I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. It may be my favorite book of the year. It is an indepth examination of Horror as it pertains to the American experience. It starts off at the very beginning of American life at the revolution and ends today. It is one of the best academic looks at this often overlooked and underestimated genre.

I am so thankful to Algonquin Books, Jeremy Dauber, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this galley before publication day. I really enjoyed the dialogue and plot of this book and can’t wait to chat this one up with my friends!

American Scary is offers a comprehensive history of the horror genre (both fictional and nonfiction) in American culture, from the colonial era through the present day. This book traces the various cultural anxieties (various wars, moral panics, and violences of colonialism) that inform narrative trends (haunted houses, monster movies, witch stories of all kinds) and the arrival of new media (radio, television, and so on). I appreciated the detailed attention to the various trends in the genre, particularly in how recurring motifs, characters, and story types developed and changed over time and across media. I also appreciated the comprehensive focus on relevant examples. However, as the media landscape grew more densely populated by the 20th century, the list of examples became somewhat overwhelming, diluting the argumentative throughline. By the second half of the book, I often found myself wishing for more information on particular examples that intrigued me. I would also struggle to trace the argumentative connections between the different subtrends over time.

I appreciate this book as a one-stop source to identify the social anxieties reflected in the horror genre. While the argument gets diluted at points, this book operates as a comprehensive—if somewhat overwhelmingly detailed—overview.

Good for fans of:
A Season with the Witch by J.W. Ocker
Horror for Weenies by Emily C. Hughes
Ghostland by Colin Dickey

If you are interested in the cultural relevance and history of scary stories in America, you should check this book out. The writing style is accessible and humorous, and Dauber covers a huge swath of film, literature, and cultural history. It's a broad popular history book, and a good choice for spooky season if you aren't really down to be scared but you want to be lightly spooked.

My cons are that it was a little too long and my attention waxed and waned over time. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

My thanks to Algonquin Books for an early copy in exchange for my honest review!

It helps to have as broad a definition as possible for the genre when diving into AMERICAN SCARY, Jeremy Dauber’s history of horror. Yes, Stephen King and H. P. Lovecraft are here, as are Universal Pictures’ classic monsters. But Dauber casts his net wide, finding room to discuss films as varied as VERTIGO, WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, and classic noirs without making them feel like detours. He also doesn’t shy away from politics, tying his thorough chronicle of the field into America’s history of slavery and immigration. It’s a fun, lively piece of work, with Dauber covering an impressive amount of terrain while keeping things fun. (I can’t fault anyone who correctly summarizes Herschell Gordon Lewis’s 1964 gorefest TWO THOUSAND MANIACS! as BRIGADOON meets BIRTH OF A NATION.) He’s as adept discussing modern horror film like GET OUT and IT FOLLOWS as he is fiction, highlighting the work of authors like Joe R. Lansdale, Sara Gran, and Tananarive Due. At times challenging, always engaging.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This is a cumbersome but interesting book. Filled with historical facts and information from true crime and fictional. Definitely more geared toward someone interested in a more detailed history of the genre and not for someone looked for a light read.
I very much enjoyed it and it covered so much.

If you can manage to work Washington Irving and Buffy the Vampire Slayer into the same piece of nonfiction, you have my full attention.

This is a very dense but also very readable compendium of the history of American horror, and exceptionally completist in a good way.

If you’ve got a solid background in history and literature, most of the content in the early chapters won’t come as a surprise to you, though Dauber’s thoughts on it are still worth hearing even if the information is a bit basic.

The latter parts felt more like new information, especially with regard to some of the film criticism and social history informing horror films. There’s some overlap between this and Horror for Weenies, though the tone is very different.

I struggled a bit in the early-middle parts of the book, largely because the civil war stuff is more theory than criticism of actual content, which I didn’t love. Other than that, no complaints. Thoroughly researched, thoughtful, and well-paced.

