A dark night's dreaming
Subtitle: contemporary American horror fiction
By: edited by Tony Magistrale, Michael A. Morrison.
Contributors: Magistrale, Tony.; Morrison, Michael A., 1949-
Series: Understanding contemporary American literature
Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Columbia, S.C
Language: eng
Number of pages: 141
Subjects: Horror tales, American -- History and criticism
Description: A Dark Night's Dreaming opens by defining the shape of horror fiction today, illuminating the genre's narrative themes, psychological and social contexts, and historical development. The core of the volume focuses on the lives and major works of the six who have dramatically shaped the genre: William Peter Blatty, Thomas Harris, Stephen King, Anne Rice, Peter Straub, and Whitley Strieber. A final chapter analyzes the complex relationship between horror fiction and its adaptation to film.

Looking beyond the tormented maidens, madmen, monsters, and other archetypes of the genre, these critics differentiate contemporary Gothic fiction from that of earlier generations while demonstrating that horror remains one of the most important and consistent strains connecting the diverse elements of the American literary tradition. They comment on the genre's enormous popularity and undeniable influence in American society and scrutinize its changing representations of women, monsters, and gore.

The volume concludes with an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary works.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-135) and index.