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Sleeping With the Lights on: The Unsettling Story of Horror
It's four in the morning and the lights are on. There's no way we're going to sleep, not after the film we just saw. Fear is one of the most primal human emotions, and one of the hardest to reason with and dispel. So why do we scare ourselves? It seems almost mad that we would frighten ourselves for fun, and yet there are thousands of books, films, and games designed to do exactly that.
As Darryl Jones shows in Sleeping with the Lights On, the horror genre is vast, ranging from vampires, ghosts, and werewolves to mad scientists, Satanists, and deranged serial killers. The cathartic release of scaring ourselves has made its appearance everywhere from Shakespearean tragedies to internet memes. Exploring the key tropes of the genre, including its monsters, its psychological chills, and its love affair with the macabre, Jones explains why horror stories disturb us, and how society responds to literary and film representations of the gruesome and taboo. Should the enjoyment of horror be regarded with suspicion? What kind of a distinction should we make between the commonly reviled carnage of the contemporary horror genre and the culturally acceptable bloodbaths of ancient Greek tragedies?
Analyzing how horror has been used throughout history to articulate the fears and taboos of the current generation, Jones considers the continuing evolution of the genre today. As horror is marketed to mainstream society in the form of romantic vampires and blockbuster hits, it maintains its shadowy presence on the edges of respectability, as banned films and violent Internet phenomena push us to question both our own preconceptions and the terrifying capacity of human nature.
As Darryl Jones shows in Sleeping with the Lights On, the horror genre is vast, ranging from vampires, ghosts, and werewolves to mad scientists, Satanists, and deranged serial killers. The cathartic release of scaring ourselves has made its appearance everywhere from Shakespearean tragedies to internet memes. Exploring the key tropes of the genre, including its monsters, its psychological chills, and its love affair with the macabre, Jones explains why horror stories disturb us, and how society responds to literary and film representations of the gruesome and taboo. Should the enjoyment of horror be regarded with suspicion? What kind of a distinction should we make between the commonly reviled carnage of the contemporary horror genre and the culturally acceptable bloodbaths of ancient Greek tragedies?
Analyzing how horror has been used throughout history to articulate the fears and taboos of the current generation, Jones considers the continuing evolution of the genre today. As horror is marketed to mainstream society in the form of romantic vampires and blockbuster hits, it maintains its shadowy presence on the edges of respectability, as banned films and violent Internet phenomena push us to question both our own preconceptions and the terrifying capacity of human nature.
- GenresHorrorNonfictionWriting
208 pages, Hardcover
First published October 11, 2018
12 people are currently reading
500 people want to read
About the author
Darryl Jones
12 books7 followersProfessor of English and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Trinity College Dublin
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
July 23, 2018
He estado en una racha de leer libros relacionados con el horror, pero más tirando hacia la no ficción. "Sleeping with the Lights on" entra precisamente en esa categoría: un libro de ensayos que reflexionan sobre el horror en sus diferentes vertientes.
La introducción es GENIAL. Nunca me había topado con un autor que desglosara con tal claridad la diferencia entre horror y terror, pero también entre gótico, weird y "uncanny". Los capítulos se dividen entre varias de las manifestaciones en las que consumimos el horror hoy en día, el horror y los monstruos, el horror del cuerpo (body horror), el horror y lo sobrenatural, el horror y la ciencia, etc.
En cada uno de ellos hay reflexiones muy pertinentes sobre cómo ha ido evolucionando el género. Del mismo modo, el autor reflexiona sobre cómo nos encontramos en una era en la que se produce mucho "unhorror", es decir, historias que tienen los elementos formulaicos del horror pero que no consiguen provocarnos el más mínimo sobresalto. De acuerdo a Jones, esto no tiene tanto que ver con que se repitan las fórmulas sino con que el horror ha dejado de politizarse, de transgredir, romper paradigmas y -en los mejores casos- hacer que te cuestiones tu lugar en el universo. Ahora lo único que importa es el marketing y vaya que se ha demostrado que el horror vende... el éxito comercial de IT (2017) lo dejó en claro.
A pesar de que el autor es un académico, el libro está escrito para que cualquier público pueda leerlo y darse una empapada de muchos temas interesantes e hitos que han marcado al horror. Le doy 4 estrellas porque el capítulo que habla de lo sobrentaural me paració un poco flojo, así como la reflexión sobre el folk horror que fue algo escueta y la cual me hubiera gustado que se profundizara más. Sin embargo esta es una lectura excelente para cualquier amante del género.
La introducción es GENIAL. Nunca me había topado con un autor que desglosara con tal claridad la diferencia entre horror y terror, pero también entre gótico, weird y "uncanny". Los capítulos se dividen entre varias de las manifestaciones en las que consumimos el horror hoy en día, el horror y los monstruos, el horror del cuerpo (body horror), el horror y lo sobrenatural, el horror y la ciencia, etc.
En cada uno de ellos hay reflexiones muy pertinentes sobre cómo ha ido evolucionando el género. Del mismo modo, el autor reflexiona sobre cómo nos encontramos en una era en la que se produce mucho "unhorror", es decir, historias que tienen los elementos formulaicos del horror pero que no consiguen provocarnos el más mínimo sobresalto. De acuerdo a Jones, esto no tiene tanto que ver con que se repitan las fórmulas sino con que el horror ha dejado de politizarse, de transgredir, romper paradigmas y -en los mejores casos- hacer que te cuestiones tu lugar en el universo. Ahora lo único que importa es el marketing y vaya que se ha demostrado que el horror vende... el éxito comercial de IT (2017) lo dejó en claro.
