Body and Blood: Catholic Horror in America

Exposes the deep Catholic roots of American horror

From exorcisms to suffocating catacombs, grinning corpses, and electric holy water, Catholicism and American horror go hand in hand. Body and Blood cuts horror open to reveal how the Catholic tradition has shaped its supernatural and grotesque aesthetics in the modern world.

Making the case that it is impossible to understand the enduring popularity of horror without recognizing its religious elements, this volume makes two groundbreaking cla...