I think that Danse macabre is the longest time I have spent with a Stephen King novel in a very long time. Not because it was long or that I had to slog through it. I have just had a lot on my plate for the past little while.
I think that my favorite part was when SK talked about the movies that had genuinely frightened him and he mentioned The Blair Witch Project. Now, I can write a lengthy list of movies that have terrified me in my day (I didn't even get through The Exorcist), not to mention that SK's novels terrified the crud out of my on a regular basis. But I was not in any way frightened by The Blair Witch Project. Not one bit. Admittedly, I did not see it in theater because I was convinced that it would scare the pants off of me, but when I did finally see it on DVD, it did nothing. So nyeah.
Other than that, I found SK's explanations of horror interesting. He identifies three main archetypes: the Frankenstein (or 'The Thing Without A Name'), the werewolf, and the vampire. For King, all modern horror descends from these archetypes. A reasonable summary and he brings it all together in a compelling way.
I was particularly interested in his discussions of what makes people want to read (or write) horror. For King, it is the knowledge that such terrifying creatures do not really exist--it is the mundane that provides solace in this situation. I still think that part of what makes horror work is that even when terrible events happen, there is an explanation beyond the mundane experience. True horror occurs when there can be no supernatural explanation and when the outcome is purely horrific. Indeed, a number of King's books would be transformed from horror to tragedy if only the supernatural elements were removed. Imagine The Shining where a man simply goes insane and tries to kill his family or It with a serial killer instead of a supernatural clown. Of course, there are King novels without the supernatural (brain tumors or Misery). But these are few and far between.
One section that interested me in particular was his summary of Dark Shadows, the single most ridiculous television show that ever aired. I am a big fan. You can't go wrong with a Gothic horror story set in soap-opera format combined with Technicolor costuming and make-up. Certainly, many of the plot lines hinged around complete gibberish. But there were the occasional moments of real horror that the show somehow managed to capture. For instance, when Barnabas first appeared and kidnapped Maggie Evans, her walking around the house in a trance featured some very effective moments. There was also the ghost of Barnabas' brother appearing as a speechless ghost, his face wrapped in bandages so that we saw none of his features. But yes, most of it was pretty ridiculous.
