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Christian Horror, by Mike Duran
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To most, the term "Christian horror" probably seems like an oxymoron. Nevertheless, there are very good arguments to be made that "horror" is an eminently biblical genre and that Christian artists should be at the forefront of reclaiming it. In this work, novelist Mike Duran explores the Judeo-Christian roots of contemporary horror, the religious themes that frame much of the horror art, and how evangelical culture has come to distance itself from such a potentially rich and powerful medium. Duran looks at Christian artists and authors whose works employ the macabre and grotesque. From surrealist Hieronymus Bosch to Southern Gothicist Flannery O'Connor to the master of horror Stephen King, we can trace a distinctly biblical worldview that frames their visions of terror. Along the way, Duran answers objections while developing an apologetic, not for a new sub-genre, but for a rethinking of the reasons that "Christian horror" has come to be viewed as such an oxymoron.
- Sales Rank: #2717587 in Books
- Published on: 2015-05-09
- Original language: English
- Dimensions: 8.50" h x .28" w x 5.50" l,
- Binding: Paperback
- 124 pages
About the Author
MIKE DURAN is a novelist, blogger, and speaker, whose short stories, essays, and commentary have appeared in Relief Journal, Relevant Online, Novel Rocket, Rue Morgue, Zombies magazine, and other print and digital outlets. He is the author of THE GHOST BOX (Blue Crescent Press, 2014), a Publishers Weekly starred review item, the supernatural thriller THE RESURRECTION (Realms, 2011), an e-book fantasy novella entitled WINTERLAND, THE TELLING (Realms May 2012), and a short story anthology SUBTERRANEA (Blue Crescent Press, 2013). Mike is an ordained minister and lives with his wife and four grown children, grandchildren, and assorted beasties, in Southern California. You can learn more about Mike Duran, his writing projects, favorite music, cultural commentary, and arcane interests, at www.mikeduran.com.
Most helpful customer reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Insightful examination on tense relationship between Christianity and the horror genre
By Kevin Lucia
First off, it's best to understand this: "Christian Horror" is an apologetic for the validity of the horror genre to Christians: readers, writers, the Christian market and the Christian Publishing industry. It is by no means a treatise on the entire genre. Readers looking for that would be best served reading Stephen King's classic DANSE MACABRE or Noel Carroll's THE PHILOSOPHY OF HORROR. I mention this because, even though I read very little Christian fiction myself, it's always irksome when folks pick up things obviously Christian in nature, and then review it negatively because it is exactly what it says its.
That having been said, this is an excellent examination of the tense, uncomfortable, even "bad" relationship the horror genre has with Christian publishing, despite the early impact of Christianity on the development of the horror genre. It should also be noted that while Duran correctly cites these early influences, he by no means makes claims that the horror genre today is completely Christian, or completely influenced by a Christian worldview.
He does, however, examine the potential for the horror tale in serving up stories of morality and the battle between good and evil, making them very valid expressions of faith, indeed. The framework he cites is well known, also cited in DANSE MACABRE and THE PHILOSOPHY OF HORROR, though both those works address this framework in a more oblique fashion: that the classic horror tale features the introduction of something monstrous (or Dionysian, in King's terms) on a Apollonian world, and the bulk of the story is made up of attempts to restore this Apollonian order as an affirmation of goodness over evil, order over chaos. Of course, in this work, that intrusion and struggle is couched in terms of Christianity, but that's to be expected.
Duran's done his homework, touching on artistic works of the grotesque that were right at home with early believers, as well as mentioning the work of Charles Williams, Arthur Machen, George MacDonald and even Flannery O'Conner. He traces the development of "safe" Christian entertainment, show how it came about, and why early Gothic works came to be viewed unfavorably by a Christianity that became more and more adept at fashioning a "marketable" image. He also nicely addresses the ambiguity of "ghosts" in scripture (how it's not clear cut that they're ALL just demons), and also addresses the very real potential that ignoring evil/dark/disturbing things is perhaps far more dangerous for the Christian, because it involves buying into a sanitized view of the world.
My only quibbles with the work (which are small, really, and may just be me making too much of nothing) are:
1. Duran seems to lump dystopian fiction in with post-apocalyptic fiction, making the statement that both works are all about how humans are broken, and eventually their worlds will fail and break down as well. This may be nit-picky of me, but to me, a closer reading of dystopian fiction is they are stories that warn of a particular trait extant in the world today: obsession with perfection, racism, over-powerful governments, prejudice against people who are different, homophobia, censorship...even religious intolerance...and they imagine a world in which any of these devices are now all-consuming in a repressive, controlling police state.
