Danse Macabre   ::   Кинг Стивен

Afterword

IN JULY OF 1977, my wife and I hosted a gathering of my wife's entire family-a giant collection of sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, and millions of kids. My wife spent most of that week cooking and of course what always happens at family gatherings happened at this one: everybody brought a casserole. Much food was eaten on the shores of Long Lake that sunny summer day; many cans of beer were consumed. And when the crowd of Spruces and Atwoods and LaBrees and Graveses and everyone else had departed, we were left with enough food to feed an army regiment.

So we ate leftovers.

Day in, day out, we ate leftovers. And when Tabby brought out the remains of the turkey for the fifth or sixth time (we had eaten turkey soup, turkey surprise, and turkey with noodles; this day it was something simpler, nice, nourishing turkey sandwiches), my son Joe, who was then five, looked at it and screamed: "Do we have to eat this shit again ?” I didn't know whether to laugh or clout him upside the head. As I recall, I did both.

I told you that story because people who have read a lot of my work will realize that they have eaten a few leftovers here. I have used material from my introduction to Night Shift , from my introduction to the New American Library's omnibus edition of Frankenstein, Dracula , and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide , from an article entitled "The Fright Report," originally published in Oui magazine, from an article called "The Third Eye" in The Writer ; much of the material on Ramsey Campbell originally appeared in Stuart Schiff's Whispers magagine.

Now before you decide to clout me upside the lead or to scream "Do we have to eat this shit again?" let me point out to you what my wife pointed out to my son on the day of the turkey sandwiches: there are hundreds of different recipes for turkey, but they all taste like turkey.

And coupled with that, she said, it is a shame to waste good things.

This is not to say that my article in Oui was so paralyzingly great or that my thoughts on Ramsey Campbell were so deathless that they deserved to be preserved in a book; it is only to say that, while my thoughts and feelings on the genre I've spent most of my life working in may have evolved or shifted somewhat in perspective, they haven't really changed. That change may come, but since there has only been a passage of four years since I originally stated many of my feelings about horror and terror in the Night Shift introduction, it would be surprising-even suspect-if I were to suddenly deny everything I had written previous to this book.

In my own defense, I'll add that Danse Macabre gave me the space to develop some of these ideas in more detail than I had ever been given before, and for that I must thank Bill Thompson and Everest House. In no case did I simply reheat something I had written before; I tried as hard as I could to develop each idea as fully as possible without beating it into the ground. In some cases, I may have done just that, though, and all I can do in such cases is to beg your indulgence.

And I think that really is the end. Thank you again for coming with me, and rest you well.

But, being who I am and what I am, I cannot find it in my heart to wish you pleasant dreams . . .



APPENDIX 1

THE FILMS

Below is a list of roughly one hundred fantasy/horror films tied together by their time and their excellence. All were released during the period 1950-1980, and all of them seem to me to be particularly interesting in one way or another; if I may say so without sounding like an Academy Awards presenter, all of them have contributed something of value to the genre. You will find my own personal favorites marked with an asterisk ( * ). Special thanks are due to Kirby McCauley, who provided invaluable help with the list.

TITLE DIRECTOR YEAR The Abominable Dr. Phibes Robert Fuest 1971

* Alien Ridley Scott 1979

Asylum Roy Ward Baker 1972

The Bad Seed Mervyn LeRoy 1956

The Birds Alfred Hitchcock 1963

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage Dario Argento 1969

* Black Sunday Mario Bava 1961

* The Brood David Cronentberg 1979

Burnt Offerings Dan Curtis 1976

Burn Witch Burn Sidney Hayers 1962

* The Cage Walter Graumann 1961

* Carrie Brian De Palma 1976

The Conqueror Worm Michael Reeves 1968

* Creature from the Black Lagoon Jack Arnold 1954

* The Creeping Unknown Val Guest 1955

* Curse of the Demon Jacques Tourneur 1957

The Day of the Triiffids Steve Sekely 1963

* Dawn of the Dead George A. Romero 1979

The Deadly Beer Freddie Francis 1967

Deep Red Dario Argento ?

* Deliverance John Boorman 1972

* dementia-13 Francis Coppola 1963

Diabolique Henri-Georges Clouzot1955

Doctor Terror's House of Horrors Freddie Francis 1965

Don't Look Now Nicholas Roeg 1973

* Duel Steven Spielberg 1971

* Enemy from Space Val Guest 1957

Eraserhead David Lynch 1978

* The Exorcist William Friedkin 1973

The Exterminating Angel Luis Bunuel 1963

Eye of the Cat David Lowell Rich 1969

The Fly Kurt Neumann 1958

* Frenzy Alfred Hitchcock 1972

The Fury Brian De Palma 1978

Gorgo Eugene Lourie 1961

* Halloween John Carpenter 1978

* The Haunting Robert Wise 1963

The H-Man Inoshiro Honda 1958

Horrors of the Black Museum Arthur Crabtree 1959

Hour of the Wolf Ingmar Bergman 1967

The House that Dripped Blood Peter Duffell 1970

Hush . . . Hush, Sweet Charlotte Robert Aldrich 1965

* I Bury the Living Albert Band 1958

The Incredible Shrinking Man Jack Arnold 1957

* Invasion of the Body Snatchers Don Siegel 1956

Invasion of the Body Snatchers Philip Kaufman 1978

I Saw What You Did William Castle 1965

* It Came from Outer Space Jack Arnold 1953

It! The Terror from Beyond Space Edward L. Cahn 1958

* Jaws Steven Spielberg 1975

The Killer Shrews Ken Curtis 1959

Last Summer Frank Perry 1969

* Let's Scare Jessica to Death John Hancock 1971

Macabre William Castle 1958

* Martin George A. Romero 1977

The Masque of the Red Death Roger Corman 1964

Night Must Fall Karel Reisz 1964

* The Night of the Hunter Charles Laughton 1955

* Night of the Living Dead George A. Romero 1968

Not of This Earth Roger Corman 1956

No Way to Treat a Lady Jack Smight 1968

Panic in the Year Zero Ray Milland 1962

* Picnic at Hanging Rock Peter Weir 1978

The Pit and the Pendulum Roger Corman 1961

* Psycho Alfred Hitchcock 1960

* Rabid David Cronenberg 1976

Race with the Devil Jack Starrett 1975

* Repulsion Roman Polanski 1965

* Rituals ? 1978

* Rosemary's Baby Roman Polanski 1968

Salem's Lot Tobe Hooper 19