Horror Lex®

Horror Lex® ( is the home of academic horror. Explore our huge research database of scholarly, thoughtful writings on horror films. #horror

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

Horror Lex will no longer be posting here daily, or perhaps at all. Please join us at https://t.co/fSxNuExkcz (which has a nice little academic/film community, by the way) and continue to enjoy our site https://t.co/uk3b1KZ4sM, which isn't going anywhere. Awooo!

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

We agree with William Burns that CRUISING (1980) is an "underrated, misunderstood masterpiece" about a serial killer lurking in the S&M shadows. Read his new essay in @blfj to revisit the film's production and legacy. #openaccess
https://t.co/SsE59MA3qN

[Horror Homeroom @horrorhomeroom]

A longer think piece by William Burns on Fritz Lang's M & its influence on representations of serial killers (Burns also wrote the brilliant Ghost of an Idea: Hauntology, Folk Horror and the Spectre of Nostalgia, from @Headpress) https://t.co/OaGQ1PAFeR

https://t.co/1GuxCDRmN8

[Headpress @Headpress]

An excellent piece on Fritz Lang's M over at @horrorhomeroom. Author William Burns is also the mind behind our latest book, Ghost of an Idea: Hauntology, Folk Horror and the Spectre of Nostalgia. #fritzlang #peterlorre #serialkillers #cultfilm

https://t.co/qIEgOv3ZBz

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

In the wake of David Lynch's death, those inspired to write about his signature real-as-surreal style should check out our blog. We've pulled together 75+ books & essays about Lynch and his films that are **FREE** to read/download. #davidlynch #openaccess
https://t.co/oks63K57Nv

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

Another *free* ebook from @CambridgeUP's gothic series, from the venerable @maishawester. "African American Gothic in the Era of Black Lives Matter" looks to GET OUT, CANDYMAN '21, LOVECRAFT COUNTRY and more, w/in the movement that helped define our times.
https://t.co/3TcGBuAF1z

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

When we think of an '80s teen icon, why is it Ferris Bueller and not Freddy Krueger? Cullen Wade asks a good question and crunches the box office numbers at @HorrorHomeroom #openaccess #horror https://t.co/zMntZXLhD5

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

Bonus note: The authors compare ATLANTIQUE (the feature-lenth version of Diop's two films) with John Carpenter's THE FOG (1980), including with some side-by-side screenshots. How did I not notice that similarity before??

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

How can we use ghost stories like Mati Diop's ATLANTICS (2019) to teach about post-colonial hauntings of French-speaking Africa? Find out in Doyle D. Calhoun & Jill Jarvis's new essay in @YaleFrenStudies. Normally e-embargoed but it's #openaccess pre-pub!
https://t.co/UZynjHZLi5

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

The cover story of this Winter's American Entomologist asks: "Are Entomologists Mad Scientists (According to #Horror Movies)?" Maybe--I've seen PHENOMENA, and that McGregor guy is sketch. Author Edwin Harris / access via Oxford Academic @EntsocAmerica
https://t.co/ftJcIYHHih

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

A fascinating exploration of a 1960 #horror film shot thru w/Mexico's socio-political turmoil. Read Raúl Rodríguez-Hernández & Claudia Schaefer's "Orlak, The Hell of Frankenstein: Screen Monsters and Mexican Modernity" #openaccess in Transmodernity.
https://t.co/eWHyzIkYid

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

We missed this over the holidays, but check it out --- SAW and vampires, SAW and philosophy, SAW traps as queer!

[HORROR SCHOLAR @ScholarHorror]

Oopsie daisy, look what I dropped: https://t.co/fiZMVQn1N9

The sixth issue is OUT! #horror

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

Data Note 6B: As a final caveat to this entire series, the indexing at Horror Lex is done by a human, not AI. Subjectiveness abounds. Also, we have access to the text of the vast majority of the 2024 works, but not 100%. Take all this data as trends, not hard science.

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

(6/6) The Horror Lex Year in Review concludes! #HorrorLex2024

Over 800 people contributed to at least one work in the Horror Lex index in 2024 as author or editor. We ❤️ you all! But let us thank those prolific few who contributed the most works this year. Do y'all ever sleep?

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

Data Note 6A: These honorees on Twitter are: @FernandoPagnon3 @baconetti @dawnkeetley @StepfordDotter @TheProfRog @annodracula @HauntedKevin

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

Data Note 5A: This is based on a small number of works, and almost all are articles/essays rather than books - but that's the point. Usu. it takes a few years for very new films to trickle into the zeitgeist, but these films were so hot, people have been writing about them ASAP.

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

(5/6) The Horror Lex 2024 Year in Review continues! #HorrorLex2024

Third, to get a sense of the most talked-about films of the moment, we took the subset of Trending Films that were released in 2023 or 2024. The Substance was first with a bullet:

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

(4/6) The Horror Lex 2024 Year in Review continues! #HorrorLex2024

Second, what films were not just talked about but heating up? We looked at just those films that were the sole/primary focus of a particular work. Note what changed & what didn't - including a swap of Candymans!

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

Data Note 3A: PSYCHO has held the overall most-discussed-film spot at Horror Lex since we began. Not surprising: it's both a key film in horror history AND people have had decades to write about it. Will be interesting to see if any film rivals it as the years go by.

[Horror Lex® @HorrorLex]

(3/6) The Horror Lex 2024 Year in Review continues! #HorrorLex2024

What films were hot topics? We sliced that data in three ways. First, this is the uncorrected raw results: the films that were substantively discussed the most, period.