horror
Julian Hanich
22. (Why) Do You Like Scary Movies? A Review of the Empirical Research on Psychological Responses to Horror Films
G. Neil Martin
23. Horror's Long-Lasting Appeal
Nina Nesseth
Part III. Different Voices
24. Displaying Connoisseurship, Recognizing Craftsmanship
Matt Hills
25. My Words to Victor Frankenstein Above the Village of Chamounix: Performing Transgender Rage
Susan Stryker
26. Refusing to Refuse to Look: Female Viewers of the Horror Film
Brigid Cherry
27. From "Horror at the Crossroads: Class, Gender, and Taste at the Rialto"
Mark Jancovich and Tim Snelson
28. Critical Pleasures: Reflections on the Indonesian Horror Genre and Its Anti-Fans
Meghan Downes
29. New Black Gothic
Sheri-Marie Harrison
30. Black Horror Beyond the White Gaze: A Conversation
Dani Bethea and Monika Negra
31. Contemporary Horror and Disability: Adaptations and Active Readers
Petra Kuppers
32. A Demon-Girl's Guide to Life
S. Trimble
Publication History
Contributors
Index
| Erscheinungsdatum | 30.12.2025 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | 19 black and white illustrations and 2 tables |
| Verlagsort | Minnesota |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 178 x 254 mm |
| Gewicht | 850 g |
| Themenwelt | Literatur ► Krimi / Thriller / Horror ► Horror |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Anglistik / Amerikanistik | |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Literaturwissenschaft | |
| Sozialwissenschaften | |
| ISBN-10 | 1-5179-1782-4 / 1517917824 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-5179-1782-1 / 9781517917821 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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