Cursed Quarters

Tuesdays, Oct 23 - Nov 20, 6 pm to 9 pm

At the heart of the genre, the horror film is about the struggle to maintain normalcy — equilibrium — in the presence of the supernatural. The haunted house film in particular presents the most dangerous threat to the institutions undergirding society: family, history, and land. The haunted house film twists and transforms our fears into visual demons that haunt the people and spaces we cherish most.

In this five-week Course we will delve into the subgenre of haunted house films and analyze how these films shape and disrupt our ideas of family, home, and ancestry. Each week focuses on a different aspect of the subgenre, from its cinematic and literary origins, and it’s portrayal of family and children, to its basis on “real-life” stories.