A pesar de que el autor es un académico, el libro está escrito para que cualquier público pueda leerlo y darse una empapada de muchos temas interesantes e hitos que han marcado al horror. Le doy 4 estrellas porque el capítulo que habla de lo sobrentaural me paració un poco flojo, así como la reflexión sobre el folk horror que fue algo escueta y la cual me hubiera gustado que se profundizara más. Sin embargo esta es una lectura excelente para cualquier amante del género.
November 29, 2021
Suele ser habitual que cuando un tema te apasiona no dejas de buscar información acerca de todo lo relativo a él. A pesar de que creas tener conocimientos suficientes como para entender los entresijos de un género tan particular como el terror, de que repitas hasta la saciedad conceptos ya manidos que asimilas como propios o que enumeras entre tus lecturas todo tipo de criaturas sobrenaturales distinguiendo entre ellas sus orígenes, influencias y derivaciones…te gusta seguir aprendiendo hasta el punto de comprar un libro tan específico como este.
La inquietante historia del horror aborda todos esos conceptos de una manera sencilla, permitiendo a las personas que quieran ir más allá a la hora de leer del género que tanto les gusta asimilar conceptos que se sienten familiares como lo siniestro, lo extraño, las diferencias entre terror y horror y todo tipo de detalles que, si bien no influyen a la hora de disfrutar de sus historias, sí que ayudan a enmarcar su validez. Por otro lado, el ensayo hace un repaso sencillo del origen de todas esas criaturas y monstruos que tanto nos gustan, ya sean sobrenaturales o enraizadas en todos esos laberintos que dan un cierto sentido a la cordura. Desde los orígenes de las historias de vampiros a las que caracterizan a esos seres extraños de bata blanca encerrados en un laboratorio, fantasmas, dobles, licántropos y demás criaturas de la noche, mostrando ejemplos tanto literarios como audiovisuales que ha ido aterrando a los amantes del terror a lo largo de los años.
Todo eso convierte a esta obra en un pequeño manual de referencia en el que poder consultar todos esos conceptos sin querer complicarse demasiado en reflexiones filosóficas ni sentencias pretensiosas, lo que convierte su lectura en un perfecto disfrute y, sobre todo, en una invitación a querer saber mucho más del tema. El tipo de lectura perfecta para compaginar con otras obras más densas y que , al fin y al cabo, uno no deja de disfrutar.
October 11, 2020
(3.5) Does for the horror genre what
Ghosts: A Haunted History
does for... well, ghosts, obviously. Jones looks at the foundations and meanings of horror media through the lens of five popular themes – monsters, the supernatural, the body, the mind, and science – bookended by the introduction's whistle-stop history of horror and the afterword, which deals with 'horror since the millennium'. Like Ghosts, the book doesn't go into immense detail about any of these topics, instead acting as a useful primer for those seeking a starting point. Little in the book was new to me, but it's clearly expressed, well-structured, and enjoyable to read. There's also a pleasingly straightforward bibliography to accompany each chapter.
TinyLetter | Linktree
TinyLetter | Linktree
October 31, 2018
Just when you thought it was safe...
Since I started reading more classic horror and revisiting some classic science fiction, I’ve come across Darryl Jones many times, as the editor of various anthologies and as the writer of entertaining and informative introductions for some of the Oxford World’s Classics series. So when I discovered he had written a book on the history of horror, I felt there could be no better guide to a genre in which I’ve dabbled but still don’t know well. Jones is Professor of English Literature and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Trinity College Dublin.
The book is deceptively small but it’s packed full of concentrated juicy goodness and, as I always find with Jones, written in an engaging and accessible style that avoids the tendency towards lit-crit jargonese so beloved of so many academic authors (and so hated by me).
It begins with a great introductory chapter that discusses how horror has been around since at least the beginning of written records. Jones then gives manageable definitions for all the terms used in describing horror literature – horror, terror, Gothic, uncanny, weird, etc., (a true boon for the struggling amateur reviewer!). He talks about how horror in popular culture reflects the anxieties of its time: fear of invasion, nuclear armageddon, climate change, etc. Along the way he cites zillions of examples from both books and film, and what I really loved about it is that the ones he cites are the popular and familiar ones, rather than obscure ones known only to specialists and hardcore fans. This meant that I had the pleasure of knowing enough of them to enhance my understanding of what he was saying, while at the same time adding loads more to my must-read/watch list. He gives a clear idea of where they fall on the spectrum, so that I found it easy to decide which ones would be too gruesome or graphic for my moderate tastes.
The following chapters are themed, again each packed full of examples. Starting with monsters, he discusses the origins of vampires and how they changed over time from aggrieved peasants into the aristocratic version of today, narcissistic, sexualised and romantic. Zombies originated as a response to plague fears, were later used as a commentary on slavery, and now, Jones suggests, as a response to extreme capitalism, especially after the crash.
Next up, he discusses the supernatural – ghosts and the Devil. I found this chapter particularly interesting as he discusses the modern (i.e. 19th century and on) rise of the ghost story as a response to the shock to the Victorian psyche brought about by Darwin’s evolutionary theories – a theme I’ve become aware of in so much writing of that era. Likewise, the modern surge in stories starring the Devil and his worshippers, he suggests, may have risen out of Catholic attempts to redefine evil for a modern age and of Protestant beliefs in impending apocalypse.