American Scary by Jonathan Dauber is a great compendium on things that we fear from True Crime to scary movies to scary books and everything in between. He went back to the americas beginning with the first murder trial the witch hunt in Salem Oregon to yellow journalism Edgar Allan Poe Jonathan peel and everything in between. Even the things I knew nothing about only added to my TBR pile on my TV W Netflix account but ultimately I was very surprised at all the stuff I knew about the things I didn’t know about it I know this review is vague just know there’s too much in this book because it is very long to give a complete and total review this is a great book that I absolutely enjoyed and thought I would never finish but I did… Yay me! #NetGalley,#AlgonquinBooks, #JonathanDauber, #AmericanScary,

I was ready for a history lesson, not a lesson in literary criticism.

That may seem harsh, but for a reader like me who likes to read nonfiction for entertainment, asking me to read nearly 500 pages of text that reads as dry and flat as any textbook I read in college is asking a bit too much. I feel that’s even more applicable for me personally when it comes to the horror genre, which is my favorite movie genre and one of my top literary genres.

American Scary is very interesting, full of historical facts, figures, and events that influenced the horror genre tracing back to the 17th century in both Europe and in North America (since colonialism was all the rage back then). The book is well-researched and has an ample bibliography that’s obviously well-sourced. This is no slip-shod job, but it’s not going to be a book for every casual nonfiction reader. It’s very dense, packed with information, and the first third of the book may feel irrelevant to readers who don’t have an interest in horror that’s only literary in origin.

If you really enjoy in-depth examination of a genre or love a true examination of how history and art influencer one another over time, then this would be a great read for you.

I was provided a copy of the digital ARC of this title by the author and the publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thanks also to the author and Algonquin Books for providing me with a copy of the physical ARC via their influencer program without expectation of review, positive or negative. All reviews rated three stars or lower will not appear on my social media. Thank you.

File Under: History/Nonfiction

As a relatively new convert to horror (I spent most of my life terrified of the genre and only engaging with it when I was pressured into it), I read an advanced copy of American Scary with great interest. Even though I was expecting more of a breezy, commercial read, I appreciated the depth in which Dauber explored this topic. It's fascinating and well researched.

I'll be honest - I did not expect a full-on history book. This book literally covers the history of scary in America before there even was an America. In a tone that alternates between scholarly treatise and colloquial conversation, the book covers the history of the scary story - across myriad formats and genres - and does so in a way that I cannot imagine being more thorough. As a result it is a bit of a tricky read, unless you are simultaneously a gigantic history buff and a gigantic oddities and facts buff and a gigantic horror buff. I enjoy all of those things but I'm not really a buff about any of them let alone all three, so reading for any length of time occasionally felt like a slog.

The level of detail and reference and citation and quotation is very intense. That's not to say I didn't find it interesting, because I did, just that it felt more like a reference book a lot of the time than a piece of narrative nonfiction. Things definitely picked up the pace as it moved into the modern era, and it did feel a little easier to read at that point. All in all it's a fantastic book that provides a really in-depth look at the subject - it just takes a while to get through it all ...

September is finally here and even though it’s still hot here I can detect a hint of 🍂 autumn 🍂in the air. It also means it is officially spooky season. I was lucky enough to receive this gifted copy of American Scary from @novelsuspects and @algonquinbooks and it was my most recent read and got me in the mood for spooky season. It also gave me a great deal of insight that will no doubt cause me to look at the books I read and the movies I watch differently and with a new depth of understanding.
Jeremy Dauber’s American Scary is an in-depth look at the history of horror in America. It asks the question what scares us and then ties it to the cultural landscape of the United States. It begins with colonial times and the hardships early settler faced, the witch trials and even into folk tales told by slaves. It looks in depth at the evolution of horror literature- from Lovecraft to Jackson to King. And of course there is horror in film. The eerie suspense films of Hitchcock to the cultural horror of Jordan Peele, it is all covered in this outstanding book.
I really enjoyed this book. It is not a quick read simply because it is packed with so much information, but I was glued to the pages throughout. I loved that in addition to being a history of the horror genre, it is also a cultural history of the United States. The way Dauber intertwines the two is fascinating. Hernandez dives deeply into the dark and ugly parts of our nation’s past and exposes our shame and then ties it to our collective fears.
This was such an interesting book. Well researched and packed with history yet it never felt like a textbook. I could not stop reading it. If you love horror pick this book up immediately. It is also perfect for people that love history and cultural analysis. I imagine this is a book a will refer back to for many years.

