Faulkner and O'Connor built Southern Gothic on Poe's ground
Poe and Hawthorne laid the ground, and Faulkner, O'Connor and McCullers built on it. Eight books to start with, each backed by two publications.
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Gothic horror: the novels that taught readers to love fear
From Walpole's falling helmet to Anne Rice's sorrowful vampires, the BBC and the British Library trace Gothic horror. Eight books to start with.
J-horror's long-haired ghosts are older than the videotape
From kabuki ghosts to cursed VHS tapes, how Japanese horror cinema reached the world, plus eight films a newcomer should watch first.
Dystopian films from Metropolis to Mad Max: where to start
Fritz Lang's Metropolis set the template in 1927, and Kubrick, Miller and Cuarón built on it. How screen dystopias grew, and nine films to start with.
Survival horror has rationed your bullets for 30 years
Capcom's 1996 mansion taught players to fear running out of ammo. How the genre drifted into action, how Amnesia pulled it back, and 10 games to play.
Hollywood made film noir before anyone named it
Director Edward Dmytryk said he had no idea what film noir was. Émigrés such as Billy Wilder and cameramen such as John Alton built it. Eight films to watch.
Victorian Britain reset the dinner table, course by course
Eliza Acton and Isabella Beeton wrote down how the Victorian middle class dined, while many of the poor had no oven. Three of their recipes, updated.
Jungle was hardcore rave remade by London's sound systems
Lennie De Ice, the Amen break and the Rage club all fed jungle in early-90s London. How it grew, where drum and bass took over, and eight records.
Why horror fell for found footage, and eight films to start
From a 1980 Amazon reel to Blair Witch and Backrooms, how fake recovered tapes became horror's favourite trick, plus eight films for Halloween.
Britain's plot holders dug through two wars and a waiting list
Enclosure created the British allotment and the 1908 Act made councils provide it. In 2023, a count found 174,183 people waiting for a plot.
The horror of the body, from The Fly to The Substance
Cronenberg made audiences fear their own flesh. Julia Ducournau and Coralie Fargeat took it to Cannes. Where body horror began, and 10 films to watch.
Before Halloween, a British flop wrote the slasher's rules
Peeping Tom and Psycho started the slasher in 1960. Follow it from Texas to Scream and beyond, then pick from eight films for Halloween night.
Your zip began as a shoe fastener that barely worked
Whitcomb Judson's 1893 clasp locker jammed and flopped. Gideon Sundback's scoops, a navy money belt and a rubber boot made it the zip.
The fly agaric's road from Siberia to fairyland
How a poisonous mushroom from Siberian travel tales became fairyland's favourite toadstool, a Christmas card staple and Mario's power-up.
Eight werewolf films to see first, and how the genre grew up
From a lost 1913 silent short to Rick Baker's Oscar-winning 1981 transformation, the werewolf film took decades to learn its craft. Start with these.
Dropped by Atlantic, Chappell Roan returned with a Grammy
Atlantic dropped Roan in 2020 after "Pink Pony Club" underperformed. In 2025 she won best new artist at the Grammys. The song later reached UK number one.
Two students wrote Rogue in 1980. A whole genre followed
Rogue began as a UC Santa Cruz student project and spread with BSD Unix. How the roguelike grew from NetHack to Spelunky, with eight games to play.
The first point-and-click adventure was a 1984 Mac game
Ron Gilbert's 1986 proposal set the genre's pattern. Shooters then drew players away from LucasArts and Sierra. Here are eight games to play first.
From Show Boat to Hamilton: how songs began to tell stories
Kern and Hammerstein, Sondheim, Lloyd Webber and Miranda turned Broadway and West End songs into storytelling. How they did it, and eight shows to see.
Dubstep, from a Croydon record shop to America's arenas
Big Apple Records, DMZ in Brixton and Burial's Untrue shaped dubstep before the wobble conquered the US. Its history, and nine records to hear first.
Trance grew out of German clubs and became a global genre
Sven Väth's labels, Robert Miles's "Children" and Gatecrasher's club nights shaped trance. Its history, its comeback, and eight records to hear first.
Britain's kitchen sink drama, from Osborne's play to the screen
Look Back in Anger began as one script in a pile at the Royal Court. Delaney, Wesker and the films came after. Includes a starter guide of nine works.
Harrison Ford swept a floor, then landed Han Solo
Harrison Ford was a carpenter when George Lucas cast him as Han Solo. The piece traces his career through its directors, then picks ten films to watch first.
Shoegaze began as an insult and ended up on TikTok
British critics coined shoegaze to mock bands that stared at their pedals. Here is how it grew from indie roots to TikTok, and eight records to hear first.