NEW BOOK: THE REVOLTING CHILD
Dr. Scahill's book The Revolting Child in Horror Cinema: Youth Rebellion and Queer Spectatorship was released today from Palgrave Macmillan. Scahill argues that the “revolting child”—whose forms include the child with a dark secret (The Bad Seed), the child who transforms into a monster in adolescence (The Exorcist), or the child who forms a cabal of outcasts (Village of the Damned)—functions as a potent metaphor for queer youth. Drawing together film theory, queer theory, childhood studies, and reception studies, The Revolting Child in Horror Cinema examines the fear surrounding young bodies in revolt, and asks what pleasure the unruly child may offer for the queer spectator.
Praise:
"Deftly weaving together similar strands of queer theory, childhood studies, and horror film scholarship, Andrew Scahill argues for the queer pleasures and revolutionary potentials inherent in the figure of the monstrous child. His work makes a significant contribution to the growing scholarship on childhood and monstrosity, offering fresh perspectives on iconic bad kids from Rhoda (The Bad Seed) to Regan (The Exorcist). Informed, informative, and fun-to-read, The Revolting Child in Horror Cinema explores why we love to hate our monstrous offspring."
- Harry Benshoff, author of Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and Horror Film
"Andrew Scahill knows that childhood can be scary. His new book seeks to explain the real terrors of The Exorcist and Village of the Damned by using a convincingly sharp, jargon-free discussion of queer theory that breathes new life into cinematic texts weighed down by past interpretations. Politically vibrant and thoughtfully subversive, The Revolting Child in Horror Cinema is a welcome addition to the growing number of cultural studies on horror."
- W. Scott Poole, author of Monsters in America and Vampira
