Ryan G. Duns, SJ, is an associate professor of theology at Marquette University. In addition to many articles and book chapters, he is the author of Spiritual Exercises for a Secular Age: Desmond and the Quest for God (University of Notre Dame Press, 2020).
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Eldritch Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Intimations of Mystery (The Blair Witch Project) 2. Mystery's Malevolent Depths (Insidious) 3. Sordid Soulfulness (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) 4. Is it Possible? (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) 5. Purging Violence (The Purge) 6. Overreaching Into Darkness (I Am Legend) 7. An Inhuman Incarnation (Rosemary's Baby) 8. Disfiguring Discoveries (A Nightmare on Elm Street) 9. Confirmation Class (The Devil's Doorway) 10. Confronting Ourselves (Night of the Living Dead) 11. Monstrous Mystagogy (Candyman) 12. A Symptomatic Evil (The Conjuring) 13. Sacraments and Superstition (Hellraiser) 14. Let Us Prey (The Black Phone) 15. Pedagogy of the Possessed (The Exorcist) A Posthumous Postscript
"Good horror films raise questions about both the depth and the frailty of human reality. Here a fine teacher and pastorally engaged Jesuit priest shows how the metaphysical preambula fidei, the human condition and the Christian gospel breakthrough, are variously illuminated across a wide range of the best cinematic horror. A Catholic theological education from the perspective of scary movies." -Scott Cowdell, author of Rene Girard and the Nonviolent God "An excellent foray into the increasingly complex world of religion and horror. By pushing the boundaries of how we choose to define both fear and faith, Duns demonstrates that we find the latter in the most unlikely examples of the former. In doing so, he continues the reimagining of these most important aspects of the human experience." -Douglas E. Cowan, author of America's Dark Theologian