Danse Macabre (original 1981; edition 1983)

A survey of horror literature and movies. Pretty good insight into King's mindset, but not particularly revealing. ( )

A survey of horror literature and movies. Pretty good insight into King's mindset, but not particularly revealing. ( )

This is what my copy looks like after finishing:


There was so much inside that head that I just wanted to remember, or come back to, or... just highlight. I could have done all of that on my nook, and it would have been easier. Simpler, less restricted as to what I could fit onto the post-it, but... I dunno. This way just felt right to me.

There were a lot of references to books that I hadn't read yet, and these sections I tried to skim so that I could get the idea without the spoilers, but that wasn't always possible. I do hate spoilers, but I can't hold it against King too much, I knew that was a possibility when I picked this up. One doesn't read an examination of the horror genre without expecting examples... and I'm just NOT that well read to think that I would've read every book he might have mentioned. Not by a loooooooong shot.

But the books that I have read, I now have a new and deeper appreciation for. King sees things in such a different way than I do, and so getting his perspective is fascinating.

Highly recommend reading this.

PS. Support your local used book stores! :D ( )

This is one of the most effective studies on horror by one of the masters. Although King only covers thirty years of modern horror in the media (1950-1980), he still manages to cover a wide arc of large, Cold War-era horror medium to the quieter self-involved horror that peaked in the Seventies and Eighties. This is a fantastic read and a must for any horror fan. ( )

Danse Macabre is about horror fiction in print, radio, film and comics, and the genre's influence on United States popular culture.

This is a nice retrospective of horror in fiction and film, if a little dated. I particularly enjoyed King’s analysis of horror films and how they mirrored the real-world fears of the era in which they were made. The book provides lots of suggestions for reading and watching material, if you want to expand your education in classic horror.

Read because I like the author (1980s). ( )