Be Afraid... Be Very, Very Afraid

This post originally appeared 2/5/2008.

John Kenneth Muir, the author of Horror Films of the 1980s, insists in his introduction that art imitates life. So what in the world was happening in the libraries of this most decadent decade to garner attention in horror films? Well, I think Muir explains it best in Appendix A from his book:


The Library of Doom!


Many 1980s films feature scenes set at libraries. It makes sense: Often characters are faced with the necessity of research (The Changeling, Of Unknown Origin) and the library is simply the best place for that (at least pre-Internet). Some library scenes even involve rapes and murders (The Incubus), and frightening confrontations with the likes of Mr. Dark (Something Wicked This Way Comes).

The Changeling (1980)

The Beyond (1981)

Evilspeak (1982)

The Incubus (1982)

Of Unknown Origin (1983)

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

Witchboard (1986)

The Unnamable (1988)

I, Madman (1989)
Watch them if you dare! And SHHHHHHHHHH!

Muir, John Kenneth. Horror Films of the 1980s. McFarland, 2007: 790.