The Living and the Undead
Slaying Vampires, Exterminating Zombies
A cunning investigation of the monstrous in classic and modern horror
Paper – $27
978-0-252-07772-2
eBook – $29.95
978-0-252-09033-2
Publication Date
Paperback: 08/30/2010
About the Book
In this book, Gregory A. Waller shows why the vampire continues to fascinate us in film and fiction. Waller focuses upon a series of interrelated novels, stories, plays, films, and made-for-television movies: Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897); several film adaptations of Stoker's novel; F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror (1922); Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979); and George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Dawn of the Dead (1979). All of these works, Waller argues, speak to our understanding and fear of evil and chaos, of desire and egotism, of slavish dependence and masterful control. This paperback edition of The Living and the Undead features a new preface in which Waller positions his analysis in relation to the explosion of vampire and zombie films, fiction, and criticism in the past twenty-five years.About the Author
Gregory A. Waller is professor and chair of the Department of Communication and Culture at Indiana University, Bloomington. His books include Main Street Amusements: Movies and Commercial Entertainment in a Southern City, 1896-1930.Also by this author
Reviews
"Fascinating studies of nineteenth- and especially twentieth-century horror narratives. . . . A book which frequently displays great subtlety and insight."--Library Journal"Highly recommended as a source book for those interested in the horror genre. In addition, Waller's book provides a critical abundance of empirical data for any scholar concerned with genre studies, history, adaptation, narrativity, and intertextuality."--Wide Angle
"A fascinating account of the changing trends in vampire fiction. . . . People truly interested in horror literature and films will find Waller's book invaluable."--West Coast Review of Books
"This is a book for those who want a fruitful method to approach the analysis of monster narratives."--Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts
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