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Summary: The Best book on Horror EVER!
Review: For any serious fan of horror, Stephen King's Danse Macabre is an invaluable book, right up there with Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in Literature. To use a rough analogy, it is as if Hitchcock wrote a book on suspense (actually, Truffaut's interviews with him amount to just that). Some of the negative reviews I've read on this site claim that King is too digressive. Well, it is digressive - the paperback clocks in at just over 400 pages - but Stephen King is not an academic, and he does not write like one. For me, that made this scholarly work all the more readable and enjoyable. (I am a King fan, so my opinion is biased).The stated goal of the book is cover Horror from 1950 to 1980. However, he cannot do this without turning to the horror "heavy-hitters" of literature - Dracula, Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. According to King, these books define the three archetypes (he calls them "Tarot Cards") of horror - the Vampire, the Thing with No Name, and the Werewolf, respectively. (There is a fourth card for the Ghost or the Bad Place, but that can't be narrowed down to one book.) He discusses movies, books, and television. What is refreshing is how critical King is - even about his own novels. He has bad things to say about a lot of popular works - he will annoy fans of The Exorcist, The Twilight Zone, and other popular books. But, as any lover of horror movies must admit, King opens up about his love of bad movies and even finds nice things to say about the movies, The Amityville Horror and The Prophecy. (I am also shocked about how many nice things he has to say about Stanley Kubrick and The Shining - a film he supposedly doesn't like.) Fortunately, I had read most of the books and seen most of the movies that King discusses. He also provides invaluable appendices for further reading and viewing. What is of tremendous interest is King's analysis of his contemporary writers, who have been so gracious as to discuss their own works with him. Here we find the best commentary ANYWHERE on Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, and Richard Matheson. King also tackles the questions of why we read horror and if it has a deleterious effect on society. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR ANY HORROR/FANTASY/SCI-FI GEEK!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Almost too much
Review: For anyone pretending to be a writer, even those with just a passing interest in the horror genre, this book is priceless in its own unique way. But reading this book in 2002, considering I was three years old when this book was written, I couldn't recognize or remember most of the movies and almost all of the television and radio shows. Still, this book is wonderful for anyone who wants to open the mind of a writer and simply sit back and watch it work. It's as if I was stuck on a cross-country Greyhound with a window seat next to King, years before he swore off alcohol and cocaine. It drags terribly at times. But it's all worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Like chatting with Mr. King
Review: I bought Danse Macabre when I was still in high school and read it so many times that it fell apart. This book is a sweeping peep into Stephen King's (circa the early 80s) head and the experience is very much like what you would expect to feel if you could've sat down on the couch with him and a couple of beers. The book jumps back between the 50s and 80s all the way through. One minute you'll be reading about Dracula the next you'll read about young Steve's experiment with a dead cat. There is a lot of horror ground covered in this book, perhaps too much. King goes from a brilliant discussion of the 3 great granddaddies of horror: Dracula, Frankenstien, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to the best and worst of horror movies to horror on TV (Interestingly enough King didn't seem to grasp how great, Thriller, Outer Limits and Twilight Zone were) and then sort of splatters along with observations on modern horror novels, a few writers that King admired and throws in a couple of other oddities as well. The book is very self indulgent. It appears to not have been edited and you have to remember that King was still a young man when he wrote it. If some of his views seem terribly shallow it's the youth talking and I find myself wishing that King would update the book. The big flaw of the book is King's really, really annoying Vietnam tangents. They are all over the book and go on for several paragraphs and don't have a thing to do with the book's stated subject. Danse Macabre isn't perfect but about 75% of it is extremely entertaining. If you skip over the boring parts, the obsessive parts and don't mind the sloppy last chapter and if you really love the horror genre then it is book worth putting on your "keeper" list.
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Summary: Stephen King Knows Why We Love a Good Horror Story
Review: I cannot claim to be a Stephen King fan since I have not read very many of his works. However, since I teach FRANKENSTIN, I checked out his only (?) non-fiction work, DANSE MACABRE. His chapter on Mary Shelley's masterpiece is superb. My students love his insight and casual, humorous tone.
