Danse Macabre
by Stephen King

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In the fall of 1978 (between The Stand and The Dead Zone), Stephen King taught a course at the University of Maine on "Themes in Supernatural Literature." As he writes in the foreword to this book, he was nervous at the prospect of "spending a lot of time in front of a lot of people talking about a subject in which I had previously only felt my way instinctively, like a blind man." The course apparently went well, and as with most teaching experiences, it was as instructive, if not more so, to the teacher as it was to the students. Thanks to a suggestion from his former editor at Doubleday, King decided to write Danse Macabre as a personal record of the thoughts about horror that he developed and refined as a result of that course.

The outcome is an utterly charming book that reads as if King were sitting right there with you, shooting the breeze. He starts on October 4, 1957, when he was 10 years old, watching a Saturday matinee of Earth vs. the Flying Saucers. Just as the saucers were mounting their attack on "Our Nation's Capital," the movie was suddenly turned off. The manager of the theater walked out onto the stage and announced, "The Russians have put a space satellite into orbit around the earth. They call it ... Spootnik."

That's how the whole book goes: one simple, yet surprisingly pertinent, anecdote or observation after another. King covers the gamut of horror as he'd experienced it at that point in 1978 (a period of about 30 years): folk tales, literature, radio, good movies, junk movies, and the "glass teat". It's colorful, funny, and nostalgic--and also strikingly intelligent. 
--Fiona Webster 

On The Back

"I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader.  But if I find I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gross-out."
--Stephen King

The bestselling horror author of all time, Stephen King, knows better that anyone else in the world what scares you, and why.  Now, in his most unusual masterpiece, he takes you on his personal tour of the dark ballroom of horror.  Come.  Take his arm.  Let the dance begin...

"To give yourself an idea of the feel of this book, picture yourself huddled close to a campfire in the midnight hours...King is a superb creative artist!"
Houston Chronicle

"His anatomy of horror...includes ghosts, vampires, monsters, and haunted houses!"
Los Angeles Times

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Danse Macabre (1980) -
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