Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting by W. Scott Poole (Baylor University Press) is a cultural and historical survey of the changing “monsters” that Americans have feared from colonial times to the present. Vader, Voldemort and Other Villains: Essays on Evil in Popular Culture edited by James Heit (McFarland & Company) has thirteen critical essays exploring the ways evil is depicted in popular culture, including subjects ranging female archetypes in Disney films to the villains in Harry Potter and Star Wars, and serial killers. Ten Years of Hippocampus Press: 2000–2010 by Derrick Hussey, S. T. Joshi, and David E. Schultz (Hippocampus Press) is an annotated bibliography of this important small press, which specializes in publishing material by or about H. P. Lovecraft and his colleagues. Horror After 9/11: World of Fear, Cinema of Terror edited by Aviva Briefel and Sam J. Miller (University of Texas Press) is the first major exploration of the horror movies made since the Twin Towers fell. At that time a number of cultural pundits asserted that horror as a genre was dead. Of course this was completely wrong-headed, as the explosion of horror movies continues into the second decades of the twenty-first century. Films covered are the Twilight Saga, the Saw series, remakes of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and big budget remakes of classic horror movies. Carrie: Studies in the Horror Film by Joseph Aisenberg (Centipede Press) traces the history of Carrie, from the novel by Stephen King through its transformation into a great movie by screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen and director Brian De Palma. Aisenberg provides in-depth analysis on a scene-by-scene basis. This is a fascinating and very readable book for fans of Carrie and lovers of film. Shock Value by Jason Zinoman (The Penguin Press) is an exploration of the ’70s revival of horror by John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper, and George Romero. A good book, marred only by the occasional authorial intrusion into his subjects’ minds and actions (eg “William Castle was in bed sweating.”). Roman Catholicism in Fantastic Film: Essays on Belief, Spectacle, Ritual and Imagery edited by Regina Hansen (McFarland & Company) is a selection of twenty-one critical essays delving into the Catholic elements in The Exorcist, Lord of the Rings, and various vampire films. Monstrous Creatures: Explorations of Fantasy Through Essays, Articles and Reviews by Jeff VanderMeer (Guide Dog Books) includes fiction, book introductions, essays, reviews, and interviews about and with an array of fantasists including Jeffrey Ford, Margo Lanagan, China Miéville, Alasdair Gray, and a host of other writers. Reflections in a Glass Darkly: Essays on J. Sheridan Le Fanu edited by Gary William Crawford, Jim Rockwell, and Brian J. Showers (Hippocampus Press) is about a nineteenth-century writer of the weird who, while he’s been lauded for some of his stories such as “Green Tea” and “Carmilla” has still not received his due, according to the editors. The book includes early essays and criticism and contemporary essays about Le Fanu’s work and influence. Nine essays are printed for the first time. Contributors include M. R. James, V. S. Pritchett, Jack Sullivan, John Langan, and many others. Clive Barker: The Painter, the Creature, and the Father of Lies edited by Phil and Sarah Stokes (Earthling Publications) is the first collection of Barker’s nonfiction work and covers almost thirty years of production notes, introductions to other writers’ works, essays, and other bits and pieces. Dark Stars Rising: Conversations From the Outer Realms by Shade Rupe (Headpress) is a collection of almost thirty interviews with horror personalities, lavishly illustrated with black & white photographs throughout. While the interviews are fascinating, the book seems aimed at readers already familiar with the interviewees as there’s no context informing the reader of the interviewees’ place within the genre. Everything You’ll Ever Need to Know About Zombies by Matt Mogk (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster) who is the founder and head of the Zombie Research Society takes the reader through the usual rigmarole about zombies before it gets into the meaty technical stuff like how the circulation system of a zombie works. This kind of thing gives the book a freshness unlike most zombie “manuals.” The Exorcist edited by Danel Olson (Centipede Press) contains twenty-five essays and interviews about the movie, its sequels, and prequels. Included are essays by Thomas Ligotti, Barbara Creed, Michael A. Arnzen, and many others plus interviews with William Peter Blatty, William Friedkin, Jason Miller, and Dick Smith plus a new one with Paul Schrader. The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris (Ace) is a guide to the True Blood series and includes a new novella. 21st Century Gothic: Great Gothic Novels Since 2000 edited by Danel Olson (Scarecrow Press) is a guide to fifty works by writers from the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Wales, Belgium, Spain, Japan, The Netherlands, and Australia. The books chosen are written about with intelligence by the various contributors and although the reader might very well disagree with some of the choices as “great” or even as “gothic” she will undoubtedly find herself ordering a whole passel of novels she has missed. Butcher Knives & Body Counts: Essays on the Formula, Frights, & Fun of the Slasher Film edited Vince Liaguno (Dark Scribe) explores the slasher film in over seventy breezy and entertaining essays written by Steve Rasnic Tem, Kim Paffenroth, Lisa Morton, Lucien Soulban, Lee Thomas, Stephen Graham Jones, Jack Ketchum, Rachel Kendall, Peter Tennant, Don D’Auria, and many others. The Gothic Imagination: Conversations on Fantasy, Horror, and Science Fiction in the Media by John C. Tibbetts (Palgrave Macmillan) presents interviews with S. T. Joshi, T. E. D. Klein, Ramsey Campbell, and the late Robert Bloch about the Lovecraft Circle; Jack Sullivan about music’s part in creating terror; interviews with Stephen King, Peter Straub, Suzy McKee Charnas, and other writers on the gothic. Nightmare Movies: Horror on the Screen Since the 1960s by Kim Newman (Bloomsbury) is a welcome update to the classic 1985 volume. It’s informative, covers a lot of territory, and is a great read. Zombies are Us: Essays on the Humanity of the Living Dead edited by Christopher M. Moreman and James Rushton (McFarland & Company) studies the zombie phenomenon as a thematic presence in our culture seeking to discover what the zombie can tell us about ourselves. Theories of International Politics and Zombies by Daniel W. Drezner (Princeton University Press) is a quirky and entertaining look at how well-known theories from international relations might be applied to a war with zombies.
Two new notable chapbook series started up in 2009 and 2011. First, Nicholas Royle began publishing stories under the Nightjar Press imprint. In the first year of publication he brought out an award-winning story by Michael Marshall Smith (taken for my best of the year). During 2010 four chapbooks were published. And in 2011 he published another four: Field by Tom Fletcher is a brief tale about a tight-assed forest warden and his assistant investigating a complaint of trespassing. Lexicon by Christopher Burns is a disappointing tale that’s not saved by the mythic trappings surrounding a somewhat predictable narrative. Sullom Hill by Christopher Kenworthy is a depressing but effective story about three boys: the narrator, his mentally slow friend, and a nasty little tuff. Remains by GA Pickin is about a young man who loses his way on the moor enroute to meeting friends at a holiday cottage. Simon Marshall-Jones started Spectral Press in 2011 with four chapbooks: Abolisher of Roses by Gary Fry, is about an obnoxious businessman who gets his comeuppance during a walk through several art installations in the woods. What They Hear in the Dark by Gary McMahon is a tense and powerful tale about a couple whose child has been murdered by three boys and how each parent deals with the anger, and pain of loss. Nowhere Hall by Cate Gardner is a surreal tale about a despairing man whose impulse to commit suicide is stymied by a detour into a mysterious hotel. King Death by Paul Finch is about a survivor of the Medieval plague who disguised as “death” scavenges among the dead.