The suburban gothic in American popular culture / Bernice M. Murphy

Author:: Murphy, Bernice M.
Published:: Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Physical Description:: vi, 236 pages ; 23 cm

Full Text available online

By special arrangement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, patrons may access this resource online through the HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service.

HathiTrust logo Check out digital copy through HathiTrust

Availability

Finding items...

Contents:

Introduction : welcome to disturbia -- The house down the street : the suburban gothic in Shirley Jackson and Richard Matheson -- Conjure wife : the suburban witch -- Aliens, androids and zombies : dehumanisation and the suburban gothic -- "You son of a bitch! : you only moved the headstones!" haunted suburbia -- Don't go down to the basement! : serial murder, family values and the suburban horror film -- "Ah, but underneath-- " : Buffy the vampire slayer and Desperate housewives -- Conclusion : the end of suburbia?

Summary:

"From the beginning of the post-war era, suburbia has frequently served as a setting for narratives of fear, repression and horror. Why has this been the case? And what actually is the Suburban Gothic? Beginning with a discussion of Shirley Jackson's novel The Road Through the Wall (1948) and ending with Desperate Housewives (2004-), this book discusses representative texts from each decade up to the present day. Each chapter provides a contextualising examination of the era and the cultural and historical contexts of its setting, thus providing a unique insight into the changing face of the suburbs and, by extension, of American society."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject(s):

ISBN:

9780230218109 (alk. paper)
0230218105 (alk. paper)

Bibliography Note:

Includes bibliographical references, filmography, and index.

View MARC record | catkey: 6192175