It takes quite a lot to get me to buy a book from InterVarsity Press.  This is something I think Kutter Callaway would probably understand.  My childhood was haunted not only by my family circumstances, but also by fundamentalism.  When I learned I could run, I did.  When Be Afraid showed up on Theofantastique, however, I didn’t hesitate.  Some of us have found healing and a positive message in some horror.  I agree with Callaway that some series, or concepts, are too nihilistic to really get anything out of.  In this fascinating book, we are given a tour through some dark places by someone who’s still evangelical, but who admits to watching, and even enjoying horror.  And being in California, he can actually meet and interview some of the people who make the films that guys like me watch.

I understand this book began as a podcast.  Since my biggest fear these days is running out of time—I’ve got so much I want to get done!—I have trouble finding time for podcasts.  My stack of books to read miraculously never grows any smaller, no matter how many volumes I pull off the top of the stack.  I started this book a little skeptical, but I was soon won over.  Callaway advocates “fearing rightly,” and he knows something many won’t admit: we’re all afraid.  Some of us tamp it down pretty securely, but others of us stare it in the face until we have to flinch.  And a good number of us grew us in conservative Christian households.  One of the things I found interesting following the author through the contours of his fears is that a number of people who work in the horror film industry have, or still, identify as Christians.  I learned that Wes Craven was raised in a strict Baptist household and attended Wheaton College.

One of the recurring themes on this blog, as well as in my own books, is that religion and horror are closely related.  I explore this through my mini-reviews of horror movies and of various books.  I know some of the actually employed academics who work in the field.  And I’ll freely admit that the end of my teaching career at the hands of “Christians” has colored my own experience of horror.  This little book turned out to be a fascinating read.  And it led me to trust that the author wasn’t trying to covertly convert me.  If you have a religious background and are curious about horror, I’d recommend it.