Horror Literature through History: An Encyclopedia of the Stories that Speak of Our Deepest Fears

This two-volume set sets itself apart from its predecessors by the breadth of its scope, from the “Ancient World” through the twenty-first century (The timeline begins with the Epic of Gilgamesh and runs through 2016). Horror as a genre can be difficult to define, as it touches on theories of psychology, aesthetics, sociology and cultural studies. Cardin defines horror as “not a genre but a mode that can be employed in any form or genre” (p. xxxi), and therefore argues that it exists throughout space and time, with the possibility of acting as a sort of catharsis for readers, as...