Occultober Day 20 American Monsters by Adam Jortner

Occultober Day 20 American Monsters by Adam Jortner

If you enjoy a good horror story (and everyone reading these Occultober reviews should), this book will teach you a lot about where those images come from in America, and how they have been cultivated over the history of the nation. It’s a very quick but fascinating read. In addition to looking at the historical roots of things like spirits and witches, Jortner also spends a great deal of time looking at how movies, televisions, and novels have shaped the images. The popularity of monsters, and the way that those monster stories are told, has a lot to do with the stresses, fears, and problems of American society. Therefore, it should not be surprising that racism and civil rights are often underlying themes of the monster tale. Another fascinating theme is whether or not we can really govern ourselves when the people in charge in the stories often show themselves to be idiots. American isolationism, the Cold War, the proper role of science in our society… all of these themes pop up again and again as do stories about what happens when teens or women start to get a little independence in our dangerous world. Each section fascinated me and my only complaint is that the book wasn’t longer.

 

So if you’d like to know what your love of horror, the supernatural, and urban fantasy says about our society, take a look at American Monsters.

 

https://www.amazon.com/American-Monst...