American Scary: A History of Horror, from Salem to Stephen King and Beyond

The lurid tales may lie behind the pages of a vividly illustrated paperback or waiting to be shown on a widescreen at the local theater but questions about the imaginations that birthed them aren’t usually posed. The horror fiction category has evolved from Elizabethan England to the Puritanical colonies in America, from the cosmic or monster-sized threat to one living in close proximity. The darkest of scary stories reflected the unpleasant truths of life, whether they be war, racism, or misogyny. The writers capable of provoking fright run the gamut from Poe to Shirley Jackson to Stephen King to Jordan Peele, each carving their niche in the zeitgeist of fright yet often with a commentary on human nature just under the surface.

American Scary is an exhaustive history of horror stories reflecting an appreciation of the genre along with the times that often inspired them. Author Jeremy Dauber (American Comics: A History) has written a book that penetrates the veil behind the macabre and highlights how a horror book/movie possesses greater depth than previously considered. This is a book that is worth reading at least twice.