English 258: Popular American Culture Section: 001

MWF 12:30-1:20pm Hodges Hall | Room 210

“A New World of God and Monsters”: Horror in American Film, Literature, and Culture

Instructor: Meghan Hutton

From Poe to King to Craven to Peale, horror has been one of the most prolific genres in American culture since the 1830s. But why has this genre that is considered by many to be ‘thinkless’ remained so prolific? When asked about the vitality of the horror genre in 2015 by Interview Magazine, John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing) stated, “It never dies. It just keeps getting reinvented and it always will. Horror is a universal language; we’re all afraid.” In this class we will read, watch, and analyze American horror texts with a critical approach to the genre by viewing these texts through lenses such as race, gender, class, and sexuality. We will consider the interplay between the impact of the genre on American culture and vice versa. Keep in mind that due to the nature and themes of the horror genre, this course may not be ideal for everyone.

“Horror films don’t create fear. They release it.” - Wes Craven

Potential Films:

Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Psycho (1960) Night of the Living Dead (1968) Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) Carrie (1976) Halloween (1978) Scream (1996) The Blair Witch Project (1999) Get Out (2017) Ready or Not (2019) The Invisible Man (2020)

Potential Readings:

“The Masque of the Red Death" - Edgar Allen Poe “The Yellow Wallpaper” - Charlotte Perkins Gilman “The Dunwich Horror” - H.P. Lovecraft “The Lottery” - Shirley Jackson The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark - Alvin Schwartz Dolores Claiborne - Stephen King