Mental Hospitals at the Movies
The horror films of the 1970s captured a cultural shift from fears of institutional abuse to anxieties about psychiatric patients living freely.
Frankenstein, The Vampyre, and the Spirit of the Humanities
How one ghost story competition continues to haunt the humanities—just in time for Halloween.
The Post-Millennial Poe, or, Edgar Allan Holmes?
In life, Edgar Allan Poe was best known as a literary critic. Today, he’s best remembered for his disquieting tales...but that may be changing.
Ghosts in the Machine
Forty years ago, Hollywood made gremlins loveable—portraying them as adorable, furry creatures. Their folkloric origins are far more sinister.
Freddy Krueger, Folkloric Monster
Many aspects of Freddy Krueger's backstory and actions in A Nightmare on Elm Street echo portrayals of the folkloric bogeyman who targets children.
Bride of Frankenstein
Drawn from the margins of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, the cinematic Bride of Frankenstein is never just one thing, and she never goes away.
“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe: Annotated
Poe's 1841 story, arguably the first detective fiction, contains many tropes now considered standard to the genre, including a brilliant, amateur detective.
The Horror!
If Dracula represented the collective fears of his day, what do the likes of Slender Man and other internet monsters tell us about the zeitgeist of right now?
The Living Dead Embody Our Worst Fears
Zombie movies are scary fun, but they also help us examine our anxieties about contagious disease and unstoppable chaos.
We All “Scream” for the Metatextual
Do you like scary movies? How about movies that scare you while satirizing and paying homage to their genre?