by Noel Carroll

This book takes a serious look into the aesthetics of horror. Carroll is a philosopher so comes at the material with a philosophical view (obviously) but he is also a film scholar and so adds to that the language of film. By looking at the classics of the genre as well as some lesser known and forgotten works Carroll attempts to philosophically analyze why people like to be scared.

I will admit I did find this a little dry to read and while I was intrigued by the content I did struggle a bit with the writing. Also, this is an older book so some may find it a bit dated. That being said it is definitely worth the time to read it if you have an inclination toward the horror genre. Also, as this is an academic book it is on the pricey side. New copies are really expensive –  like text book expensive – but there are used copies available that are reasonable.