Danse Macabre  by Stephen King. King's nonfiction critical look at the horror genre is well worth reading, but walks a fine line between mainstream shrinkwrap and well-thought criticism. I'd recommend it unhesitatingly were it not for King's tendency to ramble and go off on tangents that, while interesting enough, wouldn't fly in a standard academic work on the subject.

For those interested in a basic overview of horror film, television and novel, this is a thoughtful, if subjective read, and one perhaps best read in small chunks as I did. For all that King's prose attempts a conversational tone, it's incredibly dense and long-winded. The appendixes and lists of noteworthy films are of particular interest, as are his book lists, but if you haven't read any of the ten novels dissected at greater length in the “horror fiction” chapter, you may want to avoid it, as they do contain spoilers. Overall, it's a book that holds up fairly well as criticism, despite its age.