5. Science and horror

Anxieties about scientific research and ethics have long been an important component of horror. Frankenstein is the most celebrated embodiment of these fears. The figures of Prometheus and Faust, risking all in search of dangerous and forbidden knowledge, are important precursors to Frankenstein and his monster. The idea of modern technophobia, which is a fear that machines will destroy humanity, has inspired films such as the Terminator and Ex Machina and many more.

4. Horror and the mind

‘Horror and the mind’ looks at ideas of madness and the mind in horror. The lunatic asylum is one of the classic locations of horror, and our fears of insanity, or of the strangeness of our own minds to ourselves, is one of its recurring themes. The ‘double’ refers to the literalizing of ideas of the divided or split self. There are a number of psychos and slashers who have populated horror culture. Why are we obsessed with the figure of the serial killer?

3. Horror and the body

‘Horror and the body’ looks at the variety of ways in which the human body is figured, refigured, and disfigured in horror, opening with an analysis of the history and meaning of bodily transformation and metamorphosis, beginning in the ancient world. What is meant by beast transformations? In this respect, the werewolf has an important role in horror culture. ‘Body horror’ refers the use of the transformation and disfigurement of the body in often graphic ways, and often to radical ends. There is also the notion of ‘torture porn’, which focusses on the spectacle of the body in pain. This raises interesting ethical issues.

1. Monsters

‘Monsters’ discusses the concept of taboo, and the violation of taboos, looking at the meaning of one of the most powerful of all taboos, cannibalism. Monsters are fundamental to our ideas of horror. The word ‘monster’ shares an etymology with the word ‘demonstrate’: it is something that is shown—as a portent, a warning, an omen, or an atrocity. Two of the most important horror monsters, the vampire and the zombie, appear in a variety of cultural and political contexts. What is the attraction in creating fascinating monsters which want to consume us?

Introduction

‘Introduction’ is a wide-ranging theoretical and historical argument for the fundamental importance of the concept of horror to the history of human culture and civilization. Horror is written into our earliest cultural and artistic documents, and our religions and their rituals. There are differences between horror and terror; the Gothic; the uncanny; and the weird that are important when considering horror. Horror is a culturally determined form that suffers from historical anxieties. This can be seen by looking at such as imperialism, nuclear warfare, and climate change.

6. Afterword

‘Afterword’ closes with an overview of a few of the many varieties of modern horror, and argues that the incorporation of horror within consumer culture threatens to diminish its edgy appeal. Examples include the supposedly Gothic romances following on from the success of the Twilight series, which are anything but scary or disturbing. There are many ways in which horror reflects our contemporary concerns and anxieties, from corporate culture to shifting geopolitics, race relations, and particularly environmental concerns. How about online horror and its emblematic monster, the Slender Man? What role does horror have under COVID-19?

2. The occult and the supernatural

‘The occult and the supernatural’ offers a history and an analysis of the concepts of the supernatural, the paranormal and the occult, most particularly in the modern world as a reaction against a scientific or materialist worldview, particularly as represented by the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species in 1859. The rise of spiritualism, psychical research, and occultism in this context is worth a consideration. What is the role played by the Devil and Satanism in horror culture? This question can be answered by looking at landmark works of Satanic cinema, such as Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist. Where does the concept of ghosts come from? All human culture and religion include some conception of ghosts and spirits, who perform a variety of functions, from issuing warnings to righting historical wrongs to imparting privileged information.