American Nightmares: The Haunted House Formula in American Popular Fiction (Hardcover)

by Dale Bailey (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Bailey traces the haunted house tale from its origins in English gothic fiction to the paperback potboilers of the present, highlighting the unique significance of the house in the domestic, economic, and social ideologies of our nation. In the hands of the best gothic writers, Bailey concludes, the haunted house has become a powerful and profoundly subversive symbol of everything that has gone nightmarishly awry in the American Dream.

About the Author
Dale Bailey teaches at the University of Tennessee. His short fiction, nominated for the Nebula Award by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Amazing Stories, The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, The Best from Fantasy & Science Fiction, and elsewhere.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 156 pages
• Publisher: Popular Press 1; 1 edition (June 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879727896
• ISBN-13: 978-0879727895
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #701,275 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a highly readable critique of the haunted house tale, June 25, 1999

By	Jack Slay (LaGrange, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Bailey writes as you wish all academicians wrote (most, unfortunately, write tortured prose convulsing in theory, all scribbling madly toward tenure); Bailey is a much-needed exception: his prose is accessible; his criticism insightful; his observations often humorous. Dig this penetrating summation of Poe: "...three-fifths genius and two-fifths sheer fudge, that raving lunatic of American letters, that drunken pedophile dying in his Baltimore ditch." American Nightmares is a keen examination of the haunted house story and how it is inherently an American tale, how it is, in fact, a direct and dire result of our everyday obsessions with the American Dream. Bailey takes obvious delight in examining such pop icons as The Haunting of Hill House, The Amityville Horror, Burnt Offerings, and The Shining (and as he does, you can almost hear the wailings and gnashings of teeth from ivory towers across the country). In short, this book is a highly readable, vastly entertaining pop culture manifesto. It's a must-read for any horror aficionado, highly recommended for anyone interested in American lit, and suggested for all entertained by good prose and refreshing insight.