Dark Carnivals : Modern Horror and the Origins of American Empire

The panoramic story of how the horror genre transformed into one of the most incisive critiques of unchecked American imperial power The American empire emerged from the shadows of World War II. As the nation’s influence swept the globe with near impunity, a host of evil forces followed—from racism, exploitation, and military invasion to killer clowns, flying saucers, and monsters borne of a fear of the other. By viewing American imperial history through the prism of the horror genre, __Dark Carnivals__ lays bare how the genre shaped us, distracted us, and gave form to a violence as American as apple pie. A carnival ride that connects the mushroom clouds of 1945 to the beaches of Amity Island, Charles Manson to the massacre at My Lai, and John Wayne to John Wayne Gacy, the new book by acclaimed historian W. Scott Poole reveals how horror films and fictions have followed the course of America’s military and cultural empire and explores how the shadow of our national sins can take on the form of mass entertainment. ## Review "Horror fiction has long been seen as an extension or reflection of horror reality. With __Dark Carnivals__ , Poole does more than that, creating a through-line that is captivating, distressing and illuminating." —Kevin Young, __Charleston City Paper__ "A marvelous overview of the myriad ways horror cinema has critiqued American power." —Christopher Schobert, __The Film Stage__ "Fascinating . . . There is no more vibrant field of criticism than writing on horror, and __Dark Carnivals__ is a worthy addition to a growing field." —Molly Odintz, __CrimeReads__ "Poole writes in an engaging style that makes this book accessible to lay readers as well as academics . . . Comprehensive and with a wide scope that covers so much of American history and horror cinema, this is a text that will find a home in both academic and public libraries." — __Booklist__ (starred review) "A lurid overview of some of the darkest dimensions of American history through the lens of the horror genre." — __Kirkus Reviews__ "[Poole] offers fascinating tidbits of film history . . . Shrewd commentary . . . An insightful view of the genre through the lens of critical theory." — __Publishers Weekly__ " __Dark Carnivals__ is a fascinating, exhaustively researched historical polemic. Poole unflinchingly leads the reader through the horrifying history of the American empire and how it's reflected and refracted within horror cinema. You can't cover your eyes and say, 'It's only a movie.'" —Paul Tremblay, author of __A Head Full of Ghosts__ and __The Pallbearers Club__ “In __Dark Carnivals__ , W. Scott Poole takes a sharp knife to the long history of horror in the United States, dissecting the politics behind the genre, but maybe more importantly, exposing the horrors that live at the heart of American exceptionalism. Poole’s book examines the violent events behind some of the most recognizable horror titles (drawing a direct line, for instance, between the 1966 University of Texas tower shooting and __The Texas Chain Saw Massacre__ ), but it also shines a harsh light on the appetite that American audiences have for violence on the screen. Who will survive America? That’s the question Poole dares his readers to delve into the darkness to answer. I’ve long been a fan of Poole’s work, but this may be one of his best.” —Lisa Kröger, Stoker- and Locus-award-winning author of __Monster, She Wrote__ ## About the Author **W. SCOTT POOLE** is a professor of history at the College of Charleston who teaches and writes about horror and popular culture. He is the author most recently of __Wasteland: The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror__ , and his previous books include the award-winning __Monsters in America__ and the biography __Vampira: Dark Goddess of Horror__. He is a Bram Stoker Award nominee for his critically acclaimed biography of H. P. Lovecraft, __In the Mountains of Madness__. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina. From Invasion of the Body Snatchers to Get Out , Dark Carnivals tells the panoramic story of the filmmakers and writers who, through their work in the horror genre, asked us to imagine the consequences of unchecked American power dominating the world With Dark Carnivals , author W. Scott Poole, an expert in horror and its impact on American history, reveals how the horror genre as a way of seeing the world has become one of the most incisive critiques of America and its history and influence around the globe. Following World War II, America took its place on the world stage, its growing imperial shadow becoming ever more evident. But even as the American empire emerged, propaganda at home convinced ordinary Americans that their country kept its hands clean on the world stage. The nation, enshrined in the aspirational words of its founding documents, found itself enjoying a primal innocence, despite a host of evil forces insidiously growing more rooted each day: racism and violence, deadly viruses and fear of the other. From the Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) to Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) to Get Out (2017), horror films have long acted as the shadow that reveals uncomfortable political realities and inhuman crimes perpetrated by the United States for the last century with near impunity. In fact, the influence of American horror culturein films, literature, online forums, and even video gamescontinues into our contemporary experience, continually challenging the myth of American innocence and exceptionalism, acknowledging our culpability abroad, and, most importantly, our failures at home.