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Catholic Horror and Rhetorical Dialectics

Catholic Horror and Rhetorical Dialectics

Hardcover

Series: Critical Conversations in Horror Studies

Literary CriticismCatholicism

ISBN10: 1611463629
ISBN13: 9781611463620
Publisher: Lehigh University Press
Published: Jun 24 2024
Pages: 202
Weight: 1.03
Height: 0.63 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Identifying an important subgenre of horror literature, this book argues that Catholic horror fiction works distinctively to inspire the philosophical, theological, and spiritual imaginations of readers from all backgrounds and faith traditions. Hurley analyzes four novels that are foundational to the genre of Catholic horror: J.K. Huysmans's Là-Bas (1891), Robert Hugh Benson's The Light Invisible (1903) and A Mirror of Shalott (1907), and William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist (1971). Putting these texts in conversation with the classical liberal arts, the book shows how Catholic horror fiction coheres in a commitment to dialectical thinking that aims both to resolve--and to accommodate--contrasting world views. Given its use of this methodology, Catholic horror literature is uniquely positioned to draw readers into a contemplative mindset. In presenting ghost stories, tales of possession, and narratives about evil, Catholic horror invites audiences to confront and reflect on profound existential questions--questions about the line between life and death, the nature of being, and the meaning of reality.

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Literary Criticism