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Horror Lex®
@horrorlex.bsky.social
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Horror Lex® (https://horrorlex.com) is the home of academic horror. Explore our huge research database of scholarly, thoughtful writings on horror films. #horror
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horrorlex.bsky.social
Horror Lex® @horrorlex.bsky.social · 17d
What are we writing about when we write about horror films? Which films got the most love? Which authors and editors were the busiest of (killer) bees?

Get ready for the Horror Lex 2025 Year in Review! Coming tomorrow.
The logo for the Horror Lex Year in Review 2025, featuring a silhouette of a werewolf in spectacles howling at the full moon.
horrorlex.bsky.social
The media-minded mavens of @mesonpress.bsky.social have a new #openaccess book about charged and textured cinema, "Sticky Films." Download to read Julia Willms' chapter on haptic imagery, snuff films & the emotion of disgust in 2021's CENSOR. Ed. @poodlesnygg.bsky.social
meson.press/books/sticky...
On the left, the cover of the book "Sticky Films," with a photo collage of things that are sticky (like a bottle of glue and rolls of tape) with bright pops of pink. On the right, an image from the 2021 film CENSOR in which a brown-haired White woman stands against an emerald green-lit forest, her cream-colored nightgown streaked with blood.
February 11, 2026 at 1:37 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
"Hannibal Lecter: A Life" is a biography of a meal of a man. @brianraftery.bsky.social's new book delves into Thomas Harris's cannibal creation, the film adaptations, and interviews with those who know him best. @simonandschuster.bsky.social
www.simonandschuster.com/books/Hannib...
On the left, the cover of the book "Hannibal Lecter: A Life" with a large drawing of a slice of pie on a plate. The pie looks like it's made of meat, topped with meringue. On the right, Anthony Hopkins glares straight at the camera as Hannibal Lecter, in a very close close-up, in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991).
February 10, 2026 at 1:41 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
"Unserious Ecocriticism" laughs as the world burns. Contributor @pfgonder.bsky.social looks at the horror-farmer connection (yee-haw!) and @jenniferschell16.bsky.social chuckles at THE THAW & TROLLHUNTER. #openaccess from Amherst College Press @jstor.bsky.social
www.jstor.org/stable/10.39...
On the left, the cover of the book "Unserious Ecocriticism: Humor, Play and Environmental Destruction in Art & Visual Culture" featuring a photograph of a person sitting in a pool float shaped like a pink flamingo, but they're sitting not in water but rather on top of black asphalt. On the right, an image of a giant troll standing menacingly against a snowy and barren landscape, from the 2010 film TROLLHUNTER.
February 9, 2026 at 2:56 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
"My family's always been in meat." "The Legacy of Leatherface" traces 50 years of the Sawyer clan and their BBQ-lovin' lifestyle. Ed @shanehw.bsky.social w/ @realtopekapeople.com @jacobbabb.bsky.social and other contributors. New from @mcfarland.bsky.social.
mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-...
The cover of the book "The Legacy of Leatherface: Essays on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Series" featuring Leatherface himself with his dirty and degraded mask of human skin and wielding a big chainsaw.
February 6, 2026 at 1:41 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
"They've constructed eyes for me, to watch the show." Soraya Murray's new book "Technothriller" sees the rise of the machines created by humankind that threaten to eliminate us, incl. in DEMON SEED, EX MACHINA, WESTWORLD, and M3GAN. @mitpress.bsky.social
mitpress.mit.edu/978026205101...
The cover of the book "Technothriller: Film and the American Imagination" featuring a striated photo of a woman's eyes, wide-eyed in fear.
February 4, 2026 at 1:32 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
"I PLAN ON WRITING AN EPIC POEM ABOUT THIS GORGEOUS PIE." Brent Simon + dozens of interviewees highlight David Lynch, the Actor, in his Twin Peaks role as the very insightful, very loud, Agent Gordon Cole. New from TuckerDS Press. @scottryanfmp.bsky.social
www.tuckerdspress.com/product-page...
The cover of the book "The Dreamer's Path: Twin Peaks and David Lynch the Actor," featuring two photos of David Lynch in his role as FBI agent Gordon Cole, one from the older series and one from the newer.
February 3, 2026 at 1:38 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
Everyone wave your severed limbs! The Refocus series has a new volume on the Godfather of Gore himself, Herschell Gordon Lewis. Ed @brassupnorth.bsky.social w/ @serialmummy.bsky.social @mleeder.bsky.social @drdantils.bsky.social @edinburghup.bsky.social
edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-refocus...
The cover of the book "ReFocus: The Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis" featuring a behind-the-scenes photo of the director gesturing toward a blonde actress sitting on a kitchen counter; he appears to be directing her in a scene.
February 2, 2026 at 1:34 PM
Reposted by Horror Lex®
dianearodgers.bsky.social
Our new podcast FOLKLORE MATTERS launches today! Have at it! #folklore
nfsengland.bsky.social National Folklore Survey for England @nfsengland.bsky.social · 13d
Our brand new podcast, Folklore Matters, launches today.

