Horrors!

by Drake Douglas

Book by Douglas, Drake

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror, Film

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Pseudonym of Werner Zimmerman.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a second edition originally published in the sixties. "Horrors"
is divided into sections headed Vampire, Werewolf, The Monster, The Undead, etc. In each of these, Douglas talks about the origin of these creatures from literature and legend, then delves into the cinematic results. Each chapter begins and ends with a "once long ago story", setting up the reader's imagination for the chapters that follow.

Douglas is passionate about the subject of classic horror-and it shows. "Horrors" is an affectionate look back at the characters that still inspire us today.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

For genre fans, this book is a godsend. Each chapter, named for the entity it's discussing (vampires, werewolves, etc.) begins and ends with an atmospheric description of a scene familiar to that entity. In between the chapter delves into every aspect -- history, art, literature and film. Originally published in 1966, this edition have an additional chapter devoted to the writings of H.G. Lovecraft. Maybe my favorite horror/fantasy book ever.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author did a revised edition of his work in 1989, the one I read. Yes, there is a dark side in every one of us and Drake Douglas shows us the major protagonists of our fears. You'll see many fine black and white photos of the vampire, the werewolf, the monster (Frankenstein), the mummy, the walking dead, the schizophrenic (Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde), the phantom (of the opera), the hunchback (of notre dame). The main part is on classic movies but we also hear about the main creators of horror, here Poe, Lovecraft and Machen. The book closes with a further reading and a film list. Nothing new under the sun here but a solid overview of horror from the classic heydays. Recommended!

[Tim Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a bit dated, I first read it back in late 1960's, but it can be considered a proverbial "seminal work" in the horror culture/entertainment study genre. I keep it as an old friend that was there for me when I first started seriously looking at the horror field.