Published in 2024
272 pages
9 hours and 19 minutes
Emily C. Hughes (she/her) writes about horror and curates a list of the year’s new scary books. Her first book is Horror for Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Films You’re Too Scared to Watch. You can find her writing elsewhere in the New York Times, Vulture, Reactor Magazine, and more.
What is this book about?
A smart, funny crash course in the horror movie canon, from Psycho to Hereditary, for people who love getting the reference but hate being scared.
You don’t have to miss out just because you don’t like to be frightened. Stop trying to read nonsensical Wikipedia plot summaries (we know you’re doing it), and let an expert tell you everything you need to know about the most influential horror films of the past sixty years—without a single jump scare or a drop of gore.
With a rundown of the history and significance of horror cinema, explanations of common tropes, and detailed entries on twenty-five important movies ranging from Night of the Living Dead to The Blair Witch Project to Get Out, Horror for Weenies will turn even the scarediest of cats into a confident connoisseur.
Each entry includes: a detailed plot summary, with enough jokes that it won’t freak you out; smart, illuminating analysis of the film’s themes and cultural significance; descriptions of iconic scenes you definitely do not want to look at; and talking points for impressing even the biggest scary-movie buffs.
Horror for Weenies is the first installment in the Outsider’s Guide series, which offers highly listenable crash courses in major cultural phenomena, so you can catch the references and understand the big deal. Never get left out of a conversation again.