The next chapter looks at the use of the human body in horror, from werewolves and other forms of metamorphoses, through to pain, sadism and torture porn. Although this is the aspect of horror that appeals least to me – not at all, in fact – I still found the discussion interesting and was happy not to add too many new items to my to-be-read list.
Horror and the mind is much more my kind of thing again, and Jones takes us into a world of madness and asylums, with Poe’s succession of insane narrators leading the way. He discusses perceptions of madness and how they have changed over time – is madness a symptom of evil, or is it a social and political construct? He mentions the prevalence of highly-qualified fictional madmen and muses as to whether madness is seen as a symptom of intelligence or over-education. He talks about the double – for example, Jekyll and Hyde – and how this has been used to portray a fracturing of the individual. And he leads us on to the serial killer, perhaps a response to the terrors of the anonymity of suburbia and of fractured communities, leaving people vulnerable to victimhood.
No history of horror could be complete without the mad scientist. Jones takes us on a jaunt through the impact of Darwinism – Frankenstein, Dr Moreau, etc – and onto more modern iterations – the fear of nuclear holocaust, then evil machines, out-of-control androids and, most recently, the perils of artificial intelligence and the online age.
In his afterword, Jones looks at how horror is faring in the new millennium. Though he is critical of the tendency towards remakes of old classics, he gives many examples in both book and film of original horror arising from today’s concerns – the economic crash, the environment, the continuing racial divide in America, etc. He discusses the rise in popularity in the West of horror from Asia, particularly Japan and Korea, and hints that this is perhaps an indication of the beginning of the decline of American cultural domination. He finishes with a brief look at horror moving online, into podcasts and memes and creepypasta*– a word I had never before heard but am now determined to use at every opportunity.
(*Urbandictionary.com tells me that creepypasta are “essentially internet horror stories or a myth passed around other sites, to frighten readers and viewers”.
Overall, an excellent read – short enough to be approachable but with plenty of breadth and depth in the discussions. And with five million (approximately) titles for me to follow up on... isn’t that a truly horrifying thought?
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Oxford University Press.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Since I started reading more classic horror and revisiting some classic science fiction, I’ve come across Darryl Jones many times, as the editor of various anthologies and as the writer of entertaining and informative introductions for some of the Oxford World’s Classics series. So when I discovered he had written a book on the history of horror, I felt there could be no better guide to a genre in which I’ve dabbled but still don’t know well. Jones is Professor of English Literature and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Trinity College Dublin.
The book is deceptively small but it’s packed full of concentrated juicy goodness and, as I always find with Jones, written in an engaging and accessible style that avoids the tendency towards lit-crit jargonese so beloved of so many academic authors (and so hated by me).
It begins with a great introductory chapter that discusses how horror has been around since at least the beginning of written records. Jones then gives manageable definitions for all the terms used in describing horror literature – horror, terror, Gothic, uncanny, weird, etc., (a true boon for the struggling amateur reviewer!). He talks about how horror in popular culture reflects the anxieties of its time: fear of invasion, nuclear armageddon, climate change, etc. Along the way he cites zillions of examples from both books and film, and what I really loved about it is that the ones he cites are the popular and familiar ones, rather than obscure ones known only to specialists and hardcore fans. This meant that I had the pleasure of knowing enough of them to enhance my understanding of what he was saying, while at the same time adding loads more to my must-read/watch list. He gives a clear idea of where they fall on the spectrum, so that I found it easy to decide which ones would be too gruesome or graphic for my moderate tastes.
The following chapters are themed, again each packed full of examples. Starting with monsters, he discusses the origins of vampires and how they changed over time from aggrieved peasants into the aristocratic version of today, narcissistic, sexualised and romantic. Zombies originated as a response to plague fears, were later used as a commentary on slavery, and now, Jones suggests, as a response to extreme capitalism, especially after the crash.
Next up, he discusses the supernatural – ghosts and the Devil. I found this chapter particularly interesting as he discusses the modern (i.e. 19th century and on) rise of the ghost story as a response to the shock to the Victorian psyche brought about by Darwin’s evolutionary theories – a theme I’ve become aware of in so much writing of that era. Likewise, the modern surge in stories starring the Devil and his worshippers, he suggests, may have risen out of Catholic attempts to redefine evil for a modern age and of Protestant beliefs in impending apocalypse.
The next chapter looks at the use of the human body in horror, from werewolves and other forms of metamorphoses, through to pain, sadism and torture porn. Although this is the aspect of horror that appeals least to me – not at all, in fact – I still found the discussion interesting and was happy not to add too many new items to my to-be-read list.
Horror and the mind is much more my kind of thing again, and Jones takes us into a world of madness and asylums, with Poe’s succession of insane narrators leading the way. He discusses perceptions of madness and how they have changed over time – is madness a symptom of evil, or is it a social and political construct? He mentions the prevalence of highly-qualified fictional madmen and muses as to whether madness is seen as a symptom of intelligence or over-education. He talks about the double – for example, Jekyll and Hyde – and how this has been used to portray a fracturing of the individual. And he leads us on to the serial killer, perhaps a response to the terrors of the anonymity of suburbia and of fractured communities, leaving people vulnerable to victimhood.
