Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Four o'clock
in the morning, and the lights are on and still there's no way
we're going to sleep, not after the film we just saw. The book we
just read. Fear is one of the most primal human emotions, and one
of the hardest to reason with and dispel. So why do we scare
ourselves? It seems almost mad that we would frighten ourselves for
fun, and yet there are thousands of books, films, games, and other
forms of entertainment designed to do exactly that. As Darryl Jones
shows, the horror genre is huge. Ranging from vampires, ghosts, and
werewolves to mad scientists, Satanists, and deranged serial
killers, the cathartic release of scaring ourselves has made its
appearance in everything from Shakespearean tragedies to internet
memes. Exploring the key tropes of the genre, including its
monsters, its psychological chills, and its love affair with the
macabre, this Very Short Introduction discusses why horror stories
disturb us, and how society responds to literary and film
representations of the gruesome and taboo. Should the enjoyment of
horror be regarded with suspicion? Are there different levels of
the horrific, and should we distinguish between the commonly
reviled carnage of contemporary torture porn and the culturally
acceptable bloodbaths of ancient Greek tragedies? Analysing the way
in which horror manifests multiple personalities, and has been used
throughout history to articulate the fears and taboos of the
current generation, Darryl Jones considers the continuing evolution
of the genre today. As horror is mass marketed to mainstream
society in the form of romantic vampires and blockbuster hits, it
also continues to maintain its former shadowy presence on the edges
of respectability, as banned films and violent internet phenomena
push us to question both our own preconceptions and the terrifying
capacity of human nature. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short
Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds
of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books
are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our
expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and
enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly
readable. First published in hardback as Sleeping with the Lights
on.
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