Pearson Pipeline

With Halloween just around the corner, there’s no better way to impress fellow party goers with your knowledge of Halloween and Halloween-related topics than by learning about the holiday. But why read print books when there are tons of electronic books (eBooks) out there? At the Pearson Library there are several databases where you can find eBooks. Read the descriptions to figure out which one will be best for you.

Here are some books from E-BRARY you can sink your teeth into that will answer your questions about how this holiday has transformed from a day to celebrate the dead, to being a pagan tradition, to becoming a secular holiday. You can find out the significance of jack-o-lanterns, find films about zombies, and read classics like Dracula by Bram Stoker and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

Enjoy! And have a scary, fun, and safe Halloween!

Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night by Nicholas Rogers
In this fascinating study, Rogers shows how the holiday is a hodgepodge of ancient European pagan traditions, 19th-century Irish and Scottish celebrations, Western Christian interpretations of All Souls’ Day and thoroughly modern American consumer ideals. At its heart, he says, Halloween is a celebration of the inversion of social codes-children have power over adults, marauders can make demands of established homeowners and anyone may assume a temporary disguise. One chapter illuminates Halloween and Hollywood, while a chapter entitled Border Crossings discusses Halloween observance among non-Anglo populations in North America, including Mexico’s “Dia de los Muertos.”*

Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide by Glenn Kay and Stuart Gordon
For fans of the gory, grotesque, dark-humor-filled world of horror, zombie films may be the most beloved of subgenres. Kay provides a chronological listing, with summary and review, for more than 250 films from 1932 to 2008. Summaries of each decade, interviews with filmmakers, and other features are interspersed, as is a generous complement of promotional photos. A list of the author’s 25 favorite zombie films, an appendix of “zombie-less” zombie films, and a short bibliography follow. Director and film indexes complete the book.*

Horror Films by Collin Odell
Often subject to more cuts at the hands of the censor than a serial killer’s razor, the horror film has a fascinating history, not only as film study but also as a look at what has been considered acceptable for the public to view, and what the state will allow its citizens to see. But for the most part horror films are about entertainment—consistently profitable, eminently enjoyable. From horror cinema’s beginnings in the late 19th century to the latest splatter ilms, from the chills of the ghost film to the terror of the living dead, there is more than enough here to keep fans awake at night. Among the many films discussed are the popular Dracula, Evil Dead, Frankenstein, Halloween, Ringu, Scream, and The Sixth Sense, as well as the more unusual Black Cat, The Living Dead Girl, Nang Nak, Rouge, and Les Yeux sans Visage. The guide also profiles such popular directors as Dario Argento, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, David Cronenberg, Hideo Nakata, and Sam Raimi; as well as cult directors from around the world, including Coffin Joe, Jean Rollin, and Michele Soavi.*

From Demons to Dracula: The Creation of the Modern Vampire Myth by Matthew Beresford
In blood-soaked lore handed down the centuries, the vampire is a monster of endless fascination: from Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this seductive lover of blood haunts popular culture and inhabits our darkest imaginings. The cultural history of the vampire is a rich and varied tale that is now ably documented in From Demons to Dracula, a compelling study of the vampire myth that reveals why this creature of the undead fascinates us so.  Beresford’s chronicle roams from the mountains of Eastern Europe to the foggy streets of Victorian England to Hollywood, as he investigates the portrayal of the vampire in history, literature, and art.*

Haunted Halls: Ghostlore of American College Campuses by Elizabeth Tucker
Why do so many American college students tell stories about encounters with ghosts? In Haunted Halls, Tucker takes the reader back to school to get acquainted with a wide range of college spirits. Some of the best-known ghosts that she discusses are Emory University’s Dooley, who can disband classes by shooting professors with his water pistol; Mansfield University’s Sara, who threw herself down a flight of stairs after being rejected by her boyfriend; and Huntingdon College’s Red Lady, who slit her wrists while dressed in a red robe. Gettysburg College students have collided with ghosts of soldiers, while students at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College have reported frightening glimpses of the Faceless Nun.*

* All descriptions and covers of the books have been taken from amazon.com and may have been edited.

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