The horror film, which Mark A. Vieira calls "the escape valve of the American psyche", is imprinted on popular culture. "Hollywood Horror" captures all the mystery, power, dark humour and chilling beauty of the genre from its roots in the silent film era to 1968, which, according to Vieira, marks the end of the "classic" scary movie. Illustrated with 300 black-and-white photographs, this book covers every aspect of cinematic horror, from seminal icons such as James Whale's "Frankenstein" and Tod Browning's "Dracula" to the steamy pre-Code jungle sorcery of "The Island of the Lost Souls".