false 11563 36 In the fall of 1978 (between <I>The Stand</I> and <I>The Dead Zone</I>), Stephen King taught a course at the University of Maine on "Themes in Supernatural Literature." As he writes in the foreword to this book, he was nervous at the prospect of "spending a lot of time in front of a lot of people talking about a subject in which I had previously only felt my way instinctively, like a blind man." The course apparently went well, and as with most teaching experiences, it was as instructive, if not more so, to the teacher as it was to the students. Thanks to a suggestion from his former editor at Doubleday, King decided to write <I>Danse Macabre</I> as a personal record of the thoughts about horror that he developed and refined as a result of that course.<p> The outcome is an utterly charming book that reads as if King were sitting right there with you, shooting the breeze. He starts on October 4, 1957, when he was 10 years old, watching a Saturday matinee of <I>Earth vs. the Flying Saucers</I>. Just as the saucers were mounting their attack on "Our Nation's Capital," the movie was suddenly turned off. The manager of the theater walked out onto the stage and announced, "The Russians have put a space satellite into orbit around the earth. They call it ... <I>Spootnik</I>."<p> That's how the whole book goes: one simple, yet surprisingly pertinent, anecdote or observation after another. King covers the gamut of horror as he'd experienced it at that point in 1978 (a period of about 30 years): folk tales, literature, radio, good movies, junk movies, and the "glass teat". It's colorful, funny, and nostalgic--and also strikingly intelligent. <I>--Fiona Webster</I> 1230142 book 1981 Danse Macabre total:2766|5:513|4:765|3:981|2:396|1:111| 2766 9471 3562 70 5 2 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Fri Oct 19 12:19:35 -0700 2007 Fri Oct 19 12:24:37 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Dec 20 22:39:44 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 20 22:40:47 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 2 false false Wed Dec 17 15:03:18 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 28 21:56:28 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1981 Tue Oct 28 14:43:55 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 28 14:43:55 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Sep 09 09:24:14 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 09:29:26 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 true false Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 1988 Mon Sep 14 23:00:16 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 23:04:25 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jul 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 13:05:37 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 20:32:48 -0700 2009 As a result I've had to add over a dozen books and a doze...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jul 08 16:48:06 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 08 16:50:06 -0700 2009
Stephen King did not become the most successful horror writer of all-time by accident. He has taken time to analyze and understand the genre that he loves so well. In this book, he shares those i...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Aug 14 11:55:54 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 14 12:02:30 -0700 2007
While I disagree with some of King's c...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Aug 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 09 11:14:43 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 21 00:59:46 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Feb 22 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 20 14:44:18 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 20 14:46:52 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Mar 17 11:37:17 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 17 11:39:57 -0700 2009 1 1 0 false false Wed Aug 20 12:22:24 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 20 12:22:24 -0700 2008
I actually read this whole thing, although it was very painful. All about horror movies from before I was born... I like old horror movies, but not really the monster movie b-movie genre. At the ti...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Nov 01 08:25:50 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 01 08:36:07 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sat May 23 19:48:10 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 06:21:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Oct 23 21:24:04 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 21:24:56 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Feb 12 20:44:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 12 20:44:56 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1986 Wed Feb 04 07:10:32 -0800 2009 Thu Apr 09 13:45:11 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Aug 07 10:17:24 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 07 10:22:03 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Dec 20 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 22 07:45:40 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 08:04:18 -0800 2009