No history of horror could be complete without the mad scientist. Jones takes us on a jaunt through the impact of Darwinism – Frankenstein, Dr Moreau, etc – and onto more modern iterations – the fear of nuclear holocaust, then evil machines, out-of-control androids and, most recently, the perils of artificial intelligence and the online age.
In his afterword, Jones looks at how horror is faring in the new millennium. Though he is critical of the tendency towards remakes of old classics, he gives many examples in both book and film of original horror arising from today’s concerns – the economic crash, the environment, the continuing racial divide in America, etc. He discusses the rise in popularity in the West of horror from Asia, particularly Japan and Korea, and hints that this is perhaps an indication of the beginning of the decline of American cultural domination. He finishes with a brief look at horror moving online, into podcasts and memes and creepypasta*– a word I had never before heard but am now determined to use at every opportunity.
(*Urbandictionary.com tells me that creepypasta are “essentially internet horror stories or a myth passed around other sites, to frighten readers and viewers”.
Overall, an excellent read – short enough to be approachable but with plenty of breadth and depth in the discussions. And with five million (approximately) titles for me to follow up on... isn’t that a truly horrifying thought?
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Oxford University Press.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
December 23, 2018
Darryl Jones has written on horror before, and it is always a (guilty) pleasure to read his work on the subject. I mention on my blog (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World) that he approached the subject in a way that I have also been developing. It's always validating to see that another approves of your method while, at the same time, embarrassing not to be the first to publication.
In any case in this book Jones traces the history of both literary and cinematic horror. He does so by dividing chapters into types of monster—vampires, zombies, psychopaths, mad scientists, and potential future developments. Every chapter contains some insight and is a combination of description and analysis. It is clear Jones knows the subject very well and has read widely in the literature and watched intensely at the theater.
Accessibly written, this is a fun book. The novelty cover (cutout of a light bulb) is clever, but makes for awkward handling. My fingers kept slipping through the cutout (it is a small format book) and I was afraid I'd tear the flyleaf. Otherwise it's a great book. I'm sure I'll come back to it as I read more on the topic.
In any case in this book Jones traces the history of both literary and cinematic horror. He does so by dividing chapters into types of monster—vampires, zombies, psychopaths, mad scientists, and potential future developments. Every chapter contains some insight and is a combination of description and analysis. It is clear Jones knows the subject very well and has read widely in the literature and watched intensely at the theater.
Accessibly written, this is a fun book. The novelty cover (cutout of a light bulb) is clever, but makes for awkward handling. My fingers kept slipping through the cutout (it is a small format book) and I was afraid I'd tear the flyleaf. Otherwise it's a great book. I'm sure I'll come back to it as I read more on the topic.
April 23, 2019
Oh dear! What started as a discourse on horror with the occasional lefty comment, by the end became a bizarre anti trump, anti white bashing exercise. WHY? This began as such a well written treatise on horror.
Then you find out his specialist field... social studies, a subject that prepares people to be offended by everything and work in Mcdonalds.
This would have been five star review if the author had stuck to his initial idea.
☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹
Then you find out his specialist field... social studies, a subject that prepares people to be offended by everything and work in Mcdonalds.
This would have been five star review if the author had stuck to his initial idea.
☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹
November 17, 2025
.
📚 La inquietante historia del horror
♂️ Darryl Jones
📱/📕eBiblio/Fisico
_________________________
⭐5⭐
Wow! WOW! Lloro eh! Con la joya que he encontrado. Lo que más me gusta es que os lo puedo recomendar como "novedad" porque yo no sé lo he visto reseñado y asi salimos un poco de los mismo libros de siempre.
Estaba yo "paseando" por ebiblio cuando me topé con este libro, me llamó su título, y oh amigxs me he encontrado uno de los ensayos más interesantes sobre terror que no os podéis imaginar.
Darryl Jones hace un estudio exhaustivo donde pretende llegar a conocer que significa del miedo y del terror para nosotros.
Analiza el terror desde los más recónditos orígenes en el cine la literatura y el pensamiento crítico hasta nuestros días, su evolución, su acogida por el público que amamos este género y qué significa para nosotros el miedo. Hubo capítulos extremadamente interesantes, como el desglose del ensayo de Freud «Lo siniestro», ha sido tal mi obsesión que me lo he leído directamente después de este (pronto reseña). También nombra a autores, como Maupassant, Lovecraft y su ensayo «El horror sobrenatural en la literatura» (lo tengo en casa y creo que pronto lo leeré) algunas de las novelas de King y otras curiosidades pintorescas sobre directores del género y su repercusión en la cultura pop.
Pero os estaréis preguntando, si lo encontraste en eBlibio, cómo es que lo tienes en físico, bueno pues porque lo devoré y lo compré en el momento de acabarlo porque lo necesitaba tener en mi colección.
Este año me he dado cuenta que disfruto mucho de los ensayos y libros de investigación sobre el género del terror, brujas o aspectos paranormales, a medida que vas leyendo vas descubriendo autorxs nuevxs y mzas libros. La verdad es que me encanta.
Si os queréis adentrar con los ensayos, pero que no sea muy abrumador con información y sea sencillo de leer, interesante y que os deja una sensación de haber aprendido algo, os lo recomiendo al 100%, no os va a decepcionar.
