Monsters of Our Own Making: The Peculiar Pleasures of Fear

by Marina Warner

Overview

Since the beginning of storytelling, monsters of all kinds have inhabited myths, legends, folklore, and oral traditions, and they continue to thrive amidst society's ever-increasing attraction to the thrill of experiencing fear. Today many of us seek out horror movies, read thrillers and Gothic novels, and visit haunted houses, in our endless pursuit of the macabre and exciting. In Monsters of Our Own Making: The Peculiar Pleasures of Fear, Marina Warner explores the world of bogeys from their incarnation as ogres in nursery tales to their current role in the new, twisted reality of contemporary conflicts, where there is no guarantee of a happy ending. Marina Warner digs into the past to uncover the origins of these myths, to examine their history and social function over time. Paying particular attention to the prevalence of male figures of terror, Warner reveals their connections to current ideas about sexuality and power, identity and ethnicity, youth and age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813191744
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	02/23/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	472
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Marina Warner is a novelist and cultural historian. Her many books include From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers and Phantasmagoria: Spirit Visions, Metaphors, and Media. She is professor of literature, film, and theatre studies at the University of Essex and lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

""Fear is alive and well.... Warner's volume delves into the fraught relations of pleasure and pain with fear."" -- Journal of Folklore Research

"A dream of a book. Dip into it anywhere and you will draw up wonders." -- Washington Post Book World

"A pleasure to read, this study is rich, rewarding, and persuasive." -- CHOICE

"A romp through a catalog of scary stuff" -- New York Times Book Review

"Fascinating, clever and original." -- London Review of Books

"This erudite, extravagant banana split of a book is sure to leave even the most ravenous devourer of criticism feeling stated" -- Newsday

"This is an original and significant book that covers all aspects of culture from Greek mythology to contemporary popular culture." -- Jack Zipes, author of Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a G

From the Publisher