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About the book

For more than two decades, Matt Cardin has been one of the most profound and provocative critics and scholars working in the field of horror fiction, and this volume contains his collected essays on a wide array of topics within the genre.

Cardin has made a specialty in treating the multifaceted work of Thomas Ligotti, and in six substantial papers he discusses such subjects as H. P. Lovecraft’s influence on Ligotti’s work and thought, the nature of horror in such celebrated tales as “Nethescurial” and “The Bungalow House,” and other phases of the work of this master of the weird. And in a wide array of interviews, Cardin provides insight into his own vision and outlook, which have served as the basis of his weird tales.

But Cardin is best known as a critic who has brought a formidable knowledge of philosophy and religion to the analysis of horror fiction. Angels and demons; religion and vampires; the nature of cosmic horror—these and other topics are treated by Cardin in the context of horror fiction and film ranging from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to George Romero’s “Living Dead” films. In these and other papers, Matt Cardin displays his effortless mastery of the many complex issues evoked by the very nature of the weird tale.

Praise

“Matt Cardin has long been a formidable presence in the field and his latest simply reinforces that fact. What the Daemon Said is a treasure trove for fans and scholars of weird fiction.”
— Laird Barron, author of Swift to Chase

“For my money, Matt Cardin is the most interesting voice in horror criticism of our time. His investigations into the intersection of religion and horror get to the root of what makes this literary mode so potent and so profound. This book belongs on the shelf of every reader who cares about the human mind, creativity, and how they relate to this bleak and beautiful literature.”
— Nathan Ballingrud, author of Wounds and North American Lake Monsters

“A fine, wide-ranging exploration of the deepest wellsprings of nightmare and chthonic revelation; of the roots of the monstrous and mythopoetic. A look at the bases and the underpinnings of our deepest fears and some of our finest dark literature. Mystagogic initiation from Matt Cardin.”
— John Shirley, author of The Feverish Stars

“A crucial deep dive into some of the darkest, most important corners of the horror genre, by one of the field’s most invaluable thinkers.”
— Brian Keene, author of The Rising and Ghoul

“Matt Cardin has evolved into one of the most intelligent and perceptive writers and scholars of the modern weird in fiction. His is a name I associate with quality in our field.”
— Adam Nevill, author of The Reddening and The Ritual

“A feast for the psyche. Cardin empowers his readers with startling new means of perceiving horror, theology, and the art of writing. This is a profound and magnificent book.”
— Richard Gavin, author of grotesquerie and The Benighted Path: Primeval Gnosis & the Monstrous Soul

“Cardin displays an intuitive understanding of how horror works as he illuminates and elucidates the meaning behind the genre’s darkest imagery and ideas. His insights never fail to open up new understandings of the texts he covers. An essential tome for the horrorists among us.”
— Simon Strantzas, author of Nothing Is Everything and Burnt Black Suns

“For years Matt Cardin has been exploring the interstices and intersections between horror narratives and theology, sometimes from one direction, sometimes from the other. The result has been a fascinating intellectual voyage. Leavened with autobiographical reflections and meditations that add an unexpectedly personal dimension to its discussions, this is critical writing of the best kind.”
— John Langan, author of Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies

“Cardin’s writing is spiritual turpentine. His goal is to restore the spirit to the lustrous primal darkness whence it first emerged.”
— J. F. Martel, co-host of the Weird Studies podcast, author of Reclaiming Art in the Age of Artifice

“Matt Cardin’s essays are not just elegant and intellectually rich, but evidence of the daemonic force that animates the best criticism. His dark thoughts illuminate.”
— Erik Davis, author of High Weirdness: Drugs, Esoterica, and Visionary Experience in the Seventies

“The ultimate handbook for anyone with an interest in horror. More specifically, it’s about how horror, philosophy, and religion have combined to create an ever-evolving tapestry of our existence on planet earth, a layer of human consciousness that Cardin peels apart like a celestial onion with an army of dark gods hidden at its core. This collection is essential reading for every writer and reader in the field.”
— Philip Fracassi, author of Beneath a Pale Sky and Behold the Void

“Matt Cardin’s powers of deep thought and philosophical complexity and synthesis, his unique way of putting disparate ideas and thought forms together, the way his mind effortlessly draws connections in a simultaneously challenging and cogent way, are on full display in this magnificent, hefty tome. We’re lucky that Matt exists in our world at this particular time and place, in which the weirdness of our day-to-day reality is in dire need of his deeply humanistic criticisms, ideas, suggestions, and presence.”
— Jon Padgett, author of The Secret of Ventriloquism

“Cardin’s work is marked by an academic thoughtfulness viewed through the kaleidoscope lens of a learned dreamer, and is both inspiring and frightening. Without question, Cardin is one of our finest writers, and one of our most important thinkers, pushing forward the ‘speculative’ nature of speculative fiction every time he puts fingers to keys.”
— T. E. Grau, author of I Am the River

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