White Terror

Russell Meeuf examines the fears concealed beneath the polished image of White respectability in American horror. Between 2008 and 2016, a large share of the highest-earning horror films released in the United States were built on anxieties about White male authority, outsiders threatening a White household, malevolent forces or dangerous ideas that corrupt people's loved ones, and children who die after White mothers reject traditional motherhood.

Horror has long served as a vehicle for political argument. Meeuf contends that the racial resentments expressed in horror films made during the Obama era helped pave the way for Donald Trump's presidency and the Make America Great Again movement. Discussing films such as The Conjuring and Don't Breathe, the book shows how recurring motifs of home invasion, exorcism, possession, and haunting reflect contemporary debates about White masculinity, class, religion, socioeconomic status, and more.

Following in the spirit of Jordan Peele's work, the book argues that mainstream White fear shapes the horror industry, which profits from that fear and in turn helps steer voters toward candidates like Trump.