Scared Sacred: Idolatry, Religion and Worship in the Horror Film

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Scared Sacred: Idolatry, Religion and Worship in the Horror Film is our collection of writings exploring the cultural history of religion in horror cinema.

Featuring a foreword from Pinhead himself, Doug Bradley, and sixteen original chapter illustrations, the anthology travels around the world, blending folklore and critical analysis to frame its discussion of favorite horror films, including:

—atheism in Lovecraft adaptations (In the Mouth of Madness) to purgatorial absolution (Hellraiser);

—the Medieval witch (Haxan) to modern-day martyrdom (Martyrs);

—and familial zealotry (Frailty) to the relationship between the feline-fatale and zoolatry (Kuroneko).

Contents

Foreword

by Doug Bradley

Introduction

Reading Religion in the Dead of Night

by Professor Douglas E Cowan

Onward Christian Soldiers: Eyes of Believers in The Conjuring (2013) and The Conjuring 2 (2016)

by Alexandra West

“I don’t know if we’ve got the heir to the Thorn millions here or Jesus Christ himself”: Catholicism, Satanism and the Role of Predestination in The Omen (1976)

by LMK Sheppard

As God Is My Witness: Martyrdom in Modern-Day Horror

by Andrea Subissati

The Last Sin Eater: The Purgatorial Testament and Redemption of the Hell Priest in the Hellraiser Mythology

by Rebecca Booth

Needful Things: Buddhism and Gender in Onibaba (1964) and Nang Nak (1999)

by Erin Thompson

Between Two Worlds: Regression, Restitution and Soul Transmigration in The Dybbuk (1937) and Demon (2015)

by Rebecca Booth

From the Stake to the Sanitarium: Taming the Disruptive Feminine in Häxan (1922) and Antichrist (2009)

by Valeska Griffiths

Monstrous Realism: Irreligious Religion in Lovecraft’s Cosmic Horror

by Anya Stanley

“Not everything that moves, breathes and talks is alive”: Christianity, Korean Shamanism and Reincarnation in Whispering Corridors (1998) and The Wailing (2016)

by Frazer Lee

Deprogramming the Program: The Image and Anxiety of the Religious Cult in the Made-for-Television Film

by Amanda Reyes

I Believe in Death: William Peter Blatty and the Horror of Faith in The Ninth Configuration (1980) and The Exorcist III (1990)

by Samm Deighan

The Last Temptation: Demonic Warfare and Supernatural Sacrifice in The Amityville Horror (1979) and When the Lights Went Out (2012)

by Erin Thompson

A Taste for Blood and Truth: Bill Gunn’s Ganja & Hess (1973)

by John Cussans

Zoolatry and the Feline Fatale: Obsession, Femininity and Revenge in Cat People (1942) and Kuroneko (1968)

by Joseph Dwyer

Faith and Idolatry in the Abrahamic Religions: Security Through Symbols in Şeytan (1974) and Jinn (2014)

by Neil Gravino

Prophetic Voices and the Lethal Hand of God: The Religious Zealotry of Frailty (2001)

by Chris Hallock

Praise for Scared Sacred

“Scared Sacred is a creative and diverse exploration of the religion in horror, as well as the horrific in religion.”
- Jess Peacock, Rue Morgue

“The word ‘religion’ covers far more than mere ritual or prayer; accordingly, the collection delves into issues that are as pressing and as wide-ranging as such a loaded word demands. Scared Sacred concerns itself with history, politics, culture, race, and gender. Though topics such as reincarnation, redemption, power, misogyny, and bigotry recur throughout the collection, each author approaches the weighty topics with a unique and thought-provoking voice that reinforces the importance of such a scholarly effort.
Horror is a religion for many fans, and […] Scared Sacred allows for deeper, more insightful worship.”
- Jessica Scott, Horrified

“[T]he subject matter includes everything from the Hell Priest of Hellraiser, to exorcism and martyrdom, to cosmic religious horror — any reader will be hooked. The structure of the anthology allows the reader to take a personal, spiritual journey through the horror of the unknown and see it in the black and white of the page. Having these chilling films dissected only helps to further underline just how horrific they are and why they continue to haunt us. Scared Sacred is a must for the film buff’s shelf.”
- CC Stapleton, Bloody Good Horror

“It is particularly noteworthy just how broad the range of discussion in Scared Sacred extends: propaganda, race, and gender politics are just a few of the topics that prove to be inexorably tied to divinity. Scared Sacred is sure to become a holy text for those with any interest in how the holy interacts with horror.”
- Zack Long, Scriptophobic

“A phenomenal collection from a diverse group of film theorists and critics, Scared Sacred examines the ways that horror films distill and reflect wider cultural opinions on religion and theology. It certainly includes the films you’d expect to see (Exorcist, Amityville, Hellraiser) but also dives deeper, spanning films from the dawn of cinema to recent releases, and looking at how theology is treated in films from around the world. The entire book is professional, well-designed from the eye-catching cover to the moody wood-block inspired artwork throughout.”
- Dan Stout (Author), Goodreads