Danse Macabre

A different read from what is normally expected from King, but enjoyable nonetheless. It offers his unique perspectives on writing, as well as delving into the mechanisms and origins of the horror genre. His insights are truly thought-provoking and have stayed with me. I often find myself reflecting on these ideas when I am engrossed in a horror story. Now that I have explored some of his influences such as Blackwood and Lovecraft, my understanding and appreciation for Danse Macabre have deepened significantly. It's as if a new layer has been added to my perception of this work.

The accompanying image further enhances the overall experience. It provides a visual cue that adds to the atmosphere and mood of the piece, making it even more engaging and memorable.

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In 1981, long before he started writing his treatise "On Writing", Stephen King, upon the proposal of then publisher Bill Thompson - the man behind almost all of King's first books such as "Carrie", "Salem's Lot", "The Shining", "Night Shift" and "The Stand" - decided to engage in the analysis of the concept of horror, to conduct an anatomy of it and a deep study and portrayal of the small and large details that characterize and represent it, focusing on the period from 1950 to 1980, not just staying in literary horror but expanding his analysis to cinema, then-radio broadcasts, and even comics, which看似 are more innocent, but this is not the case in reality.

As you can understand, "The Macabre Dance" is not a story from the king of horror but an extensive analysis of the very concept of horror, by the man who reinvented it, shaped it in his hands giving it a form that inspires and finds imitators even today, and has established him as one of the top - if not the top - names associated with the words horror, fear, macabre, science fiction, thriller - both on the literary page and on the big screen. If you are a fan of King, then undoubtedly this book will delight you, because even in such a text, you will be able to easily distinguish all those elements that make King stand out and his audience love him. If on the other hand you belong to the other end of the debate, then this book is very likely not for you, not only because you do not profess faith in King but also because indeed, in some places, there is a certain dose of nonsense - or overanalysis, if you want to put it more elegantly - which I also believe could have been avoided.

Nevertheless, and leaving aside the aforementioned parameter, no one can fail to recognize in King the deep love and dedication he has to the genre he has served all these decades, but also how deeply he has searched, studied and analyzed it, with him characteristically stating that every horror story, in whatever way and in whatever medium it is portrayed, always moves between two levels, that of the fright where it wants to cause this to the viewer/listener/reader, regardless of how cleverly and masterfully one can be led to the desired level, but also a deeper and more essential one, which has to do with the search in the course of our journey through a story until we reach its finale, with us moving rhythmically, as if dancing to the rhythm of a goal that we cannot avoid even if we wanted to, but which in reality we do not want because its "song" has taken us with it.

The book, despite its some nonsensical points, as I said earlier, is well-written, studied and very beautifully structured, divided into ten chapters, with each one serving its own purpose. The references to beloved books and movies awaken a nostalgic mood in us - perhaps even making us feel the urge to go back to them experiencing the reading or viewing experience with a different mood this time - while the author's humor is discrete in many places and dosed in such a way that it does not show any attitude of superiority, although it could easily fall into this trap, but on the contrary making the whole text particularly enjoyable and pleasant to read. Surely, reading this book 41 years after its first publication, King's writings have a different weight than they had when he didn't even have ten book titles in his bibliography, but in any case, it is an interesting and introspective experience.