Danse Macabre - Stephen King

I'm a huge fan of Stephen King, and a rather big fan of horror writing in general, when it is done well.

This book differs from most of his books as it is a history of the genre of history, including many personal insights and a couple of really helpful lists at the back, which I will explain later.

From the outset, it is clear to see that King has a real passion for horror. He begins by dedicating his book to six horror ...
...is worth mentioning at this point that the book was written in 1981. According to my copy, it wasn't printed in the UK until 1991. In total, the book has been reprinted around 20 times. It's a popular book, and with reason.

He tells us of his discovery of horror - he was a ten year old boy. He even remembers the date for us - the fourth of October (my birthday) 1957 (but way before I was born!)

He tells us of the various ... more

I'm a huge fan of Stephen King, and a rather big fan of horror writing in general, when it is done well.

This book differs from most of his books as it is a history of the genre of history, including many personal insights and a couple of really helpful lists at the back, which I will explain later.

From the outset, it is clear to see that King has a real passion for horror. He begins by dedicating his book to six horror writers that at the time were still alive. It is worth mentioning at this point that the book was written in 1981. According to my copy, it wasn't printed in the UK until 1991. In total, the book has been reprinted around 20 times. It's a popular book, and with reason.

He tells us of his discovery of horror - he was a ten year old boy. He even remembers the date for us - the fourth of October (my birthday) 1957 (but way before I was born!)

He tells us of the various films he has seen through the ages, and gives his personal response to them. He analyses everything meticulously. Though, it is worth saying at this point, that he also gives away the endings to many of the books and films that he talks about.

From films he moves into radio, returns to films and then finishes with a 200 page chapter on horror fiction. In this he considers ten different books that he believes are indicative of the literary and the entertaining within the genre of horror.

He shows us that horror has created three mythic creatures that have become commonplace - Dracula created the vampire, Frankenstein the 'thing without a name' and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde the 'werewolf'.

He dissects these stories, which he feels are the beginning of horror as a genre with an advanced understanding of the themes within each.

There is also an element of autobiography in this book, though it is not as apparent as it is in his more recent book, On Writing. Not only does he show us his great interest in the way that he writes the book, but he tells us that -

'Readers who find themselves inclining towards some genre on a regular basis - wester, private-eye stories, drawing-room mysteries, science fiction, or flat-out adventure yarns - seem rarely to feel the same desire to psychoanalyze their favorite writers' interests (and their own) as do the readers of horror fiction. Secretly or otherwise, there is the feeling that the taste for horror fiction is an abnormal one.'

He ultimately answers this question by saying that he has no idea why he writes what he writes and that it is crazy for anyone to expect him to.

The book contains a lot of footnotes. one almost covers the span of two pages. It just shows the reader just how keen he is to tell us everything he possibly can. He seems desperate to cram the book full of all of the knowledge that he has. However, having said this, the book is written really well. He says at one point that the book could become a rather dull tome if he wasn't careful. He has been careful, and the book doesn't feel too heavy, despite it's 500 odd pages.

I fell on this book with the greatest amount of glee. It isn't something that can be read overnight as time is needed to consider all that is being said, but it is worth picking up and reading snippets of it now and again.

My final joy with the book is that he closes it with two lists. The first is a list of 100 films that he believes have added to the genre. He has asterisked the ones he liked most. The second list is a list of about 100 books that he recommends. I have found this invaluable, I'm making my way through this list with all of the books that I can find from it. I'm finding that many of them match my interest, as well as being very interesting. I intend to return to the book in a couple of years with a greater understanding of the books that he talks about.

If you are not a fan of horror, then this probably isn't for you. If you aren't a fan of Stephen King, you might find some interest in there, but probably not enough. If you are a fan of both of the above, this is a great recommendation, even if you only look through those lists. As a disclaimer - some of the books mentioned are no longer in print as the book was written 20 odd years ago. However, the ones that are in print have stood the test of time. 

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