My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Algonquin Books for an advance copy of this book that looks at the cultural history of the genre of horror in American history drawing on all forms of media and history, and some unexpected sources.

People say you remember your first, but I don't remember what first drew me to horror stories. I assume Disney's Haunted Mansion, the one with Goofy, Donald and Mickey Mouse dealing with ghosts in a strange manor. But after that it becomes hazy. Comics lead me to science fiction and Star Wars, I read the Hobbit at a young age so that was fantasy. But horror, I knew I loved to be scared, but I don't know what the key point would be. In many ways I am like America in that different actions, different events have led to changes in what scares people. And that is true. I loved Universal Monsters, but new vampires, mummies and werewolves leave me cold. Halloween was a big thing at the time, Scream seemed to be ehh. Lovecraft I run hot and cold on. Stephen King's Night Shift is still the bellwether, the one book I remember every tale, and every feeling. America is a place of horrors, from government indifference, lack of health care, or this constant need to return to the past; children working in factories, races segregated, women just being breeding mares. These are the things that scare me now. And the reason why I loved this book. American Scary:A History of Horror, from Salem to Stephen King and Beyond by Jeremy Dauber is a cultural history of horror drawing on everything that is uniquely American, for in many ways the horror genre is just a reflection of the society around it.

The book begins in the early days of America where clashing cultures of native americans and colonists were meeting, greeting and fighting to survive. Many of the early stories of horror were stories of massacres colonists, told of course to other colonists, and tales of people living with the natives. Starting an early tradition of having fear for the other. Witch trials make an appearance as does early folktales from other cultures, mainly the stories told by black slaves, that seeped into the American conscious. Combined with the strong religious values that many colonists held, these two ideas could only clash. Slavery was also a large influence on the scary stories people read and shared. The idea of slave uprisings was used to entertain, and to keep a tighter grip on slaves. This idea of control continued up into the 20th century with ideas of the "Yellow Peril" and other tales of the other stealing women and children away. This continues to the present day with lots of examples from all media, films, poetry, books, plays, comics and much more.

A really fantastic work both about America and the genre of horror. The book is exhaustive, but not exhausting, as Dauber has a way of writing that makes the reading interesting, and adding lots of examples, and many that would not usually appear in a book on horror. I can not imagine the amount of research this book took, as so much is covered, and covered well. Stong film discussion, with mentions about comics, plays and television shows. The worst thing about reading a book like this is how much I have missed and need to track down. In addition to writing about the arts, this is a very good look at the cultural history of the United States, one that looks at a lot of ignored history, even marginalized history and presents it to readers. One learns as much about the shame of this country in many ways, as one learns about video nasties and lost authors.

A really wonderful book that readers of horror, and readers of history will both get much out of. One could see a very good documentary being made from this. A great gift also for role players as there are a lot of interesting ideas, and situations that could be adapted into games, especially in the Arkham games, or any role playing horror adventures. I know the author, Jeremy Dauber, has a book on comics, I am quite looking forward to reading that.

A perfect blend of entertainment and history for anyone who's looking for a thorough social history of horror as a genre in America. Despite its hefty length, I raced through reading this one because of the quality of writing and the comprehensive nature of the research and analysis. Cultural history and analysis at its finest. A great read for any horror fans in your life, or anyone who's interested how and why certain stories and tropes become classics. Fascinating and endlessly entertaining.

Jeremy Dauber does to the horror genre with American Scary what he did to the comic book world with American Comics. The author exhaustingly researched the genre and gives us a definitive history of what scares Americans.

American Scary takes us to the startling origins of the horror genre in the United States, drawing a surprising through-line between the lingering influence of the European Gothic, the enslaved insurrection tales propagated by slaveholders, and the apocryphal chronicles of colonial settlers kidnapped by Native Americans, among many others.

These foundational narratives give rise to and are influenced by the body of work we more closely associate with horror: the weird fiction of HP Lovecraft, the lingering stories of Shirley Jackson, the unsettling films of Alfred Hitchcock, the up-all-night tales of Stephen King, and the gripping critiques of Jordan Peele.

