Gothic Vision: Three Centuries of Horror, Terror and Fear

As a fan of horror fiction, I'm interested in the question of why people read horror. After all, why seek out fictional cruelties when the world is so full of real ones. Horror authors themselves, from Stephen King to Thomas Ligotti, have provided interesting answers, but Cavallaro's book provides a very interesting perspective. The Gothic Vision shows how works of dark fantasy allow us to contemplate and even accept the dark facets of our lives and our own beings that we do not tend to acknowledge in our “daytime” vocabulary. If you're interested in horror and the Gothic not just as sources of dark amusement but of philosophical insight, I would highly recommend this book.