E-grāmata: Terrifying Texts: Essays on Books of Good and Evil in Horror Cinema

"This collection of new essays examines nearly a century of genre horror in which on-screen texts drive and shape their narratives, sometimes unnoticed. The contributors explore familiar American films like The Night of the Demon (1957) and The Evil Dead(1981), as well as such international films as Eric Valette's Malefique (2002) and Paco Cabeza's The Appeared (2007)"--

From Faust (1926) to The Babadook (2014), books have been featured in horror films as warnings, gateways, prisons and manifestations of the monstrous. Ancient grimoires such as the Necronomicon serve as timeless vessels of knowledge beyond human comprehension, while runes, summoning diaries, and spell books offer their readers access to the powers of the supernatural—but at what cost?? This collection of new essays examines nearly a century of genre horror in which on-screen texts drive and shape their narratives, sometimes unnoticed. The contributors explore American films like The Evil Dead (1981), The Prophecy (1995) and It Follows (2014), as well as such international films as Eric Valette’s Malefique (2002), Paco Cabeza’s The Appeared (2007) and Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond (1981).

This work for students and general readers reveals the role of magical books, secret diaries, hidden family histories, and sacred texts in horror films of the 20th and 21st centuries. The authors bring perspectives from cultural anthropology and popular culture studies as they examine films such as The Whisperer in Darkness, Hocus Pocus, The Book of Eibon, and The Prophecy, as well as appearances of H. P. Lovecraft’s Necronomicon in various films. Thematic sections deal with Lovecraft and his legacy, books of hope and despair, perspectives on The Babadook, diaries and scrapbooks, and witches, demons, and curses. The final section looks at five international films. The book contains b&w film stills. Annotation ©2018 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)