Typically, those stories - Fahrenheit 451, A Brave New World, The Hunger Games, Divergent, Anthem, The Giver (which is a little post-apocalyptic, admittedly) Harrison Bergeron and others, classic Twilight Zone episodes of "The Obsolete Man," "Number 12 Looks Just Like You", "In the Eye of the Beholder" - are certainly horrific, but they're more about easily a police state can form, how quickly freedoms can be taken away and why they're taken away, and the nature of individuality, and how human nature can only be caged for so long before it eventually breaks free. Lumping those works in with The Walking Dead (which is still a show rich with substance, at times), does a disservice to the importance of the dystopian genre.
2. There are mild implications throughout the work that while the Christian writer has something of substance to say (which is why they should "reclaim the horror genre"), the non-Christian writer or materialist or atheist does not. This, in my opinion, is somewhat of a generalization. I wouldn't consider myself supremely well-read in the horror genre, but decently so, enough to say that just because a person isn't Christian or not spiritual doesn't mean they don't have anything to say about good and evil and morality. For the most part - with the exception of those who traffic in exploitation stories filled with gore and little else - the best horror writers most certainly have something to say: about what it means to be a human, about dealing with loss, love, betrayal, about surviving, about living and dying...the whole gamut. And seeing as humans were created by God, (depending on your world view), all those things can been as coming from God, seeing as how he create the world we live in. Even claiming that stories which don't feature "God" as a source of hope fall short in comparison to stories that do ignores that very often those stories paint a much more realistic portrait of life and all its troubles.
But again, this work seems to be intended for a Christian audience, not for general readers or those who read primarily in the secular horror market. It does well what it sets out to do: show how Christianity and the horror genre are very much compatible, depending on the stories told. Hopefully it will become wide-read within the Christian market, and will make an impact on those who read, write, and PUBLISH in the that market.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
It doesn't always have to be an Amish romance
By Glynn Young
Christian publishing is uncomfortable with certain fiction genres, what’s generally called “speculative” but includes science fiction, paranormal, and horror. And yet some of the most successful speculative writers, like Stephen King, acknowledge the presence of Biblical imagery throughout many of their works.
For a number of years, Mike Duran, author of a number of Christian horror story collections and novels, has written about Christian publisher’s reluctance to embrace anything in speculative fiction. Publishers know their audiences, however, and is to the audiences that Duran now turns his attention. "Christian Horror: On the Compatibility of a Biblical Worldview and the Horror Genre" makes a solid case why Christian readers’ attitudes toward the horror genre is misguided and possibly dangerous.
Duran has written an apologetic for the horror genre in Christian fiction, and it’s an impressive piece of work. And he lays claim for horror some of the most famous works in Western literature.
“Many have suggested,” he writes, “that the epic poem Beowulf is one of the earliest horror stories ever written. Possibly the oldest surviving long form in Old English, Beowulf is often cited as one of the most important works of Old English literature. Though the story is in essence a pagan myth, most believe it was originally written down by a Christian monk who incorporated Christian elements into the text.”
He doesn’t stop with Beowulf. He also makes a convincing case for Christian elements being incorporated into Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man and especially Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a work in which there is nothing subtle about Christian influence. And then there is the Bible itself, filled with any number of horrific stories.
Duran examines religious themes in horror and horror themes in religion; how the evangelical culture has in general responded to the horror genre; what he terms “toward an apologetic” for Christian horror; and the main objections Christians voice against horror and similar genres.
I don’t ready much in the horror genre, but I’ve read books by Duran, Mike Dellosso, and T.L. Hines, among others, and I have found the quality of the writing and stories to be at least equivalent to if not considerably better than much of what’s published in mainstream Christian fiction.
And Duran is right: it doesn’t always have to be an Amish romance.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
A well-constructed argument, and a reference
By Lee Thomas
This brief book has a single purpose: to convince the reader that Christians should not avoid horror in artistic works. Duran wants us to be persuaded that Christian artists should be able to create such works; Christian publishers, producers, distributors and sellers should be able to make them available; and Christian readers and viewers should be able to consume them; all without guilt. The book makes an excellent case for this position.
At the same time, Duran stresses that Christians should be discerning. In fact, he writes, Christians should be discerning even about the effects of consuming "clean" literature, which can warp a person's worldview as much as horror can.
My only complaint with the book is that it contains a small number of typos (which puts it in good company) and could have benefitted from more subheadings and other structure (ditto). While I don't expect a "broadside" to be professionally edited, I do expect it of an academic publication, and "Christian Horror" has the latter style in many places. But those are very minor distractions.
Overall, this book displays Duran's vast knowledge of the horror genre, as well as his depth of thought about not merely the theological issues, but their spiritual, practical, and pastoral application. This small volume should serve the reader to not only be persuaded by its argument, but also as a reference whenever the topic of horror might arise in discussion. It is a book worth not only reading, but keeping.
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