{"id":17484,"date":"2021-07-09T13:49:17","date_gmt":"2021-07-09T17:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lawrencecconnolly.com\/archive\/?p=17484"},"modified":"2023-07-07T22:43:25","modified_gmt":"2023-07-08T02:43:25","slug":"new-from-borderlands-presspast-masters-of-horror-and-dark-fantasy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lawrencecconnolly.com\/archive\/2021\/07\/09\/new-from-borderlands-presspast-masters-of-horror-and-dark-fantasy\/","title":{"rendered":"New From Borderlands Press:
Past Masters of Horror and Dark Fantasy<\/br><\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Scholars, critics, and even psychologists have long touted the therapeutic benefits of vicarious horror. See, for example Why Do We Like Watching Scary Films?<\/a> (from Psychology Today<\/em>) or my previous post Horror Films are Good for You<\/a>. And of course, there were the ancient Greeks, who some 7,000 years ago recognized the importance of purging intense emotion through the process of catharsis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why watch a play in which a murderous, incestuous king gouges out his own eyes? Because it allows us to experience the unspeakable and walk away unscathed.<\/p>\n

That may be one of the reasons Steven Soderbergh’s film Contagion<\/em> became the second most-watched film in the Warner Bros. catalogue during the early days of Covid. Watching the film gave viewers a chance to face the monster without risking exposure to the disease.<\/p>\n

In the process, those viewers may have gained a degree of understanding that prepared them for the real-word dangers of 2020 — all by watching a film written and produced years before those involved had ever faced a real pandemic.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Likewise, as far as we know, Sophocles didn\u2019t murder his father. Nor was Stephen King ever kidnapped by a deranged fan or Edgar Allan Poe buried alive. But there are exceptions \u2013 writers and filmmakers who have actually faced the monsters they write about.<\/p>\n

Case in point: Last year, while viewers were streaming Soderberg\u2019s contagion, I began spending time with Ambrose Bierce, researching his life and works for A Little Blue Book of Civil War Horrors<\/em><\/a>, scheduled for release this fall from Borderlands Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bierce is an exception among horror writers. He didn\u2019t simply imagine the horrors he wrote about. He lived them, experiencing them first-hand on the frontlines of the American Civil War. Afterward, he spent the rest of his life coming to terms with what he had seen by giving us some of the most harrowing horror tales ever written.<\/p>\n

One of the fascinating qualities of Bierce\u2019s tales is the way he peppers his fictional accounts with historical references that makes it possible to arrange the narratives into a semblance of chronological order. Thus \u2013 unlike the works of many of his literary peers \u2013 Bierce\u2019s stories can be ordered to show the progression of a life galvanized by real-world horror. That\u2019s what I have attempted to do in this new edition.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the announcement from the Borderlands Press website:<\/p>\n

This fall, Borderlands Press is scheduled to release the first volume of the 4th Series of their popular Little Book series \u2014 Past Masters of Horror and Dark Fantasy.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Series IV will feature the seminal works of many of the progenitors of the horror and dark fantasy genres.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Each volume will be edited and signed by a contemporary writer or editor in the field.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The first title will honor the work of Ambrose Bierce, who wrote some of the most memorable stories of the American Civil War.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

A Little Blue Book of Civil War Horrors<\/em><\/a> is the first of a 15-book series, all edited by award-winning writers and editors. Here\u2019s the complete list of titles:<\/p>\n