American Horror Story: Hotel and Monotheism’s Dirty Little Secrets
A handful of conservative groups are frothing at the mouth over the current season of American…
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Praying to the Zombie Jesus: The Spirituality of Horror
Zombie Jesus might seem silly to you and horror may not be your thing. But spiritual seekers might want to ponder the imagery of horror precisely because it runs against some of their instincts. Freud famously argued in his essay “The Uncanny” that horrific fairy tales terrified us as children because they reminded us of the vulnerability of our bodies. The horror tradition, maybe especially the zombie narrative, does the same for adults.
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A Head Full of Monsters: American History as Horror Show
Take your monsters seriously. The language of metaphor and symbol is not enough to explain and explore their meaning. You may just want to be left alone with your tub of popcorn but there are layers and layers of meaning in the horror genre…and a larger historical experience the monsters we love were born from.
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Mauled by an Angel: Why Do Americans Need “God’s Secret Agents”?
In the 1990s angels became a spiritual accoutrement for prosperous yet troubled baby-boomers adrift in a suburban wasteland of McMansions and Lincoln Navigators. Do the angry angels of the new film Legion, with their roots in angelmania, mean that for many Americans God is absent? And do these creatures, heavenly and horrific, fill the vacuum?
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Jesus Goes to the Dark Carnival: Hell House Gets a Makeover?
Evangelical-sponsored haunted houses known as “Hell Houses” were spooky attractions filled with the ghosts of the culture wars. Now, a softer, gentler version, the “Judgement House” claims to eschew politics, but does it?
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A Secret History of Satan
The Devil created by American culture is made in the image of American culture; our beliefs about Satan are part of a theological narrative that has shaped religion, pop culture, and even, in some cases public policy.
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Jennifer’s Body and Why I Like Buffy’s Body Better
Has a hotly anticipated new horror film about a murderous cheerleader subverted the mythos of woman as the source of evil or just the opposite?
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