Favorite books about monster movies

[horrorhunter]

Heroes Of The Horrors (1976) (by Calvin Beck of Castle Of Frankenstein fame)


Scream Queens: Heroines Of The Horrors (1978, Calvin Beck)

[horrorhunter]

The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Horror (1986, Phil Hardy) (first published in the U.S in 1994)


This is probably the most comprehensive reference for horror films. It is exhaustive.

[horrorhunter]

Paul Naschy: Memoirs Of A Wolfman (2009, Paul Naschy)


If you're a Naschy fan you gotta have this.

[Mord]

 You guys are such bookworms. Nerds.

[tv horror]

My own personal favourite is Making a monster by Al Taylor covering the great make-up artists of the past  followed by the McFarland books on television horror.

[geezer butler]

Nice list, Geez, I think you and I are the only UMAers who are fond of the Mallory book. I know there's nothing new about it, but I like the photos they've chosen and the way it's set up. You should seek out the Denis Gifford book (Pictorial History of Horror) & the David J. Skal book (The Monster Show).

Thanks Mord! Yeah it's not the best, but I still reference it a lot. Plus it's the only "Hammer" book I have. There are at least two others "Hammer Glamour" I think and maybe "The Vault of Hammer" something like that. But they're both a bit pricey.

Oh yeah, I have the Gifford book. I bought that at a used book store when I was in HS. Still in pretty good shape. And the Skal book is excellent. I like that he takes the genre seriously and recognizes the importance of horror film/monster culture.

[Mord]

 Actually, the Mallory book is on Universal not Hammer.

[geezer butler]

Actually, the Mallory book is on Universal not Hammer.

Oh man, you're right. That's what you get when you watch monster movies until 2:00 am and then start posting things on UMA (lol!)

Yes, the Mallory book is amazing. Pretty comprehensive. I highly recommend it.

[neonnoodle]

Yes tv, "Making a Monster" by Al Taylor and Sue Roy is an awesome, awesome book!

Two other favorites of mine are "A Pictorial History of Horror Movies" by Gifford, and "Movie Monsters" by Alan Ormsby.

There's nothing like monster movie books!

[neonnoodle]

Thanks to horrorhunter for posting that image of the Gifford book dust jacket...can you imagine a better-looking book than that?

And the Ed Naha book, too, yes, "Horrors from Screen to Scream"...a very useful reference and full of funny observations...thumbed through it over and over when I was a kid...

[Haunted hearse]

A couple of other early favorites.

]

This was an introduction to me on classic horror films, and I still have a copy.  The author didn't think much of post war horror films, but it's still a good read.

[LundyAfterMidnight]

Great thread, great selections everyone! I overlooked David Annan's & Calvin Beck's books, also long-time favorites.

[Mike Scott]

Another old favorite was Chris Steinbrunner's Cinema of the Fantastic, which had a more indepth look at 15 classic films, including Metropolis, Freaks, King Kong, The Black Cat, The Bride of Frankenstein, etc.

Second Edition:

[horrorhunter]

This Hammer book is pretty darn good, fellas.

The House Of Horror: The Complete Story Of Hammer Films (1973, paperback- 1984, Allen Eyles, Robert Adkinson, and Nicholas Fry. Published by Lorrimer)

[horrorhunter]

Sleaze Creatures: An Illustrated Guide To Obscure Hollywood Horror Movies, 1956-1959 (2002, D. Earl Worth)