Reading the Bible with Horror

by Brandon R. Grafius

In Reading the Bible with Horror, Brandon R. Grafius takes the reader on a whirlwind tour through the dark corners of the Hebrew Bible. Along the way, he stops to place the monstrous Leviathan in conversation with contemporary monster theory, uses Derrida to help explore the ghosts that haunt the biblical landscape, and reads the House of David as a haunted house. Conversations arise between unexpected sources, such as the Pentateuch legal texts dealing with female sexuality and Carrie. Throughout the book, Grafius asks how the Hebrew Bible can be both sacred text and tome of fright, and he explores the numerous ways in which the worlds of religion and horror share uncomfortable spaces.

Genres: Horror, Nonfiction

188 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 25, 2019

About the author

Brandon R. Grafius is associate professor of biblical studies and academic dean at Ecumenical Theological Seminary. He has published widely on the intersection between horror and religion, including academic monographs and popular magazines such as Sojourners and The Christian Century. He is currently working on an academic monograph for Oxford University Press, and co-editing The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Monsters.

Reviews

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please note: this review is for the hardback edition, not yet on Goodreads.

My forthcoming book, Nightmares with the Bible will be in the series Horror and Scripture. Reading the Bible with Horror, by Brandon R. Grafius, is the first book in that series. The book pretty much does what the title suggests, it addresses various aspects of the Bible through the lens of horror—particularly horror movies. If this seems an unusual thing, after admitting that it is, try considering the many monsters of the Bible.

Grafius addresses the very idea of the book and what monster theory is. He considers Leviathan, or the sea monster, in some detail. Monster theory in itself is a recent academic development. Often considered puerile and insubstantial, monsters have started to grab the attention of some academics who actually have jobs. They are seeing the connections between not only biblical monsters and religion, but the nexus that exists between religion itself and horror. Grafius approaches this using the idea of haunting. The Bible does have ghosts, and his chapter on haunted houses is especially insightful. The strange juxtaposition is clearly there, and it deserves comment.

As my blog post on the book (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World) points out, perhaps the most surprising element here is where Grafius treats God as a monster. There is clearly precedent for this, but the thought is so counter-intuitive that it sounds strangely blasphemous. Still, Grafius makes a great case for why this is a valid lens through which to view the Bible. The book is brief and a fairly quick read. For the most part it is non-technical, and it will take the reader into some very strange places indeed.

[Ben - the Amateur Exegete · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely intriguing book looking at the Bible through the lens of horror. I especially enjoyed the final chapter ("The Monstrous YHWH") as it looked at the ways in which the Hebrew Bible's main protagonist is sometimes its scariest antagonist.

[T.J. Tranchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A more scholarly companion to Grafius’ Lurking Beneath the Surface. Both work well on their own but one must know what one is getting into. Lurking is for a casual reader whereas this is geared more toward an academic reader.

Grafius is insightful, humorous, compassionate, and intelligent. Sentence by sentence enhances my own enjoyment of the horror films mentioned and my own spiritual life.