Danse Macabre by Stephen King

First published: 1981

Type of work: Literary history/literary and film criticism

Form and Content

By his own admission, Stephen King conceived a taste for horror, and horror films in particular, at an early age. In his adulthood he has come to believe that the “horror industry” exists in its currently flourishing state because people actually need the release that it provides them. His early addiction to things frightening and unsettling also gave him the impetus to explore the elements of successful horror fiction, for he has been making his living producing it since the 1970’s. Among his novels are Carrie (1974), ’Salem’s Lot (1975), The Shining (1977), The Stand (1978), The Dead Zone (1979), Firestarter (1980), Cujo (1981), Christine (1983), Pet Sematary (1983), It (1986), The Eyes of the Dragon (1987), Misery (1987), and The Tommyknockers (1987). Until the publication of Danse Macabre in 1981, however, King had made no extensive public analysis of the reasons for the popularity of horror films and fiction. Prior to the publication of this analytical study, he had expressed some of his theories in interviews published in various magazines and in the introduction to his collection of short stories, Night Shift (1978). Danse Macabre is King’s analysis and review of the arena in which he writes, a look at how it works and why. The inspiration for Danse Macabre came from King’s former editor, Bill Thompson, who suggested that he consider the whole horror phenomenon as he saw it: books, magazines, films, radio, television, comics. King was intrigued and decided to undertake the project.

The form of the book takes the shape of a conversation with the reader and is a combination of autobiography and genre study. The tone of Danse Macabre, which is reminiscent of a familiar discussion with an acquaintance or student in a classroom, departs from that of most genre studies. In fact, King notes that at the time he was teaching a course on the genre at the University of Maine and “field testing” with his students the theories and perceptions set forth in this volume. In terms of overall structure, the book is loose; many times King will begin a discussion of a topic only to digress when the book, story, or film under consideration reminds him of a personal experience or other marginally related material. Because of its digressive and fairly personal nature, Danse Macabre can be considered a sort of Rorschach inkblot study of King himself as well as of his preferences as a writer of horror fiction.

King’s treatment of the concept of modern horror begins with his own childhood recollections about the first things that terrified him, events that took place in horror films. He breaks his study of the last thirty years’ worth of terror into various segments according to chronology and genre. The text is fairly evenly divided in its treatment of fiction and film, with perhaps more emphasis being given to the films of the 1950’s and 1960’s than to later films, for King believes that the truly great ones were produced in those decades. The book also covers horror on radio and television. King devotes the first major section of Danse Macabre to building an extended definition of the emotions of horror and terror. He also considers the types of things that elicit these emotions and explores what he believes to be horror’s three archetypal tales: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), Frankenstein (1818), and Dracula (1897). Much of his later discussion of contemporary tales of terror (printed and filmed) is based on the distinctions he draws among these three works. The remaining sections of Danse Macabre take up techniques of horror in radio, television, pulp and mainstream fiction, and film. Interspersed among these sometimes lengthy textual analyses are digressions on topics of personal interest to King, such as his favorite “bad movies,” an account of how he came to write certain of his novels, and commentaries on various living authors.

As appendices to Danse Macabre, King offers a reading list of about one hundred books drawn from the period covered by his study and a list of one hundred fantasy/horror films made during the same time span. These two sources will provide readers with good starting places in their study of the genre as well as give them an idea of King’s own preferences.

Critical Context

Stephen King is certainly not the only contemporary writer to consider the nature of horror; he follows in a tradition that extends at least as far back as Sigmund Freud’s essay on the uncanny. In fact, horror in fiction, film, and television has become the topic of much critical debate and analysis, particularly since the 1970’s, when many scholars turned their attention to the field of popular culture. Yet few makers of the stuff analyzed by such critics offer their thoughts on the nature of popular forms, at least not in an extended or widely disseminated format. In Danse Macabre, King offers readers an evaluation not only of the genre itself but also of himself as a writer. Thus, the book serves as an interesting supplement to the fiction he has written, as an exploration of the genre about which he is clearly an expert practitioner, and as an introduction to the study of popular culture and horror fiction and film that will perhaps be more accessible to readers than the many scholarly treatises that have also been published in this field.

Finally, Danse Macabre brings together a greater variety of horror genres than a typical treatment of the field does. While there are many books on horror, most of them confine themselves to the study of one form of horror: film or television or mainstream fiction or popular fiction. King bridges the differences to show readers that, no matter what the form, horror deals with the same themes and topics, employs the same generic archetypes, and provides the consumer (reader, viewer, or listener) with the same entertainment and the same sought-after release.

Bibliography

Adams, John. Review in School Library Journal. XXVII (September, 1981), p. 147.

Choice. XIX, September, 1981, p. 80.

Hemesath, J. B. Review in Library Journal. CVI (April 1, 1981), p. 797.

Klavan, Andrew. Review in Saturday Review. VIII (April, 1981), p. 80.

Quill & Quire. XLVII, July, 1981, p. 66.

Science Fiction Review. X, August, 1981, p. 26.

Slung, Michele. Review in The New York Times Book Review. LXXXVI ( May 10, 1981), p. 15.

Wilson Library Bulletin. LV, June, 1981, p. 775.