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Summary: The King of Horror guides us along
Review: I enjoyed Danse Macabre, which I have read twice. It is mostly great for the list in the back recommending Books and Movies. Through that list I read many great books like Robert Marasco's Burnt Offerings and Thomas Tryon's The Other and and Black House by Paul Theroux. But readers let us bear in mind that this book is OLD, most of his recommendations are sadly OUT OF PRINT and impossible to find. I carry the list around with me and search at flea markets, garage sales, and ebay when I can. My only beef with my beloved Mr. King is that he disses the FABULOUS movie "Don't Look In the Basement", I am absolutly puzzled by his panning of this gem, it embodies all that he purports to enjoy. I also would caution potential readers of the younger generation like myself that there is a lot in this book that you won't relate to ie just skip the whole radio section!!! And also I HATE that movie Them. But anyways, the book is a good read, fans of King should buy it.
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Summary: BASICALLY MY BIBLE!
Review: I first read this book when i was 13 and just starting to write horror fiction. Now, 6 years later, I still read and re-read it. Man oh man, it's hard to express how much this book means to me--not only is (and always has been) King my favorite author, he is also the most intelligent, well-informed commentor on a genre rarely given the credit it most definately deserves. Highly recommended for writers of the genre or simply people interesting in literalture/commentary.
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Summary: If only I could shake Mr. Kings' hand ....
Review: I found this book to be and incredible account of horror fiction, movies, and T.V. throughout the lifetime of a man who influenced all of the mediums he writes about. If you can only take an over-view of Mr. Kings' literature, you can see reflections of all the greatest writers shining through. I would most like to thank him for appendix 2, and the challenge given to me by that list to compile some of the greatest horror novels and short stories ever written. Due to this list, I have been exposed to H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Bloch, and a list of writers that would boggle the mind ... and in every book I read from that list, I have gained a new insight to horror fiction ... to the styles and methods used by every one of those writers to draw you into thier writings and keep you on the edge of your seats or pulling the covers on your bed up just a little higher. Thank you Mr. King for expanding my horizons ! I would gladly recommend this book to anyone ... and recommend about a dozen more mentioned in the book as well !
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Summary: I absolutely loved reading this book
Review: I had never read NOT ONE of Stephen King's books--- and I decided to pick this up...was I impressed! As a filmaker, I was most amazed at Mr. King's command of film history, and how a thorough understanding of this has informed so much of his technique. Although I may disagree with him on film aesthetics, (for instance the fact that I think the Kubrick film is absolutely marvelous- even since I have now read the Shining) his enthusiam for his subject is simply contagious. Mr. King is one of the most unique kind of people- he inspires you to study something simply because HE'S interested in it-- I really am fascinated by the abilities of this world-class author, whose intellect in his field is second to none. I felt like I was hanging out with one of the most interesting people in the world while reading this book, all the more so because of King's unassuming style. Stephen-- your're fantastic!
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Summary: A Virtual Encyclopedia
Review: I have always had a passing interest in the horror genre, but it seems to be all I can think about having finished this book. It is interesting in the utmost, and King has a conversational style at work here that is very engaging. Reading this is like sitting down with the author and talking about the books and films he discusses. It misses a 5-star rating only because it goes through patches where the writing gets soooo boring; I had to put it down and come back later. All in all: you will enjoy it, and it will make a fan out of you.
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Summary: A Constant Companion For This Lover Of All Things Horror
Review: I have probably read "Danse Macabre" more times than I have any other book. Most rereads occur when there is nothing else to do, since the book seems to always just be lying around...anyway, that's of no help to you, the prospective buyer Since you are even reading this review, you're probably in the frame of mind necessary to appreciate "Danse Macabre". The book is written in an extremely casual style, full of many asides and non-sequiturs, which only makes it more engaging and extremely entertaining. The one minor squabble I have with King over the book is that he has not updated it yet (in mass-market paperback, anyway), even though it was written over twenty years ago. It would be very cool to see him continue to modify and reprint it, as Walt Whitman did with "Leaves Of Grass". That's really splitting hairs, though; it's a fantastic read and a great reference guide, not to mention the best view into Stephen King's psyche that you will probably ever find. Just buy the book and be happy.
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