This book is the first in-depth cultural history of cinema's polyvalent and often contradictory appropriations of Shakespearean drama and performance traditions. The author argues that these adapatations have helped shape multiple aspects of film, from cinematic style to genre and narrative construction.

Explains how the American horror movie came into existence. Although early cinema has long been a key area of research in film studies, the origin and development of the horror film has been a neglected subject for what is arguably one of the world's most popular film genres. Using thousands of primary sources and long-unseen illustrations, 'The Birth of the American Horror Film' examines a history that begins in colonial Salem, taking an interdisciplinary approach to explore the influence of horror-themed literature, theatre and visual culture in America, and how that context established an amorphous structural foundation for films produced between 1895 and 1915. Exhaustively researched, bridging scholarship on Horror Studies and Early Cinema, 'The Birth of the American Horror Film' is the first major study dedicated to this vital but often overlooked subject. Suitable for use on courses focusing on Film History, Genre and Horror.

本书是《牛津英国文学指南》的最新版本。引进后作为“英美文学文库”的一册。对具有历史的及现代的重要意义的作家、作品、组织等均有简明介绍外,还收入了二十世纪新派文人.