Introduction to Horror Fiction

Jack Torrance, an alcoholic and abusive father, moves his family into a hotel as he works as its off-season, winter caretaker. The hotel comes alive in more ways than one, beginning to have an effect on the family. Danny, Jack's son, has visions that no child could handle, and the hotel takes over. Published by Anchor Books.

Four visitors come to Hill House and soon encounter paranormal activity. The house becomes a character in its own right, creating a feeling of unease and terror in the reader as they wrestle with the complex relationships between visitor and house. Published by Penguin.

In her childhood, Miranda Silver developed pica, a rare eating disorder that causes its victims to consume inedible substances. As a teenager, her mother dies, which further exacerbates her condition. Miranda helps her father run the family bed-and-breakfast located in Dover, England, which has long been known for its hostility toward outsiders. The house begins to manifest maleficent actions towards its guests and unleashes its full powers. Published by Nan A. Talese.

Four childhood best friends from the Blackfeet Nation find themselves in a struggle against an entity that wants revenge for what they did during an elk hunt ten years ago. Published by Saga Press.

This book highlights the women who pioneered the horror genre, just as the title tells you! Part biography, part reader's guide, this is a great resource one can use to learn more about the women who helped define the genre (Mary Shelley, V.C. Andrews, Ann Radcliffe, and more). Published by Quirk Books.

This book is a collection of essays that explore not only the history of gothic literature but also the works of contemporary authors of horror, such as Stephen King and Richard Laymon. This book would be used for scholars looking to write papers about horror as a genre, and also could be used for those looking to trace the history of gothic literature to modern horror literature. The work provides a good framework for those looking to know more about horror fiction. Published by McFarland.

This book is a comprehensive history of horror fiction that takes readers from the first Gothic novel in 1764 to modern early 21st-century horror books. The book goes through the chronological history of the genre and how it has developed over the last few centuries. The topics examined include horror's roots in the Gothic tradition; the penny dreadful and sensation novels of Victorian England; 19th-century ghost stories; the horror book publishing boom of the 1980s (think Stephen King); and the ever-popular post-millennial zombie trend. In addition, leading experts on Gothic and horror fiction highlight the classics of the genre as well as new texts. Published by The British Library.