📚 La inquietante historia del horror
♂️ Darryl Jones
📱/📕eBiblio/Fisico
_________________________
⭐5⭐
Wow! WOW! Lloro eh! Con la joya que he encontrado. Lo que más me gusta es que os lo puedo recomendar como "novedad" porque yo no sé lo he visto reseñado y asi salimos un poco de los mismo libros de siempre.
Estaba yo "paseando" por ebiblio cuando me topé con este libro, me llamó su título, y oh amigxs me he encontrado uno de los ensayos más interesantes sobre terror que no os podéis imaginar.
Darryl Jones hace un estudio exhaustivo donde pretende llegar a conocer que significa del miedo y del terror para nosotros.
Analiza el terror desde los más recónditos orígenes en el cine la literatura y el pensamiento crítico hasta nuestros días, su evolución, su acogida por el público que amamos este género y qué significa para nosotros el miedo. Hubo capítulos extremadamente interesantes, como el desglose del ensayo de Freud «Lo siniestro», ha sido tal mi obsesión que me lo he leído directamente después de este (pronto reseña). También nombra a autores, como Maupassant, Lovecraft y su ensayo «El horror sobrenatural en la literatura» (lo tengo en casa y creo que pronto lo leeré) algunas de las novelas de King y otras curiosidades pintorescas sobre directores del género y su repercusión en la cultura pop.
Pero os estaréis preguntando, si lo encontraste en eBlibio, cómo es que lo tienes en físico, bueno pues porque lo devoré y lo compré en el momento de acabarlo porque lo necesitaba tener en mi colección.
Este año me he dado cuenta que disfruto mucho de los ensayos y libros de investigación sobre el género del terror, brujas o aspectos paranormales, a medida que vas leyendo vas descubriendo autorxs nuevxs y mzas libros. La verdad es que me encanta.
Si os queréis adentrar con los ensayos, pero que no sea muy abrumador con información y sea sencillo de leer, interesante y que os deja una sensación de haber aprendido algo, os lo recomiendo al 100%, no os va a decepcionar.
September 20, 2022
Me ha parecido muy interesante, pero eso sí muy breve, podría tener 1000 paginas y tranquilamente las hubiera leído.
September 30, 2018
Darryl Jones manages to pack in a lot of information into a short volume in Sleeping with the Lights On: The Unsettling Story of Horror. In his introduction, Jones describes the long tradition of depicting horrific scenes in the works of lore and literature from the earliest civilizations. He discusses the “catharsis” theory that posits that images of violence can vicariously fulfill people’s natural inclinations without requiring overt action. In contrast, current psychologists have hypothesized the idea that experiencing simulated violence can lead to an increase in equivalent behavior and acceptance. Jones uses the book to elaborate on his own idea that tales of horror are a way of testing limits and a reflection of the level of tolerance within a society. He clarifies the vocabulary of the genre and its subcategories, using examples from books, film, and podcasts. Jones demonstrates how humans may have common innate sources of anxiety and fear that span cultural differences, but that the form that these take varies over time and development. While some of our well-known external “monsters” have become iconic and have endured over time, other new ones have emerged due to advances in technology. Our increased knowledge about mental processes and illnesses has altered our understanding of non-normative behavior, leading to changes in how aberrant examples are perceived. Sleeping with the Lights On is concise and interesting, providing a nice overview to the history of horror and our underlying fascination with it. Jones also includes an appendix with additional resources for readers interested in more in-depth exploration. This is a great basic “primer” for a genre that is increasingly becoming accepted as a true art form.
July 25, 2019
Darryl jones is a very intellectual writer and has covered the horror genre to the T. From monsters to zombies this book covers it all and actually explains the reality of horror in current and oat climates. Very enjoyable book for anyone needing a deeper understanding of the horror genre
September 23, 2021
Muy entretenido y didáctico, pero poco profundo.
June 9, 2019
I have a devilishly good read for you all…
I am reviewing Sleeping with the Lights On: The Unsettling Story of Horror by Darryl Jones (2018, Oxford: Oxford University Press)
ISBN: 9780198826484
Darryl Jones’ Sleeping with the Lights On is a comprehensive study of the manifestation of horror within the world today. From budding romances between vampires, to the classic phenomenon of violence and gore, Jones explores the realms of the supernatural through the human psyche – why do we seek to scare ourselves? he asks, leading the way to understand why.
The introduction explains how, as a society, we are fascinated by the macabre, death, and horror. Culture persists that we crave the mystery and darkness of the taboo, amounting to numerous medias to supply the demand. Jones gives a chronological summary to the history of horror, giving infamous examples such as Macbeth, Cannibal Holocaust, and Eaten Alive. Jones then goes on to define and differentiate between Gothic, Horror, and Terror, and looks at the aesthetics and sensibilities that we as a society obsess over. The Uncanny and The Weird are also noted, along with popular anxieties, giving the text an inclusive timeline and overview of terms, specific texts, and themes of the genre.
Chapter one titled ‘Monsters’, investigates the classic monsters typical of Gothic horror. Jones looks at the concept of a vampire, yet focuses on how the vampire went from a frightening creature of the night in Dracula (1897) to a love-struck teenager in Twilight (2005). As Jones begins, “[w]ith Romantic writers such as Byron and Polidori, the vampire became, importantly, both sexualised and aristocratic, a demon lover, running riot across poetry, fiction, and the theatre of the nineteenth century right up to the single most important text in the history of horror, Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (p.39). Jones looks at how the vampire went from an upper-class sexualised being which haunted our nightmares into a teenage fiction marvel that created a new kind of young adult fiction. Zombies are also the other horror monster featured in this chapter. Again, mapping out the background to the monster and then bringing it into a contemporary view, Jones creates a detailed overview of the Zombie and its impact on horror fiction.