David Clarke, Sophie Parkes-Nield, and Diane Rodgers speak to people working with or researching folklore to find out more about their work, how they discovered folklore, and to get their thoughts on the findings of the Survey.
January 29, 2026 at 11:50 AM
horrorlex.bsky.social
(8/8) The #HorrorLex2025 Year in Review concludes!

Almost 800 people contributed to at least one work in the Horror Lex index in 2025 as an author or editor. But let us thank those prolific few who contributed the most to the database this past year. A big wolf awoooo you all!
Two Horror Lex 2025 Year in Review charts. The chart titled Most Featured Authors lists: Simon Bacon, Mo Moshaty, Cullen Wade, Kyle William Bishop, Chris Fellner, Wayne Kinsey, Matt Rogerson, Scott Ryan, and Tom Weaver. The chart titled Honorable Mentions lists: Filipa Antunes, Cüneyt Çakırlar, Mark Fryers, C. Wylie Lenz, Laura Loguercio Cánepa, Robin R. Means Coleman, Kristopher Woofter, Dawn Keetley, Kristen Leer, Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns, Alison Peirse, Catherine Pugh, and Kim Newman.
January 25, 2026 at 11:53 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
(7/8) The #HorrorLex2025 Year in Review continues!

Third, these are the films that are just happily enjoying some attention. They were all written about rarely in years past but, for whatever reason, shot up the rankings in 2025 -- a subjective selection by Professor Lex.
The Horror Lex 2025 Year in Review chart titled Films/TV Having a Moment. They are: Good Manners (As Boas Maneiras) (2017), Atlantics (Atlantique) (2019), Season of the Witch (1972), Twin Peaks (in all its forms), iZombie (TV series), Lovecraft Country (TV series), Scream 2 (1997), Titane (2021), and Saint Maud (2019).
January 25, 2026 at 10:50 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
(6/8) The #HorrorLex2025 Year in Review continues!

Second, which films released in the last 2 years were red-hot topics? SINNERS is tops but last year's winner THE SUBSTANCE held on strong.
The Horror Lex 2025 Year in Review chart titled Most Discussed *New* Films. In rank order, the films are: Sinners (2025), The Substance (2024), I Saw the TV Glow (2024), Nosferatu (2024), Frankenstein (2025), Weapons (2025), 28 Years Later (2024), Presence (2024), and The Shrouds (2024).
January 25, 2026 at 8:37 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
(5/8) The #HorrorLex2025 Year in Review continues!

What films were hot topics? We sliced that data in three different ways. First, this is the uncorrected raw results: the films that were substantively discussed the most, period.
The Horror Lex 2025 Year in Review chart titled Most Discussed Films. In rank order, the films are: The Exorcist (1973), Get Out (2017), Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Shining (1980), The Witch (2015), Psycho (1960), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Alien (1979), and Hereditary (2018).
January 25, 2026 at 7:07 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
(4/8) The #HorrorLex2025 Year in Review continues!

New this year: What monsters dominated our writings? Bloodsuckers lead the dance, and Satan brings up the rear (of course he does).
The Horror Lex 2025 Year in Review chart titled Most Discussed Monsters. In rank order, the monsters are: vampires/Dracula, zombies, ghosts, witches, animals/beasts (the last two are tied), cannibals, Frankenstein, aliens, Godzilla (the last two are tied), and finally Satan.
January 25, 2026 at 6:08 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
(3/8) The #HorrorLex2025 Year in Review continues!

What place in the world got the most attention in terms of its horror cinema or culture? Congrats to the Yanks again this year, but there are some new hot spots like Africa and Indonesia. Missing this year, compared to last? Germany and Australia.
The Horror Lex 2025 Year in Review chart titled Most Discussed Geography. In rank order, the countries are: United States of America, Japan, India, France, Korea, Spain (the last 3 in a tie), Italy, Africa, and Indonesia (the last two in a tie).
January 25, 2026 at 5:04 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
(2/8) First, what were the hottest topics? Once again, femme gender was tops by a huge margin. But it got a run for its money from "trauma is the monster" (ugh/yay?) and the horror of our own tender flesh. #HorrorLex2025
The Horror Lex 2025 Year in Review chart titled Most Common Topics. In rank order, the topics are: gender (female/women), trauma/abuse, body horror, race (Black/African-American), literature, feminism, vampires/Dracula, gothic, slashers, and lastly a tie between folk horror and zombies.
January 25, 2026 at 4:09 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
(1/8) Welcome to the Horror Lex Year in Review! We have stats about what everyone was writing about in 2025, based on data from 500+ works of nonfiction about horror & horror-adjacent films. Follow them all with this: #HorrorLex2025
January 25, 2026 at 4:06 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
About to start the #HorrorLex2025 Year in Review. But understand that I also feel the deep sadness in the US this weekend. I cannot fix where we need to be fixed. But we remain free to write, discuss, and see some goodness once in a while. Take care, keep writing, about it all.
January 25, 2026 at 4:02 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
What are we writing about when we write about horror films? Which films got the most love? Which authors and editors were the busiest of (killer) bees?

