Geography of Horror: Spaces, Hauntings and the American Imagination (Palgrave Gothic)

This book provides a comprehensive reading of a space/place-based experience from the birth of the American horror genre (nineteenth century American Romanticism) to its rise and evolution in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Exploring a series of narratives, this study focuses on the role of space and place as key elements for successful articulation of horror. The analysis, therefore, employs different theoretical premises and concepts belonging to human geography, which, while being part of the larger discipline of geography, predominantly directs its attention towards the presence and activities of humans. By connecting such theoretical readings with the continuously evolving American horror genre, this book offers a unique insight into the academically unexplored trans-disciplinary spatially based reading of the genre. Marko Lukić is Associate Professor atthe English Department at the University of Zadar, Croatia, where he teaches courses onAmerican literature, gothic and horror genre, popular culture, and cultural theory. His research interests include American popular culture, human geography and spatiality in literature and film, and the contemporary horror genre. He is the Editor in Chief of [sic] - A Journal of Literature, Culture and Literary Translation, Conference Director of the international conference Re-Thinking Humanities and Social Sciences, and the co-founder of the Centre for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities This book provides a comprehensive reading of a space/place-based experience from the birth of the American horror genre (nineteenth century American Romanticism) to its rise and evolution in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Exploring a series of narratives, this study focuses on the role of space and place as key elements for successful articulation of horror. The analysis, therefore, employs different theoretical premises and concepts belonging to human geography, which, while being part of the larger discipline of geography, predominantly directs its attention towards the presence and activities of humans. By connecting such theoretical readings with the continuously evolving American horror genre, this book offers a unique insight into the academically unexplored trans-disciplinary spatially based reading of the genre. Marko Lukić is Associate Professor atthe English Department at the University of Zadar, Croatia, where he teaches courses onAmerican literature, gothic and horror genre, popular culture, and cultural theory. His research interests include American popular culture, human geography and spatiality in literature and film, and the contemporary horror genre. He is the Editor in Chief of [sic] - A Journal of Literature, Culture and Literary Translation, Conference Director of the international conference Re-Thinking Humanities and Social Sciences, and the co-founder of the Centre for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities Contents 8 Chapter 1: Introduction 9 References 26 Chapter 2: Mapping Horror 27 The Trialectics of Fear 27 Bodies in Space 38 Locating the Myths 43 References 55 Chapter 3: The Frontier 57 Space and Violent Identities 57 Entering the Forest 65 Dreamy Darkness 70 Reimagining the Wilderness 76 Horrors of the Prairie 89 References 94 Chapter 4: Domestic Horrors 96 The House 96 Fear Thy Neighbor 119 References 129 Chapter 5: Small Town Heterotopias 131 Mirrored Spaces 131 Land of Mythical Times 143 Walking Down Main Street 151 References 163 Chapter 6: Urban Nightmares 165 Dark Alleys 165 Surveilling Horror 185 References 192 Index 193