Since its inception in 1896 with Le Manoir du Diable (The House of the Devil), horror film, and horror media more broadly, has reflected our shifting cultural anxieties back to us on-screen. From the vampires and monsters adapted from classic literature, to 70s folk horror, Psycho-inspired slashers, and houses haunted by intergenerational trauma, the many-sided genre has provided fertile ground for the exploration and confrontation of fears both personal and collective. But even as the modern world offers producers seemingly endless new source material, recent decades have seen us return to the popular horror films of the past through sequels, prequels, and remakes. In their new book, Horror That Haunts Us: Nostalgia, Revisionism, and Trauma in Contemporary American Horror Film and Television (2024), editors Karrá Shimabukuro and Wickham Clayton bring together essays from established and emerging scholars, to consider why this might be, and how we can engage critically with stories which place the trauma of vulnerable people at their center, even as they are revised for contemporary audiences.

In this video blog, Karrá and Wickham sat down to discuss their first memories of horror, how the nostalgic rhetoric of the Trump Presidency inspired the collection, being friends as well as co-editors, and more. Watch their full conversation below.

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Dr. Karrá Shimabukuro is Associate Professor at Elizabeth City State University. Dr. Wickham Clayton is an Independent Scholar from the UK.

Horror That Haunts Us is available now in Hardback and Ebook. Get 20% off RRP when you order directly from the Liverpool University Press website.

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