The Philosophy of Horror: Or, Paradoxes of the Heart PDF
Preview The Philosophy of Horror: Or, Paradoxes of the Heart
TTTTTHHHHHEEEEE PPPPPHHHHHIIIIILLLLLOOOOOSSSSSOOOOOPPPPPHHHHHYYYYY OOOOOFFFFF HHHHHOOOOORRRRRRRRRROOOOORRRRR THE PHILOSOPHY OF HORROR or PARADOXES OF THE HEART N O Ë L C A R R O L L ROUTLEDGE (cid:127) New York & London Published in 1990 by Routledge An imprint of Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc. 29 West 35 Street New York, NY 10001 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004. Published in Great Britain by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane London EC4P 4EE Copyright © 1990 by Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Carroll, Noël (Noël E.) The philosophy of horror. Includes index. 1. Horror in literature. 2. Horror tales—History and criticism. 3. Horror films—History and criticism. I. Title. PN56.H6C37 1989 809’.916 89–10469 ISBN 0-415-90145-6 ISBN 0-415-90216-9 (pbk.) British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Carroll, Noël The philosophy of horror. 1. Arts. Special subjects. Horror I. Title 704.9’4 ISBN 0-203-36189-X Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-37447-9 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-90145-6 (Print Edition) 0-415-90216-9 (pb) Dedicated to Sally Banes Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1 The Nature of Horror 12 The Definition of Horror 12 Fantastic Biologies and the Structures of Horrific Imagery 42 Summary and Conclusion 52 2 Metaphysics and Horror, or Relating to Fictions 59 Fearing Fictions 60 Character-Identification? 88 3 Plotting Horror 97 Some Characteristic Horror Plots 97 Horror and Suspense 128 The Fantastic 144 4 Why Horror? 158 The Paradox of Horror 159 Horror and Ideology 195 Horror Today 206 Notes 215 Index 251 Acknowledgments Undoubtedly, my parents, Hughie and Evelyn Carroll, inadvertently gave birth to this treatise by telling me not to waste my time and money on horror books, magazines, comics, TV shows, and movies. In a final act of filial defiance, I, a middle-aged baby-boomer, have set out to prove to them that I was gainfully employed all along. My thinking about horror really began to assemble itself when Annette Michelson and I taught a course in horror and science fiction at New York University. Annette soldiered the science fiction half of the course, while the gooier parts of the terrain became my lot. Annette was, and has continued to be, very helpful in the development of my theory. She suggested casting my notions about horrific biologies in terms of fusion and fission, and, as well, she has continually pressed me, with regard to my skepticism about contemporary film theory, to take the paradox of fiction seriously. Though my solutions to her questions may not be what she expected, I hope they are at least intriguing. Early on, two philosophers—both of them horror addicts—abetted me in the conviction that pursuing this topic could be interesting. Judith Tormey and I spent an exhilarating drive to Mexico together, boring everyone else in the car while we swapped favorite monster stories. Jeff Blustein read my earliest attempts in horror theory with the analytical rigor and the enthusiasm only a fellow horror buff can appreciate. The late Monroe Beardsley also read my nascent efforts at horror theory. He wondered aloud how I could be interested in this stuff. But then he addressed my hypotheses with what could only be thought of as arcane counterexamples. Sheepishly, he explained his estimable expertise in the field by saying that he had had to squire his sons through the fifties horror movie cycle, and that he just happened to remember some of the films (in amazing detail, I would add). My interest in horror gradually turned into academic papers, delivered at the University of Southern California, the University of Warwick, the ix
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