A must for libraries, this is an interesting resource. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

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Jeremy Dauber continues his great books after American Comics with American Scary that now takes a look at the history of horror in America from Stephen King to Jordan Peele.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Algonquin Books for an advance copy of this book that looks at the cultural history of the genre of horror in American history drawing on all forms of media and history, and some unexpected sources.

People say you remember your first, but I don't remember what first drew me to horror stories. I assume Disney's Haunted Mansion, the one with Goofy, Donald and Mickey Mouse dealing with ghosts in a strange manor. But after that it becomes hazy. Comics lead me to science fiction and Star Wars, I read the Hobbit at a young age so that was fantasy. But horror, I knew I loved to be scared, but I don't know what the key point would be. In many ways I am like America in that different actions, different events have led to changes in what scares people. And that is true. I loved Universal Monsters, but new vampires, mummies and werewolves leave me cold. Halloween was a big thing at the time, Scream seemed to be ehh. Lovecraft I run hot and cold on. Stephen King's Night Shift is still the bellwether, the one book I remember every tale, and every feeling. America is a place of horrors, from government indifference, lack of health care, or this constant need to return to the past; children working in factories, races segregated, women just being breeding mares. These are the things that scare me now. And the reason why I loved this book. American Scary:A History of Horror, from Salem to Stephen King and Beyond by Jeremy Dauber is a cultural history of horror drawing on everything that is uniquely American, for in many ways the horror genre is just a reflection of the society around it.

The book begins in the early days of America where clashing cultures of native americans and colonists were meeting, greeting and fighting to survive. Many of the early stories of horror were stories of massacres colonists, told of course to other colonists, and tales of people living with the natives. Starting an early tradition of having fear for the other. Witch trials make an appearance as does early folktales from other cultures, mainly the stories told by black slaves, that seeped into the American conscious. Combined with the strong religious values that many colonists held, these two ideas could only clash. Slavery was also a large influence on the scary stories people read and shared. The idea of slave uprisings was used to entertain, and to keep a tighter grip on slaves. This idea of control continued up into the 20th century with ideas of the "Yellow Peril" and other tales of the other stealing women and children away. This continues to the present day with lots of examples from all media, films, poetry, books, plays, comics and much more.

A really fantastic work both about America and the genre of horror. The book is exhaustive, but not exhausting, as Dauber has a way of writing that makes the reading interesting, and adding lots of examples, and many that would not usually appear in a book on horror. I can not imagine the amount of research this book took, as so much is covered, and covered well. Stong film discussion, with mentions about comics, plays and television shows. The worst thing about reading a book like this is how much I have missed and need to track down. In addition to writing about the arts, this is a very good look at the cultural history of the United States, one that looks at a lot of ignored history, even marginalized history and presents it to readers. One learns as much about the shame of this country in many ways, as one learns about video nasties and lost authors.

A really wonderful book that readers of horror, and readers of history will both get much out of. One could see a very good documentary being made from this. A great gift also for role players as there are a lot of interesting ideas, and situations that could be adapted into games, especially in the Arkham games, or any role playing horror adventures. I know the author, Jeremy Dauber, has a book on comics, I am quite looking forward to reading that.

A perfect blend of entertainment and history for anyone who's looking for a thorough social history of horror as a genre in America. Despite its hefty length, I raced through reading this one because of the quality of writing and the comprehensive nature of the research and analysis. Cultural history and analysis at its finest. A great read for any horror fans in your life, or anyone who's interested how and why certain stories and tropes become classics. Fascinating and endlessly entertaining.

Jeremy Dauber does to the horror genre with American Scary what he did to the comic book world with American Comics. The author exhaustingly researched the genre and gives us a definitive history of what scares Americans.

American Scary takes us to the startling origins of the horror genre in the United States, drawing a surprising through-line between the lingering influence of the European Gothic, the enslaved insurrection tales propagated by slaveholders, and the apocryphal chronicles of colonial settlers kidnapped by Native Americans, among many others.

