Me and this book have had a love/hate relationship. Although I do enjoy the author’s view of the horror genre, I’m not sure it was a good idea for her to take on the entire of burden of Horror Fiction. Judging by Wisker’s writing her focus is obviously in cultural and gender criticism and should probably stick to that. Although this book is labelled "An Introduction, " I feel that a lot is left out or overlooked and her repetition is beyond annoying. Overall I liked the chapter on criticism the most and found many usable quotes, so not all is lost.
This is a series of introductory books about different types of writing. One strand of the series focuses on genres such as science fiction, horror, romance, crime and the other focuses on movements or styles often associated with historical and cultural locations post-colonial, Native American, Scottish, Irish, American Gothic.Authors covered in this volume include William Peter Blatty, Ira Levine, BramStoker, Shirley Jackson, Angela Carter, Mary Shelley, Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Washington Irving.