The Forbidden Body: Sex, Horror, and the Religious Imagination

The Forbidden Body explores how horror culture treats bodies that are tainted, impure, or sexually deviant, challenging the reader to move beyond preconceived notions of religion to decipher the "religious imagination" at play in scary stories.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 09 May 2022
Publisher: New York University Press

From creature features to indie horror flicks, discover the chilling consequences when sex, horror, and the religious imagination collide. Throughout history, religion has exerted an intense control over our bodies, seeking to dictate their nature, purpose, and behavior. It has sought to regulate everything from what they are to what they mean, how we engage with them, who we share them with, and the circumstances under which they can be displayed or concealed. Yet, our fascination with bodies that defy or transcend their "proper" place remains unwavering.

The Forbidden Body delves into the eerie realm where horror culture explores the unsettling intersection of sex, the sexual body, and religious belief. This comprehensive study extends beyond the realm of horror cinema or popular fiction, encompassing literary horror, weird fiction, graphic storytelling, visual arts, and participatory culture. By adopting a broad approach, Douglas E. Cowan uncovers how fears of bodies that are tainted, impure, or sexually deviant are made visible and reinforced through popular horror tropes. The volume challenges readers to transcend preconceived notions of religion and delve into the enigmatic realm of the "religious imagination" that underpins the scary stories we tell over and over again.

Cowan argues that stories of religious bodies "out of place" hold a compelling power because they force us to confront questions that religious belief finds difficult to answer. Who are we? Where do we come from? Why do we suffer? And, perhaps most importantly, do we matter? As enlightening as it is unsettling, The Forbidden Body offers a fascinating exploration into how and why we imagine bodies in all the wrong places.

Weight: 502g
Dimension: 153 x 228 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781479803118