The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror

From the terrifying radioactive MacGuffin in the movie Kiss Me Deadly and the iterations of George Romero’s Living Dead films, to the current cultural terror of mass contagion, the fears and anxieties experienced by society are writ large in its creative works—many of which are covered in this updated guide to horror for reader’s advisory librarians. In the decade since the second edition, Spratford (who blogs at RAforAll.blogspot.com) has completely rewritten and updated this guide, with particular attention to diverse voices writing about fear, dread, and terror. Horror novelists are still overwhelmingly white and male, and “the lack of diversity here should make you uncomfortable and want to strive to promote works by all people,” Spratford writes. The first part of the guide offers a horror overview, which newcomers to the genre will find especially helpful; the second contains annotated bibliographies and title and author recommendations; and the third covers collection development and programming ideas. Also important to this new edition is its organization, which is structured around the reader’s level of comfort with the genre.