In chapter two titled ‘The Occult and the Supernatural’, Jones explains our obsession with everything dark and mysterious. From the spiritualist movement to believers in dark spells, this chapter focuses specifically on ‘The Devil’ and ‘Ghosts and Spirits.’ Jones says, “[m]any of our religions, our arts, our sciences, as well as our medicine, mathematics, and law, have their deep origins in magic. Sorcerers were the first professional class” (p.62).
Chapters three and four explore the concept of ‘Horror and the Body’ and ‘Horror and the Mind’. Jones looks at the hybrid body, including that of the werewolf, its origins, and its role in horror media in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first century. He explains, “[s]ometimes lycanthropy is [a] straight forward curse, a misfortune brought upon an innocent through sheer bad luck, or as a result of a family history over which they have no control. This remains a significant impetus for modern cinematic lycanthropy” (p.84). Following on from the concept of the body, Jones then studies the horror inside the mind, citing his arguments for those who are ‘madmen’, such as the many protagonists of Edgar Allan Poe. Jones also looks as the ‘psycho’ and ‘slashers’ AKA, the serial killer, and our attraction we have to all things murderous, such as the killer in Se7en (1995) to Michael Myers in Halloween (1978). In Jones’ final chapter, ‘Science and Horror’, we come to the formation of science fiction intertwined with the horror genre. From the figure of the Mad Scientist (think Dr Moreau in The Island of Dr Moreau, H. G. Wells, 1896) to the cinematic Frankenstein franchise (Bride of Frankenstein 1935, Son of Frankenstein 1939, Ghost of Frankenstein 1942 etc), one cannot underestimate the power of science within the horror genre, to which Jones focuses his argument on.
The afterword examines contemporary Horror, and the millennial concept of the genre, bringing Jones’ argument into the twenty-first century. From monsters to curses, taboo themes and murderous serial killers, the horror genre is incredibly popular today, perhaps even more so than when the blood thirsty beasts first entered our nightmares. Jones acknowledges that his text cannot amount to the ever-increasing power of the internet, yet his research not only acts as a map of horror, but ambitiously covers most of the notorious aspects of the genre, in both media and culture. His broad book covers all the areas one would expect a horror critique to contain, but also delves deeper into the macabre, something which is significant in today’s society. This text should not only be on every literature academic, but for anyone who is fascinated by the genre, either in book or film.
Thank you to Anna Gell from the Oxford University Press for my review copy of Sleeping with the Lights On.
ISBN: 9780198826484
Darryl Jones’ Sleeping with the Lights On is a comprehensive study of the manifestation of horror within the world today. From budding romances between vampires, to the classic phenomenon of violence and gore, Jones explores the realms of the supernatural through the human psyche – why do we seek to scare ourselves? he asks, leading the way to understand why.
The introduction explains how, as a society, we are fascinated by the macabre, death, and horror. Culture persists that we crave the mystery and darkness of the taboo, amounting to numerous medias to supply the demand. Jones gives a chronological summary to the history of horror, giving infamous examples such as Macbeth, Cannibal Holocaust, and Eaten Alive. Jones then goes on to define and differentiate between Gothic, Horror, and Terror, and looks at the aesthetics and sensibilities that we as a society obsess over. The Uncanny and The Weird are also noted, along with popular anxieties, giving the text an inclusive timeline and overview of terms, specific texts, and themes of the genre.
Chapter one titled ‘Monsters’, investigates the classic monsters typical of Gothic horror. Jones looks at the concept of a vampire, yet focuses on how the vampire went from a frightening creature of the night in Dracula (1897) to a love-struck teenager in Twilight (2005). As Jones begins, “[w]ith Romantic writers such as Byron and Polidori, the vampire became, importantly, both sexualised and aristocratic, a demon lover, running riot across poetry, fiction, and the theatre of the nineteenth century right up to the single most important text in the history of horror, Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (p.39). Jones looks at how the vampire went from an upper-class sexualised being which haunted our nightmares into a teenage fiction marvel that created a new kind of young adult fiction. Zombies are also the other horror monster featured in this chapter. Again, mapping out the background to the monster and then bringing it into a contemporary view, Jones creates a detailed overview of the Zombie and its impact on horror fiction.
In chapter two titled ‘The Occult and the Supernatural’, Jones explains our obsession with everything dark and mysterious. From the spiritualist movement to believers in dark spells, this chapter focuses specifically on ‘The Devil’ and ‘Ghosts and Spirits.’ Jones says, “[m]any of our religions, our arts, our sciences, as well as our medicine, mathematics, and law, have their deep origins in magic. Sorcerers were the first professional class” (p.62).
