Happy Goat Horror

It’s not an overstatement to say that my entire life revolves around horror. It’s my longest-running, deepest love, and I will never ever tire of it. As I write this, I’m facing my horror DVD shelves (don’t come at me – I love physical media, especially when it comes with all the behind-the-scenes extra features!), a giant xenomorph canvas is grinning down at me, and a life-size critter is watching me from the corner. Also, if any of you can tell me where to get a life-size, full-body gremlin, I’d be most grateful.

It should come as no surprise that when I fancy doing something a bit different with my spare time than consuming horror fiction, I turn to horror non-fiction. So, here you go – a selection of my Top 10 favourite non-fiction horror reads. You’ll find here a mix of behind-the-scenes material, glossy picture books, academic texts, and collected articles. I hope there’s something here that tickles your screeching pickle.

….. I don’t know why I said that. Anyway! In no particular order….

I’ve put both of Kit Power’s ‘My Life in Horror’ volumes in one spot just to avoid taking up two places with them. If you’re not familiar with Kit’s article series (previously on Gingernuts of Horror), then where have you been? Despite all his fiction, his essays, and his podcasting, I don’t think that Kit Power is actually aware of how much he actually contributes to the indie horror space. I love his non-fiction as much as his fiction (and I love his fiction A LOT). He talks about horror with a sincere love and curiosity about the genre and writes about it in such a captivating way. ‘My Life in Horror’ I find particularly enjoyable because contained in these essays are the things that shaped him as far as his horror interests go, and a lot of the time the subject is a surprise, considering where the conclusion goes.

Nerd alert, nerd alert. It’s me, the nerd with horror academia. God, do I love essays. This mesmerising dive into Japanese horror films does an excellent job of contrasting them with their American remakes, gives us some history on the cultural significance of how ghosts are interpreted in Japan, cultural idealogies, social anxiety, set and ghost design… the list goes on. If this is a subject that interests you, I honestly don’t think you can do better than this book.

This is more academia for those interested in audio horror and its history. Richard J. Hand is one of the greatest teachers I have ever had the fortune to learn from, and for as long as I’ve known him, I’ve admired his absolute love (and apparently endless knowledge) of the genre. This book takes us through horror radio through the decades, British horror in particular, how audio drama has adapted, etc. As a side note, I have to tell you that if you’re someone who wants to study something horror related for a PhD and you’re struggling to find a tutor who’ll take you seriously because people are sooooo snobby about horror, Professor Hand is your dude. I swear, he knows everything.

This is the last academic book on the list, I swear! ‘Better Off Dead’ is a collection of essays written by people who love zombies almost as much as I do, but are far smarter than I am. I learned so much from this book and used it for my BA dissertation (because it was about The Walking Dead, of course). It offers perspectives on the cinematic evolution of zombies, contains wonderful zombie archetype history, and puts the nature of death in a social context. I love zombies. I really really love zombies.

For those who enjoy horror movie soundtracks and are interested in the work that goes into composing them, here are two delightful volumes of ‘Scored to Death’. I bought the first one on a whim because I saw an ad for it in The Walking Dead magazine. I had buyer’s remorse before it even arrived because I have no musical talent and know absolutely nothing about music composition. However, I gambled because I listen to instrumental soundtracks when I read and write and was curious. It was perfect reading – it’s just a series of interviews with various composers (including people like John Carpenter, Bear McCreary, and Koji Endo), in which they talk about their creative process. Very accessible reading, and very interesting.

Is there a horror film fan that doesn’t know who Tom Savini is? I think not. We get his influences, his special effects background, behind-the-scenes creation information, some talk about his relationship with the industry and other people in it, his branch out into acting, and it contains gorgeous pictures.

Have I mentioned I love zombies? If you’re interested in the history and evolution of zombies but don’t fancy picking up the academic text I listed previously (I’ll admit I have to read those with a dictionary next to me sometimes), this might be a great alternative. It’s definitely more accessible reading and will take you all over the world whilst journeying through time. There’s also mention of novelists who dabble in zombies, as well as the focus on film. A great resource for any research, and a great read for any fellow zombiephiles.

OH MY GOD I JUST LOVE MIDNIGHT MASS. Obviously, it’s for fans of the show, as this breath taking book is a behind-the-scenes look at how the whole thing was created, from concept to final version. I’d say it would be of particular interest to anyone who studies film/television (or set design, scriptwriting, directing, etc). It’s also full of character information and fun little facts, and of course, absolutely beautiful photos.

John Carpenter is such a legend. I saw him in concert with a band once performing his soundtracks and it was honestly one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to. It’s basically a picture book by Kim Gottlieb-Walker with a walkthrough of John’s cinematic career from Kim’s perspective. It’s an eye-opening pleasure to read and perfect for a John Carpenter fan who likes offscreen tidbits.

This is possibly my absolute favourite. John Landis takes us through 100 illustrated years of horror cinema, and talks about everything from mad scientists to The Wizard of Oz. It’s divided into sections, each focusing on a particular type of horror (I think the section on vampires is my favourite!), and once again, it’s a book full of the most wonderful photographs. It also touches on animated monsters, which is a nice change as most of the books I own like this one tend to neglect cartoons. I could (and have, many times) spend hours and hours gazing at these pages.

Have I neglected something awesome, or do you have any recommendations for me? I’m always looking for more books like the ones I’ve listed here!