Get ready for the Horror Lex 2025 Year in Review! Coming tomorrow.
The logo for the Horror Lex Year in Review 2025, featuring a silhouette of a werewolf in spectacles howling at the full moon.
January 24, 2026 at 9:42 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
Tell your brujas, the latest @comparativecinema.bsky.social ‬ examines the Spanish Monstrous-Feminine. Get an illuminating interview w/Barbara Creed and articles in English on [REC], CREATURA, exorcism exploitation, WITCHING & BITCHING. #openaccess @fersanchezlop.bsky.social
raco.cat/index.php/Co...
The cover of the latest issue of Comparative Cinema, "The Body Without Limits: The Monstrous Feminine in Spanish Cinema," featuring a doubled image of a red-haired woman with large horns facing away from the camera. On the right, an image from the Spanish horror-comedy film WITCHING & BITCHING in which a beautiful young witch with a half-shaved head confronts two seated men, who look sweaty and very worried.
January 20, 2026 at 1:58 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
"Tell, Don't Show." Larissa Barbosa Curi talks about the power of Quint's USS Indianapolis monologue, Heather's "I want to apologize" testimonial, and other "verbal accounts" in what's otherwise a very visual medium: the horror film. #openaccess at Int'l J Film & Media Arts
doi.org/10.24140/ijf...
On the left, a screenshot of the article "Tell, Don't Show: Form, Function and Affect of Verbal Account Scenes in Anglophone Horror Films and Thrillers," in plain text. On the right, the famous still from THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT in which Heather turns the camera on her own face in the dark, as she cries and gives a long speech about how sorry she is.
January 16, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Horror Lex®
momoshaty.bsky.social
We know you’ve been waiting for #NightTideMag’s Monthly Macabre: Pre-Code Horror since December BUT, it’s dropping mañana! To get your gears turning, January’s theme is: OBSESSION/FIXATION HORROR! Deadline to pitches is Jan 23rd at NightTideMag.com/pitch 👻 📽️
January 15, 2026 at 1:51 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
Mickey Mouse, nooooo! Thomas Caffrey examines certain recent abominations of public-domain kiddie characters with 1996's PINOCCHIO'S REVENGE to see if there can be such a thing as meaningful kindertrauma. New in Children's Lit in Education @springer.springernature.com
doi.org/10.1007/s105...
On the left, a screenshot of the article "Toward a Transformational Adaptation in Horror Adaptations of Public Domain Children's Literature: Kevin S. Tenney's 'Pinocchio's Revenge' as a Framework" in plain text. On the right, an image from the film PINOCCHIO'S REVENGE in which the children's literature character appears as a scary, wooden attacker wielding a knife.
January 15, 2026 at 1:43 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
Start your new year by getting some science dropped on you, BOOM. @elizacosta24.bsky.social & @davidsears.bsky.social look at the cognitive basis for the jump-scare reaction, using *THAT* scene from THE DESCENT. Their new report is #openaccess from #FrontiersinPsychology.
doi.org/10.3389/fpsy...
On the left, a screenshot of the article "(Re)Considering the jump scare in four elements" in plain text. On the right, a famous jump-scare image from 2005's THE DESCENT, filmed in blue-tinted night vision, in which a pale humanoid creature looms behind an unaware woman in a cave.
January 14, 2026 at 1:45 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
Patrick & Elaine: Two narcissistic murderers, favored by their cities. Aleksandra Noińska's new essay revisits the killers of AMERICAN PSYCHO & THE LOVE WITCH along with their "symbiotic relationships" with their urban environments. #openaccess #NewHorizonsinEnglishStudies
dx.doi.org/10.17951/nh....
On the left, a screenshot of the article "The Symbiotic Relationship Between the Murderer and the City, a Silent Accomplice in Crime, in The Love Witch and American Psycho" in plain text. On the right, an image from the film THE LOVE WITCH (2016) showing the main character, a beautiful young woman with long brown hair, just after she's stabbed someone with a knife she's still holding. She's looking at the camera plaintively.
January 13, 2026 at 7:15 PM
horrorlex.bsky.social
New Monstrum slipped in just before 2025 ended! Essays on "vegan & animal welfare horror": cannibals, plant-witches, the King of the Ants & scared little rabbits in HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES. @mikethorn.bsky.social @fredbarrett.bsky.social and others #openaccess
www.monstrum-society.ca/monstrum-v8-...
On the left, the cover of Monstrum issue. 8.2, consisting of a black and white drawing of a large city being enveloped by vegetation. On the right, an image from THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE in which a blonde woman is tied to a chair at a dinner table, a plate of food in front of her, as she screams and struggles.
January 13, 2026 at 1:20 PM