A History of Terror: Fear & Dread Through the Ages

by Paul Newman

This is a unique illustrated social history of fear, which ranges from the prehistoric terror of ancestral spirits through to the modern phenomenon of alien abduction.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Horror, Religion

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Jules]

The great Pan, scuttling around in the wilderness, perhaps still is out there, even though we have silenced his voice with our machinery and erased his image with our blinding overhead lights. Does terror, as it used to lurk in our early imaginations, still exist today? Newman does an excellent job of reviving Pan and other monstrous forms. He walks us through the unlighted valleys of the past, and we begin to understand where terror originated.

[Peter]

Look at that superb cover, Fuseli's The Nightmare. Is it really possible to die of fear? Inside you'll come to know about the development of fear over the centuries. The Monk is thematized, terror, demons, the devil, hell, vampires, theological nightmares in the middle ages (e.g. Cathars, witches, werewolves, the Black Death). Here we also find the first great picture section. Then we have Elizabethan times, Restoration, the Romantics, return of the undead, also with a picture section. After that Victoriana with the reign of ghosts, literature of the crypt, Dracula. The book closes with the thin ice of civilization of the 20th century, dystopian fiction, Men in Black and Waco. A well written, well composed book on terror I'm glad having picked it up. Highly recommended!

[Frederic Pierce]

I enjoyed it, although I think that probably has more to do with an aberration in my personality rather than the quality of the book. It is well researched, but I had the impression that the author had a bunch of interesting historic events that he wanted to write about and strung them together chronologically under the rough heading "This Stuff Scares People." As it bounced from prehistory through modern times, the book never really developed into anything insightful. But if you just take it for what it is, the subject matter is pretty interesting.

[Suvi]

Touches on interesting subjects like vampires, witches, heresy and other stuff that caused terror throughout the ages. Left me wanting more and it seemed like the author had added quotes to get some extra length for the book. Overall not bad but not very comprehensive either.

[João Lamas]

A cool book about the origin of fear and terror and it's importance through out the ages.