Chapters three and four explore the concept of ‘Horror and the Body’ and ‘Horror and the Mind’. Jones looks at the hybrid body, including that of the werewolf, its origins, and its role in horror media in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first century. He explains, “[s]ometimes lycanthropy is [a] straight forward curse, a misfortune brought upon an innocent through sheer bad luck, or as a result of a family history over which they have no control. This remains a significant impetus for modern cinematic lycanthropy” (p.84). Following on from the concept of the body, Jones then studies the horror inside the mind, citing his arguments for those who are ‘madmen’, such as the many protagonists of Edgar Allan Poe. Jones also looks as the ‘psycho’ and ‘slashers’ AKA, the serial killer, and our attraction we have to all things murderous, such as the killer in Se7en (1995) to Michael Myers in Halloween (1978). In Jones’ final chapter, ‘Science and Horror’, we come to the formation of science fiction intertwined with the horror genre. From the figure of the Mad Scientist (think Dr Moreau in The Island of Dr Moreau, H. G. Wells, 1896) to the cinematic Frankenstein franchise (Bride of Frankenstein 1935, Son of Frankenstein 1939, Ghost of Frankenstein 1942 etc), one cannot underestimate the power of science within the horror genre, to which Jones focuses his argument on.
The afterword examines contemporary Horror, and the millennial concept of the genre, bringing Jones’ argument into the twenty-first century. From monsters to curses, taboo themes and murderous serial killers, the horror genre is incredibly popular today, perhaps even more so than when the blood thirsty beasts first entered our nightmares. Jones acknowledges that his text cannot amount to the ever-increasing power of the internet, yet his research not only acts as a map of horror, but ambitiously covers most of the notorious aspects of the genre, in both media and culture. His broad book covers all the areas one would expect a horror critique to contain, but also delves deeper into the macabre, something which is significant in today’s society. This text should not only be on every literature academic, but for anyone who is fascinated by the genre, either in book or film.
Thank you to Anna Gell from the Oxford University Press for my review copy of Sleeping with the Lights On.
September 24, 2019
The author successfully surveys the history of horror tastefully and categorically. There were more references to movies than I could count. However there was more personal commentary than a history account warrants. Good for horror fans!
December 31, 2020
4.5 ⭐️ I love a good academic read.
April 2, 2023
Un gran libro de teoría literaria sobre el género de terror. Muy recomendado!! Si les gustó Danza Macabra de Stephen King (el ensayo sobre el terror) definitivamente les encantará el trabajo de Darryl Jones!!
August 23, 2021
Sleeping with the Lights On: The Unsettling Story of Horror by Darryl Jones (OUP, 2018) is a useful, competent historical survey of the horror mode.
For most of the very brief book, Jones addresses the market-driven historical vicissitudes of horror film and TV work. As a teacher he's probably learned that students are willing to discuss "True Detective" or "Buffy," but not Melmoth the Wanderer or "Laura Silver Bell." (Sorry to be wearing my Sneering S.T. Joshi hat today.)
I was surprised that the most recognized and influential contemporary stylists of horror prose today get little mention. Stephen King is discussed, as are Victor LaValle and Michelle Paver, but not Dennis Etchison, Ramsey Campbell, or Reggie Oliver. Perhaps that's just me, though. Jones is clearly aiming at a short, popular outline, employing sexy tops like "body horror" and "torture porn." His discussions of these topics are sober and thoughtful, and do point readers at the best examples.
Full review with excerpts:
http://jayrothermel.blogspot.com/2021...
For most of the very brief book, Jones addresses the market-driven historical vicissitudes of horror film and TV work. As a teacher he's probably learned that students are willing to discuss "True Detective" or "Buffy," but not Melmoth the Wanderer or "Laura Silver Bell." (Sorry to be wearing my Sneering S.T. Joshi hat today.)
I was surprised that the most recognized and influential contemporary stylists of horror prose today get little mention. Stephen King is discussed, as are Victor LaValle and Michelle Paver, but not Dennis Etchison, Ramsey Campbell, or Reggie Oliver. Perhaps that's just me, though. Jones is clearly aiming at a short, popular outline, employing sexy tops like "body horror" and "torture porn." His discussions of these topics are sober and thoughtful, and do point readers at the best examples.
Full review with excerpts:
http://jayrothermel.blogspot.com/2021...
August 7, 2021
Ok first of all, this is a physically beautiful book. A nice chunky cover with a lightbulb cutout on the front, with black edges. Very nice to look at.
The inside is pretty good too. It describes various themes in horror, both written and cinematic. A lot of ground is covered, and even as a horror buff, I discovered a few books, movies, and bits of history I hadn’t come across before.
If I were to criticize anything, it’s that there’s not really anything to tie it all together. There’s a rough thread that horror is a product of the anxieties of the period it was created in, which isn’t exactly groundbreaking. Aside from that, it’s just loosely arranged descriptions of horror and horror-adjacent things. Fine for me, because I’m an academic and it’s an academic book, so whatever, fill my head with trivia. But it’s not for everyone.
The inside is pretty good too. It describes various themes in horror, both written and cinematic. A lot of ground is covered, and even as a horror buff, I discovered a few books, movies, and bits of history I hadn’t come across before.
If I were to criticize anything, it’s that there’s not really anything to tie it all together. There’s a rough thread that horror is a product of the anxieties of the period it was created in, which isn’t exactly groundbreaking. Aside from that, it’s just loosely arranged descriptions of horror and horror-adjacent things. Fine for me, because I’m an academic and it’s an academic book, so whatever, fill my head with trivia. But it’s not for everyone.
