What the Daemon Said: Essays on Horror Fiction, Film, and Philosophy

For more than two decades, Matt Cardin has been one of the most profound and provocative critics and scholars working in the field of horror fiction, and this volume contains his collected essays on a wide array of topics within the genre. Cardin has made a specialty in treating the multifaceted work of Thomas Ligotti, and in six substantial papers he discusses such subjects as H. P. Lovecraft's influence on Ligotti's work and thought, the nature of horror in such celebrated tales as Nethescurial and The Bungalow House, and other phases of the work of this master of the weird. And in a wide array of interviews, Cardin provides insight into his own vision and outlook, which have served as the basis of his weird tales. But Cardin is best known as a critic who has brought a formidable knowledge of philosophy and religion to the analysis of horror fiction. Angels and demons; religion and vampires; the nature of cosmic horror-these and other topics are treated by Cardin in the context of horror fiction and film ranging from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to George Romero's Living Dead films. In these and other papers, Matt Cardin displays his effortless mastery of the many complex issues evoked by the very nature of the weird tale.This is the perfect companion piece to Matt's fiction omnibus To Rouse Leviathan. We're lucky that Matt exists in our world at this particular time and place, in which the weirdness of our day-to-day reality is in dire need of his deeply humanistic criticisms, ideas, suggestions, and presence.-Jon Padgett, author of The Secret of VentriloquismFor my money, Matt Cardin is the most interesting voice in horror criticism of our time. His investigations into the intersection of religion and horror get to the root of what makes this literary mode so potent and so profound. The arrival of this book is an event to be celebrated. It belongs on the shelf of every reader who cares about the human mind, creativity, and how they relate to this bleak and beautiful literature.-Nathan Ballingrud, author of North American Lake Monsters