‘[T]his channelling of dark desires is a skill we humans have been trying to perfect for millennia.’
Peter Laws makes a compelling case for the societal good that comes from literature and art of terror and horror. Rather than seeing such works as deviant or corrupting Laws deftly argues that they play an important role in affording us a safe way of dealing with our darkest fears, experiences and desires.
This is an engaging and highly readable discussion of this important subject. At times Laws’ personable and colloquial approach belies the fundamental importance of his argument, but nevertheless he comprehensively covers the main aspects of the art of horror and deploys a sound evidence based methodology.
Precarious Gothic 