This exploration of horror fictions - literary, cinematic and televisual - looks at the emotions they engender in their audiences. The text is divided into three sections. The first examines how horror is valued and devalued in different cultural fields; the second investigates the cultural politics of the contemporary horror film; while the final part considers horror fandom in relation to its embodied practices (film festivals), its "reading formations" (commercial fan magazines and fanzines) and the role of special effects. The book combines a wide range of media and textual examples with highly detailed and closely focused exposition of theory.
Part 1 In theory - academic interpretations of pleasure: Cognition... and Affect; Hesitation... and Shock; Restoration... and Repetition. Part 2 Para-sites - outside the horror genre: TV Horror; True Horror; Theory Horror; Part 3 'Scare quotes' - within the field of horror: Intertextuality in the Contemporary Field of Horror (I) -- The "Postmodern" Fictions of Kim Newman; Intertextuality in the Contemporary Field of Horror (II) -- The "Postmodern" Scream Franchise; Intertextuality in the Contemporary Field of Horror (III) -- The "Postmodern" Signs of M. Night Shyamalan. Part 4 In practices - fan interpretations for pleasure: Displaying Connoisseurship; Recognising Craftsmanship; Challenging Censorship; Conclusion - The "Problem" of the Displeasures of Horror.
