An anthology of essays on horror writing, providing an overview of the genre, exploring the characteristics of the gothic novel, examining three classic horror novels, and looking at the lives and works of four modern masters of horror, including H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Clive Barker.
Content Note
The appeal of the unknown / H.P. Lovecraft -- Some defining elements of horror / Stephen King -- The paradox of horror by Noel Carroll -- Five characteristics of postmodern horror / Isabel Cristina Pinedo -- The Gothic novel, 1764-present / Anne Williams -- Elements of the Gothic / Linda Bayer-Berenbaum -- The grotesque in literature / Bernard McElroy -- The Gothic tradition in American literature / Joyce Carol Oates -- Poe and the Gothic / Clark Griffith -- Biographical contexts for Frankenstein / Wendy Lesser -- Death and birth in Frankenstein / Ellen Moers -- Analyzing Dracula's enduring popularity / James B. Twitchell -- Dracula's antifeminism / Bram Dijkstra -- Identity and repression in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde / Mark Jancovich -- Tensions and anxieties in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde / Susan J. Wolfson and Barry V. Qualls -- H.P. Lovecraft's life and work / Robert Block -- Stephen King's "art of darkness" / Douglas E. Winter -- The novels of Anne Rice / Lynda Haas and Robert Haas -- Sex, death, and violence in the early works of Clive Barker / S.T. Joshi.