These foundational narratives give rise to and are influenced by the body of work we more closely associate with horror: the weird fiction of HP Lovecraft, the lingering stories of Shirley Jackson, the unsettling films of Alfred Hitchcock, the up-all-night tales of Stephen King, and the gripping critiques of Jordan Peele.

From The Tell-Tale Heart to M3gan, we begin to see why the horror genre is the perfect prism through which to view America’s past and present. With the extraordinary historical breadth and dexterous weave of insight and style that has made him twice a finalist for the National Jewish Book, Dauber makes the haunting case that horror reveals the true depths of the American mind.

Jeremy Dauber is known for not leaving any stone unturned with researching and writing his books. Through his meticulous research and storytelling, Dauber gives us a book that teaches and engages us in the rich tapestry of American horror from books, movies, television plus even radio and computer games. We fell in love with his ability to shed light on the history the world of comics and now he tells all about the history of the horror genre.

As we read American Scary we learned so much about the horror genre and how key names have left their mark on horror. Dauber expertly connects the dots between influential creators and their contributions to American horror as well how historical moments have influenced what scares us as Americans. By examining the works of these famous names in horror, Dauber reveals how horror serves as a mirror reflecting society's deepest fears and anxieties.

I am only recently, over the past five years or so, been a huge fan of the horror genre. Boiling down American Scary is exactly how I feel about horror. Americans are afraid of the unknown and stuff that is different than us as Americans. This fear is what the horror genre is built on and Dauber successfully gives us a history of this with his latest outstanding book.

Known for his insightful commentary on cultural history and literature, Dauber brings his expertise to bear in American Scary which even the most seasoned horror fan with get something from this book. Dauber has a knack for engaging narrative storytelling with meticulous research, and insightful analysis, giving us a comprehensive look at how fear has permeated every aspect of American culture. American Scary is for those who grew up celebrating the horror and those new to genre.

Came to this by way of the author's previous book "American Comics: A History". This title is a remarkably detailed history of horror from Colonial times to the present. It covers a lot of ground, and picks up the pace as you move towards the 20th century. The horrors of history give way to more pop culture analysis of major films, television, and other popular media forms of horror entertainment. The work is a nice compliment to W. Scott Poole's works "Wastelands" and "Dark Carnivals"

Exhaustive, occasionally exhausting, but, ultimately, a winner this book looks at the history of horror (in media/entertainment, not in, like a psychological sense, exactly, but, well, I don’t know, a little?) in the United States from colonial times to the present. So that is a lot to cover. A LOT.

I learned some small bits of history that I didn’t know, including a story about the execution of a slave that is never, ever going to leave my mind. And the state of Florida (and other states) think we need LESS of that history. No, my friends, the only way to be sure that these things don’t happen again is to make sure we TEACH things like this. A digression, but I grew up in the South, attended public schools, went to a good college, have a law degree from a top twenty school. Know when I learned about the Tulsa Massacre? WHEN I WENT TO TULSA. In my forties. But I would have read about it here, so there’s that.

I won’t lie, early on this was a bit of a slog for me; I felt like I was reading a textbook and it felt like more history than discussion of horror. I kept rewarding myself every time I would get through another ten pages. Ten pages. But things really picked up once we reached the 20th century.

The book seems incredibly thorough to me, covering literature, film, TV, radio and computer games (although gamers might disagree.) Some might quibble and say, “Well, what about H. Lutegrass Hobble and his seminal 1914 tale “They Came in Through the Outhouse Slats?”” but I’m not a scholar like that. I couldn’t think of one thing I thought would be included that wasn’t.

The author notes that, overall, Americans, like people all over the world, are afraid of the unknown, but that Americans are also fearful of people who are different from them, the “other,” and they are particularly afraid when they see that class of “others” undergoing a change. So, men were always afraid of women, but when women started to gain more autonomy that fear became heightened. The public was always fearful of Black people but when the slaves were emancipated and when civil rights legislation took hold those fears were enhanced, and in and on, forever and ever, world without end.

If you love horror, really really love it, and this sounds interesting to you, you probably won’t be sorry you read it. It’s not for everyone, but it’s really well done.