David J. Skal est un auteur dont l'œuvre enquête profondément sur l'impact culturel des monstres et de l'horreur. Sa fascination pour ces figures a commencé dans son enfance, reflétant leurs racines dans des périodes d'incertitude mondiale, ce qui a façonné ses explorations critiques et littéraires ultérieures. Skal examine comment ces êtres surnaturels deviennent des reflets de nos propres angoisses et désirs, façonnant notre compréhension du monde. Son écriture se croise fréquemment avec le cinéma, le théâtre et la littérature pour découvrir le réseau complexe qui relie l'horreur à la culture moderne.
Exploring the evolution of the iconic vampire figure, this book delves into its transformation from a Victorian literary curiosity to a pervasive cultural symbol. It examines the traits that define the vampire mythos, such as its nocturnal habits and supernatural abilities, while also uncovering deeper societal reflections embedded in this archetype. David Skal offers a critical analysis that reveals the complexities of this cultural icon, highlighting its significance in shaping modern perceptions of fear, desire, and the human condition.
A round-up of the most haunting, spine-chilling, and even family-friendly
cinematic spook-fests of all time, Turner Classic Movies: Halloween Favorites
will satisfy fright-film lovers each October or any time of year.
Illuminating the dark side of the American century, The Monster Show uncovers the surprising links between horror entertainment and the great social crises of our time, as well as horror's function as a pop analogue to surrealism and other artistic movements.With penetrating analyses and revealing anecdotes, David J. Skal chronicles one of our most popular and pervasive modes of cultural expression. He explores the disguised form in which Hollywood's classic horror movies played out the traumas of two world wars and the Depression; the nightmare visions of invasion and mind control catalyzed by the Cold War; the preoccupation with demon children that took hold as thalidomide, birth control, and abortion changed the reproductive landscape; the vogue in visceral, transformative special effects that paralleled the development of the plastic surgery industry; the link between the AIDS epidemic and the current fascination with vampires; and much more. Now with a new Afterword by the author that looks at horror's popular renaissance in the last decade, The Monster Show is a compulsively readable, thought-provoking inquiry into America's obsession with the macabre.
His career virtually began with that of motion pictures (he was an actor for D.W. Griffith), but filmmaker Tod Browning is remembered today for two early sound masterworks of horror: Dracula (1931), starring Bela Lugosi, and Freaks (1932), the bizarre, disquieting story of a traveling sideshow, cast with real-life human oddities. The outraged public reaction to the latter, which was quickly pulled from circulation, effectively derailed Browning's career. After a few final films, he withdrew to an eccentric retirement in Malibu until his death in 1962. Although his work was rediscovered by movie aficionados--Freaks became an arthouse staple in the antiestablishment 1960s--the director himself has remained largely anonymous. Skal and Savada rectify that situation with a detailed, painstakingly researched biography that draws on unpublished interviews with Browning's coworkers and friends as well as the new contributions of surviving family members. They call Browning's reclusive career and its dissolution 'one of Hollywood's most mysterious vanishing acts.' Their illuminating work should help win him his just place in the annals of cinema. - Gordon Flagg--BL 10/15/1995
The most wide-ranging collection of vampire tales ever features two centuries of spine-tingling writing, from John Polidori to Robert Block, Alexis Tolstoy to Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to Henry Kuttner. Every page of Vampires features a column of commentary by the editor, expanding upon the stories and exploring the evolution of the vampire mystique in folklore, literature, and popular culture. More than 200 beautifully rendered black-and-white images of vintage engravings, film posters, and popular artifacts make this big book the "living end" of vampire fact, fiction, and lore.
