Description: Sitting on pins and needles, anxiously waiting to see what will happen next, horror audiences crave the fear and exhilaration generated by a terrifying story; their anticipation is palpable. But they also breathe a sigh of relief when the action is over, when they are able to close their books or leave the movie theater. Whether serious, kitschy, frightening, or ridiculous, horror not only arouses the senses but also raises profound questions about fear, safety, justice, and suffering. From lit
Brief description: Thomas Fahy, director of the American Studies Program at Long Island University, is author or editor of numerous publications, including Staging Modern American Life, Freak Shows and the Modern American Imagination, and two recent horror novels, Sleepless and The Unspoken. He lives in New York City.
Review Quotes:
"The Philosophy of Horror captures some of the lively conversations occurring at the intersection of horror and philosophy. The volume collects a group of original essays that engage a wide variety of artifacts--TV shows like Ghost Hunters, classic films like The Black Cat, and novels such as In Cold Blood--and take up a wide variety of theoretical questions ranging from the ethics of retribution, the notion of the sublime, and human nature."--Kendall R. Phillips, author of Projected Fears: Horror Films and American Culture