From The Tell-Tale Heart to M3gan, we begin to see why the horror genre is the perfect prism through which to view America’s past and present. With the extraordinary historical breadth and dexterous weave of insight and style that has made him twice a finalist for the National Jewish Book, Dauber makes the haunting case that horror reveals the true depths of the American mind.

Jeremy Dauber is known for not leaving any stone unturned with researching and writing his books. Through his meticulous research and storytelling, Dauber gives us a book that teaches and engages us in the rich tapestry of American horror from books, movies, television plus even radio and computer games. We fell in love with his ability to shed light on the history the world of comics and now he tells all about the history of the horror genre.

As we read American Scary we learned so much about the horror genre and how key names have left their mark on horror. Dauber expertly connects the dots between influential creators and their contributions to American horror as well how historical moments have influenced what scares us as Americans. By examining the works of these famous names in horror, Dauber reveals how horror serves as a mirror reflecting society's deepest fears and anxieties.

I am only recently, over the past five years or so, been a huge fan of the horror genre. Boiling down American Scary is exactly how I feel about horror. Americans are afraid of the unknown and stuff that is different than us as Americans. This fear is what the horror genre is built on and Dauber successfully gives us a history of this with his latest outstanding book.

Known for his insightful commentary on cultural history and literature, Dauber brings his expertise to bear in American Scary which even the most seasoned horror fan with get something from this book. Dauber has a knack for engaging narrative storytelling with meticulous research, and insightful analysis, giving us a comprehensive look at how fear has permeated every aspect of American culture. American Scary is for those who grew up celebrating the horror and those new to genre.

Came to this by way of the author's previous book "American Comics: A History". This title is a remarkably detailed history of horror from Colonial times to the present. It covers a lot of ground, and picks up the pace as you move towards the 20th century. The horrors of history give way to more pop culture analysis of major films, television, and other popular media forms of horror entertainment. The work is a nice compliment to W. Scott Poole's works "Wastelands" and "Dark Carnivals"

Exhaustive, occasionally exhausting, but, ultimately, a winner this book looks at the history of horror (in media/entertainment, not in, like a psychological sense, exactly, but, well, I don’t know, a little?) in the United States from colonial times to the present. So that is a lot to cover. A LOT.

I learned some small bits of history that I didn’t know, including a story about the execution of a slave that is never, ever going to leave my mind. And the state of Florida (and other states) think we need LESS of that history. No, my friends, the only way to be sure that these things don’t happen again is to make sure we TEACH things like this. A digression, but I grew up in the South, attended public schools, went to a good college, have a law degree from a top twenty school. Know when I learned about the Tulsa Massacre? WHEN I WENT TO TULSA. In my forties. But I would have read about it here, so there’s that.

I won’t lie, early on this was a bit of a slog for me; I felt like I was reading a textbook and it felt like more history than discussion of horror. I kept rewarding myself every time I would get through another ten pages. Ten pages. But things really picked up once we reached the 20th century.

The book seems incredibly thorough to me, covering literature, film, TV, radio and computer games (although gamers might disagree.) Some might quibble and say, “Well, what about H. Lutegrass Hobble and his seminal 1914 tale “They Came in Through the Outhouse Slats?”” but I’m not a scholar like that. I couldn’t think of one thing I thought would be included that wasn’t.

The author notes that, overall, Americans, like people all over the world, are afraid of the unknown, but that Americans are also fearful of people who are different from them, the “other,” and they are particularly afraid when they see that class of “others” undergoing a change. So, men were always afraid of women, but when women started to gain more autonomy that fear became heightened. The public was always fearful of Black people but when the slaves were emancipated and when civil rights legislation took hold those fears were enhanced, and in and on, forever and ever, world without end.

If you love horror, really really love it, and this sounds interesting to you, you probably won’t be sorry you read it. It’s not for everyone, but it’s really well done.