Icons of Horror and the Supernatural: An Encyclopedia of Our Worst Nightmares (Hardcover)

From Booklist
In this collection of 24 essays analyzing major "icons" in the field of horror and supernatural literature, icons are defined as themes—"The Alien," "The Haunted House," "The Zombie." Chapters are arranged alphabetically, and each contains between 12,000 and 15,000 words tracing the roots of the icon in folklore and legend and its prevalence in media and popular culture today. Although the emphasis is on print fiction, movies, television, and role-playing games are mentioned. Radio is not included. Works for children and young people are covered, from the Bunniculaseries in the chapter on vampires to His Dark Materials. Surprisingly in a work that examines popular fiction, the Harry Potter series is barely mentioned in either the chapters on the sorcerer or the witch. Illustrations are small and confined to chapter headings, although there are many sidebars in each chapter, usually lists of films, books, or short stories. Each chapter has a bibliography that often includes a filmography and Internet resources. A general bibliography and index are contained in volume 2. The work is weakened by editorial errors. In the chapter "The Doppelganger," people "wreck havoc." A Gene Wolfe story is described as "creepy but ghost." Jerry Ahern and Sharon Ahern's novel Werewolves is spelled Werewolvess. Many similar errors should have been corrected. The index is incomplete, missing many items that are mentioned in the text. With a better index and fewer errors, this would have been easy to recommend, but as it is, it is recommended with strong reservations for larger public libraries as a readers'- and viewers'-advisory tool and for academic libraries with popular culture and literature classes. Stipek, Kathleen --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
“This two-volume work presents 12,000-15,000-word essays on 24 leading icons of horror and the supernatural as they first appeared in fiction and later in film, television, and other media. Distinguishing this collection are editor Joshi and the 20 hand-picked contributors chosen to write insightful entries on topics including "The Alien," "The Monster," "The Urban Horror," and "The Vampire." Joshi, a much-published authority on H. P. Lovecraft, contributed the entry on the American horror writer's "Cthulhu Mythos." A template for the work's other entries, Joshi's essay traces the various literary and cultural influences on Lovecraft's work while closely examining the author's key stories and novellas and their influence on other writers who expanded the so-called myth of "gods from other worlds." Also discussed are various media spin-offs, with each entry containing sidebars featuring lists of important literary works. Primary and secondary bibliographies of books, articles, and Web sites are also offered. This work is a definitive, absolutely indispensable starting