American Scary

A History of Horror, from Salem to Stephen King and Beyond

Jeremy Dauber

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Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Algonquin Books
25 November 2025

The Arts: General & Reference; Popular culture

""America is the world's biggest haunted house and American Scary is the only travel guide you need. I loved this book.""

-Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group

From the acclaimed author of American Comics comes a sweeping and entertaining narrative that details the rise and enduring grip of horror in American literature, and, ultimately, culture-from the taut, terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe to the grisly, lingering films of Jordan Peele

America is held captive by horror stories. They flicker on the screen of a darkened movie theater and are shared around the campfire. They blare out in tabloid true-crime headlines, and in the worried voices of local news anchors. They are consumed, virally, on the phones in our pockets. Like the victims in any slasher movie worth its salt, we can't escape the thrall of scary stories.

In American Scary, noted cultural historian and Columbia professor Jeremy Dauber takes the reader to the startling origins of horror in the United States. Dauber draws a captivating through line that ties historical influences ranging from the Salem witch trials and enslaved-person narratives directly to the body of work we more closely associate with horror today: the weird tales of H. P. Lovecraft, the lingering fiction of Shirley Jackson, the disquieting films of Alfred Hitchcock, the up-all-night stories of Stephen King, and the gripping critiques of Jordan Peele.

With the dexterous weave of insight and style that have made him one of America's leading historians of popular culture, Dauber makes the haunting case that horror reveals the true depths of the American mind.

By: Jeremy Dauber
Imprint: Algonquin Books
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 203mm, Width: 127mm,
ISBN: 9781643755960
ISBN 10: 164375596X
Pages: 464
Publication Date: 25 November 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Jeremy Dauber is a professor of Jewish literature and American studies at Columbia University. His books include Jewish Comedy and The Worlds of Sholem Aleichem, both finalists for the National Jewish Book Award. More recently he is the author of Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew and American Comics: A History. He lives in New York City.