February 12, 2019
The continuing popularity and success of the Gothic is in part an acknowledgement that there are whole areas of human existence about which realism has little or nothing to say: extreme psychological states and the limits of consciousness, for example; or profound existential, metaphysical, or spiritual questions; the paranormal and the supernatural.Interesting surface analysis of horror viewed through overarching themes: monsters, occult & supernatural, the body, the mind and science. Its failing, in my opinion, is how very Western-minded it is. Asian and Hispanic horror cinema/literature merit a bare mention in "Afterword: Horror Since the Millennium" and nothing at all said about other regions of the world, not even a excuse of brevity.
January 9, 2019
I'm not one to pick up academic texts for pleasure reading but the subject matter (and styling of this beautiful book!) piqued my interest.
Not so much an in-depth analysis as a great primer on the sociological, psychological, and cultural impact and significance of horror in literature and film. Jones choses to focus his examination of the genre around monsters, the occult/supernatural, science and horror, body horror, horror of the mind, and horror in the new millennium.
All in all, I think this book gave me a greater appreciation and understanding of why horror matters and why it appeals to me so much.
Not so much an in-depth analysis as a great primer on the sociological, psychological, and cultural impact and significance of horror in literature and film. Jones choses to focus his examination of the genre around monsters, the occult/supernatural, science and horror, body horror, horror of the mind, and horror in the new millennium.
All in all, I think this book gave me a greater appreciation and understanding of why horror matters and why it appeals to me so much.
April 19, 2021
Considering using this text in my horror fiction course when it is re-released in Fall 2021 as Horror: A Very Short Introduction. The organization of the chapters and the accessible explanations of history and theory make it well-suited to an undergraduate course. I especially like his defense of horror as transgressive and am interested to see what students make of his analysis of “unhorror” (recent horror that has the trappings of the genre but is not scary and doesn’t push against boundaries) since in my experience this is often the horror they are most familiar with (like recent jumpscare-heavy popular films).
January 31, 2023
An interesting read as a small academic book about the history of the horror genre. Got a bit snooty near the end with the coining and categorizing of "unhorror" but the rest of the book was solid. More of a overview than a deep dive on the subject, but still contained some tidbits for a learned fan of the genre. I wish that the book had dug into modern horror trends a bit more since it concludes with Slenderman (who the author identifies as one of the scariest monsters due to the real-world violence it inspired), which feels out of date even for 2018 when the book released.
October 23, 2024
Cita les fonts millor que alguns articles científics, si més no m'emporto moltes recomanacions de llibres i pel·lícules de por. És fàcil de llegir i arriba a conclusions originals i amb sentit.
M'ha semblat especialment interessant la idea de que a les persones ens incomoden molt tot allò que no podem classificar o que està entremig de dos estats (ni viu ni mort, ni persona ni animal, les ferides esborren la frontera entre l'interior del cos i l'exterior).
M'ha semblat especialment interessant la idea de que a les persones ens incomoden molt tot allò que no podem classificar o que està entremig de dos estats (ni viu ni mort, ni persona ni animal, les ferides esborren la frontera entre l'interior del cos i l'exterior).
September 18, 2018
A very good book that analyze what the different type of "horror" are, how they changed and what changed in this last years.
It's very detailed, well researched, wonderfully written and you're hooked since the beginning as it's such an interesting book.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Oxford University Press and Edelweiss for this ARC
It's very detailed, well researched, wonderfully written and you're hooked since the beginning as it's such an interesting book.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Oxford University Press and Edelweiss for this ARC
October 23, 2018
Jones gets a lot of information into this slim book without ever feeling as though he's rushing or missing things out. Given the depth and width of the contents, I'm surprised OUP didn't release this as a Very Short Introduction to Horror, but then we wouldn't have got the beautiful cover. A must read for any fan of horror or popular culture in general.
November 28, 2018
An academic study of horror. The main focus is on large themes: Monsters; Body; Mind etc. Enjoyable, but ultimately a bit disappointing, skimming some areas (e.g. fiction of the 1970s, splatterpunk of the 1990s and c osmic horror of the 2010s). The overall coverage is good, but I was hoping for more new references. Worth a read if you enjoy horror.
May 25, 2020
A relatively brief but good overview of the history of horror in its many forms. Each chapter could easily have been a book I its own right if the author had had enough space...or time. I enjoyed the inclusion of psychology, physiology, and sociology to not only suggest why we create horror, but why some of us are seemingly drawn to it. A good little read.
August 17, 2022
Como nomás no llega la edición traducida de Alianza, tuve que conseguirlo en inglés. Gran repaso sobre la evolución del terror, con muchísimos ejemplos literarios y cinematográficos. El (gran) problema es su último capítulo, cuando al autor le sale lo Cñor y arremete contra las nuevas formas de explorar el terror llamándolas "unhorror".
January 23, 2019
An intriguing and comprehensive insight into horror and it's impact on the world at large - and it's pocket sized.
Dealing with myth, movies, books, history, and anxieties if the times, this is a great gateway book to anyone interested in the long, rich history of horror.
Dealing with myth, movies, books, history, and anxieties if the times, this is a great gateway book to anyone interested in the long, rich history of horror.
January 19, 2021
An invaluable book for anyone who enjoys horror as a genre, and especially for anyone interested in writing horror themselves. I go from this review straight to marking some books that Jones covered want-to-read!
July 12, 2021
It's a good intro to horror, in both film and literature, but it wasn't enough for me. The book was also much shorter and smaller than I expected it to be. Still, an interesting read if you're into horror.
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