Horror Literature Throughout the Ages
By Eric Bilach
The following piece appeared in the October 2019 edition of The Campus.
In preparation for Halloween and all the scares commonly associated with the ghastly holiday, I decided to revisit four horror novels and review each of them. Coincidentally, these books are all critically regarded as literary staples of their respective time periods, which allows us to trace the evolution of the horror genre from its early roots to modern day. Below, I have shared my brief, candid thoughts on each of the books, along with a rating out of five. This list could be helpful in determining which horror classics may be worth picking up this October, and which may be better off left on the bookshelf until next year.
Dracula, Bram Stoker (1897)
The eerie genesis of all vampire fantasy. While more recentinstallments in vampire literature continue to diminish the genre into a meresubcategory of paranormal romance, Draculaprevails as one of the most sinister and profound works in all of horrorfiction. Its epistolary format allows for some of the most unique and intimatecharacter building and voicing that I have ever had the pleasure of reading.Conversely, Stoker’s wanton use of “over-description” works to impede plotprogression in many crucial sections of the narrative (however, I can forgivethis style given that it seems conventional in most Victorian-era literature).Shortcomings aside, I laud Dracula asa revolutionary and macabre tale of “good-versus-evil” that has often beenimitated, but never duplicated.
Verdict: 4/5
TheHaunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson (1959)
Subdued, ominous, and utterly brilliant. Shirley Jackson is, withoutquestion, the queen of Gothic fiction writing, and The Haunting of Hill House stands as her crowning achievement. Anovel of this magnitude deserves far more acclaim than the title of “greatesthaunted-house story ever written” because even that is trivializing itsmerit. In fact, I would contend that TheHaunting of Hill House belongs in the conversation for “greatest horrorstory ever written,” alongside the likes of Frankensteinand The Invisible Man. Jackson’s witand knack for cinematic suspense perfectly complements her analysis of the presentthemes of fear, isolation, unrequited love, and the tricky bonds they allshare. Read this masterpiece for yourself—my meager words cannot do it justiceenough.
Verdict: 5/5
TheShining, Stephen King (1977)
An underwhelming horror “classic” that is better off remembered forits 1980 film adaptation. As is the case with most of King’s material that Ihave read, The Shining sufferstremendously from its bloated page length, which ultimately serves to drag thestory’s suspense down into unprecedented levels of banality. Perhaps thisnovel’s most “horrifying” quality is King’s tendency to telegraph the events ofits climax openly and without discretion—there are very few surprises to behad, if any. However, that is not to say this book is entirely rotten.Conceptually, it is pretty fantastic, and has laid the groundwork for one ofthe greatest horror flicks ever produced. Still, while the literary fanatic inme may habitually subscribe to the philosophy of “the book was better than themovie,” I cannot grant The Shining thatsame distinction.
Verdict: 2/5
TheHunger, Alma Katsu (2018)
Despite my checkered relationship with his writing, there is no doubtthat Stephen King has an incredible eye for spotting horror fiction of highquality—and Alma Katsu’s The Hungerproves to be no exception. Commended by King as “deeply, deeply disturbing” and“hard to put down,” Katsu’s fourth novel is a brooding, yet equally ambitious,approach to historical fiction storytelling. On the surface, The Hunger may not boast the mostoriginal of premises—in essence, it is a supernatural take on the infamousDonner Party episode. At its core, however, lies a twisted tale of survival andfate amidst the cruel conditions of nature. With tension so palpable it couldbe its own character, and suspense aplenty, this novel is a must-read for anyhorror fiction fan in search of gripping, poignant work from a relatively newauthor of the genre.
Verdict: 4/5
