Monsters Within ...
Overview
About
01: Psychological Horror Films
Join Eric R. Williams, Professor in the School of Media Arts & Studies, to examine the genre of psychological horror films through three popular movies. Discover how, while each movie is vastly different, they all stem from the same foundational—and very commonly known—story.
02: Victorian Horror Novels
Examine why many of the monsters featured in Victorian novels are more human-like than your standard understanding of a monster. Looking at Dorian Gray, Dr. Jekyll, and Bertha Mason, among others, Professor Cognard-Black explores how the Victorians projected the most disturbing parts of being a human into these fictional freaks and ultimately created enduring monsters—ones that continue to shock and thrill contemporary Americans.
03: The Horrific, Moral, and Transcendental
Review various concepts and ideas through history to explain, first, what horror is, and then, why people like horror. Comparing various philosophical views, Professor Breyer considers why we find horrific characters so compelling. He examines the use of three types of monsters through storytelling: the horrific, the moral, and the transcendental. He further considers how as a manifestation of evil, they become teaching tools to help us better confront real-life psychological and physical fears and to help us gain a moral compass to better understand what is right and wrong.