A review by octavia_cade
American Nightmares: The Haunted House Formula in American Popular Fiction by Dale Bailey
4.0
Short study that does what it says on the tin: looks at how the haunted house is presented in American popular culture. The author's main argument is that the contemporary American haunted house has been used as a means of criticising social priorities, for instance materialism and economic exploitation, by exploring how an unhealthy focus on these makes an individual vulnerable to the supernatural. This isn't a particularly original view, perhaps, but it is a valid one and Bailey supports it well.
He also successfully straddles the line between academic and popular criticism here, making this an immensely readable book. It helps, I think, that the study is limited and not exhaustive - Bailey focuses on a handful of popular examples, including The Amityville Horror, The Shining, and The Haunting of Hill House - and I often find that limited examples prove a point much better than exhaustive exploration, which can frequently muddy the focus by meandering off into byways. It's a really interesting and well-focused study, and I enjoyed reading it.
He also successfully straddles the line between academic and popular criticism here, making this an immensely readable book. It helps, I think, that the study is limited and not exhaustive - Bailey focuses on a handful of popular examples, including The Amityville Horror, The Shining, and The Haunting of Hill House - and I often find that limited examples prove a point much better than exhaustive exploration, which can frequently muddy the focus by meandering off into byways. It's a really interesting and well-focused study, and I enjoyed reading it.