Book Review: Danse Macabre by Stephen King

Title: Danse Macabre
Author: Stephen King
Pages: 400 pages
Published: 1981
Source: Library

GoodReads Description: "Before he gave us the “one of a kind classic” (The Wall Street Journal) memoir On Writing, Stephen King wrote a nonfiction masterpiece in Danse Macabre, “one of the best books on American popular culture” (Philadelphia Inquirer).

From the author of dozens of #1 New York Times bestsellers and the creator of many unforgettable movies comes a vivid, intelligent, and nostalgic journey through three decades of horror as experienced through the eyes of the most popular writer in the genre. In 1981, years before he sat down to tackle On Writing, Stephen King decided to address the topic of what makes horror horrifying and what makes terror terrifying. Here, in ten brilliantly written chapters, King delivers one colorful observation after another about the great stories, books, and films that comprise the horror genre—from Frankenstein and Dracula to The Exorcist, The Twilight Zone, and Earth vs. The Flying Saucers.

With the insight and good humor his fans appreciated in On Writing, Danse Macabre is an enjoyably entertaining tour through Stephen King’s beloved world of horror."

First off, I just want to say, this book totally disrupted my reading schedule.  I had a nice carefully curated list of books to read next according to publication date, etc. And then this book came along and threw it all to hell.  I read the introduction to Pet Sematary and it mentioned that King also wrote Danse Macabre while working at the University of Maine and living in the house that inspired that book.  It was created partially using content he used for his class.  And the idea of taking a class on horror taught by Stephen King was just too much for me - I had to read it right then.

And it provided me with a whole slough of books I need to read immediately.  Thus, ruining my best laid plans in the most delightful way.  And also causing me to question: what have I been doing with my life that I haven't read so many of these books?

Oh right, I've been reading Stephen King 😂.  But reading books he recommends should be just as good.  I was also shocked at how many "classic" horror novels he mentioned and authors I've read in other genres that have written horror novels.

I'm going to put together a post (or two) about the books he recommends in Danse Macabre and also On Writing.

Anyways, in Danse Macabre, King expertly spells out what it may be that draws us all to horror in the first place.  He beautifully describes how horror can be considered art, how it moves us, how it makes us feel so much.  And in doing so, he legitimizes my odd obsession and made it make wonderful sense.

All the stars for this look at the horror genre by the King.

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