T.E.D. Klein and the Rupture of Civilization: A Study in Critical Horror

Lauded by critics yet largely unappreciated by fans of horror and “weird fiction,” T.E.D. Klein is considered one of the great horror writers, despite his scant body of work. His prose blends the mundane and the supernatural, conjuring the monstrous and the malign with accessible but charged discourse that breaks with the formulaic entries in the genre. Exploring a range of topics from religious fundamentalism and right wing extremism to fashionable pessimism and the rise of “digital humanities,” the author argues that Klein’s work is a prime example of what he terms “critical horror,” a distinct subgenre that entertains while questioning individual and cultural complacency.