Looking for horror experts for Halloween? Look no further.
from buffalo.edu: Experts in various aspects of the macabre include several University at Buffalo faculty members who specialize in what many cultures find horrible and terrifying. The UB faculty specializations range from satanic practice, black magic and cultural monstrosities (like serial killers) to “real” and imagined vampires and zombies, as well as the bizarre Spanish gothic period in which our fascination with the utterly horrible is grounded. One expert includes greedy bankers and environmentally destructive corporations among the monsters of our time. All of these experts, described below, can discuss not only what frightens us, but how and why we create monsters to help us cope with cultural anxiety. The article quotes vampire scholar John Edgar Browning: “Vampires and monsters — they’re just us,” Browning says. “They’re what we aspire to be, what we’re told to hate most about ourselves, what we secretly yearn for, but shouldn’t.“