ENG 224 -1
Course Overview and Syllabus
ENG 224.001
Literature of Horror
Fall 2015
Instructor:
James Nelson
Campus E-mail: [email protected]
Class:
T&Th 2:00 – 3:20 PM
Bldg 12 Rm 103
Office Hours:
Office:
Building 5 Room 538
Office Phone:
MW 11:00 – 11:50 PM,
TTh 12:30 – 11:50 PM or
by appointment
292-3390
Web Page: web.monroecc.edu/jnelson
Required Texts and Supplies:
Brite, Poppy Z. Lost Souls. New York: Dell, 1992.
King, Stephen. ’Salem’s Lot. New York: Pocket, 1975.
Oates, Joyce Carol, ed. American Gothic Tales. New York: Plume, 1996.
Snyder, Scott, Stephen King and Rafael Albuquerque. American Vampire. New York:
Vertigo, 2011.
Stoker, Bram. Dracula. New York: Dover, 2007.
Any collegiate-level dictionary
A stapler – I do not accept multi-page assignments unless they are
stapled; bring the stapler to class.
Notebook
Course Learning Outcomes:
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Categorize horror texts in the context of the genre's own history.
Describe Horror Literature's subgenres and conventions.
Describe Horror Literature's relationship to culture.
Analyze horror texts.
Apply common Horror Literature themes to cultural intellectual history.
Write a thesis-driven essay using literature as a primary source.
Apply the appropriate formal conventions when writing about literature
Course Description:
Students will read classic, modern, and contemporary short stories and novels, with an emphasis on the historical
development of the genre. Attention will be given to supernatural, psychological, and allegorical themes and tropes in such
fiction, as well as such relevant social and historical background information. The course will center on written fiction with
occasional reference to horror in film and other forms of media. Three class hours. (SUNY-H).
ENG 224 -2
Instructor Expectations/ Important Information:

I would appreciate hearing from anyone who needs any special accommodations for
seating, testing, taking class notes, or completing assignments.
– Participation

Attendance and punctuality obviously impact participation, but active participation is
the primary basis of the participation grade.
Missing more than 2 classes for a TTh class will affect your grade. Lateness will affect your grade as well. If you EXCEED 3
absences for a TTh course, I may withdraw you for unsatisfactory attendance. In addition, I reserve the right to add a grade
penalty for absences incurred after the last day for faculty to recommend course withdrawal for nonattendance.
 Should you decide to withdraw from this course yourself, please consult with a financial aid advisor first.
 The door will be shut at the beginning of class. Students are expected to respect that boundary and not
knock or attempt to enter after that point.
 All reading assignments must be completed for the class period. Students who have not completed the work
in preparation for class discussion will be told to leave for the day in order to complete the work. This will
be marked as an absence for that day.
– Written Requirements

Academic dishonesty of any sort will not be tolerated. If any work handed in contains any
material from an outside source which is not given proper citation, that work may earn an
“F" and the student may be in danger of failing the class depending on the magnitude of the
offense. Please see the MCC Student Handbook rules for plagiarism for further clarification.
o Duplication is a form of academic dishonesty in which the student has
handed in material for a grade in more than one class without having
received permission from both instructors prior to handing it in. (This
includes high school work as well as college-level.)
ENG 224-3
Policy on Late Work
 I do not accept late reflection papers. They must be turned in the day
they are due, printed and ready to hand in, or they will not be
accepted. If you cannot make it to class on a day when a paper is
due, then you must make arrangements to have the paper delivered
to my office by 3:30 PM that day.
The learning centers:
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Brighton – Bldg 11 Rm 106.
Damon – Integrated Learning Center 4-130, Electronic Learning Center 4-071
Please check the learning centers for hours
Monroe Community College has a number of Learning Centers at Brighton (for example, Accounting,
Math, Psychology, Writing, the Electronic Learning Center, etc.) and at Damon (for example, the Integrated Learning Center,
Electronic Learning Center, etc.). Learning centers are staffed with instructional personnel and may be equipped with
computers and software to assist students. It is recommended that students use the Learning Centers to get additional help
with concepts learned in the classroom and with their homework. Please refer to your MCC student email to review your
referral and objectives for your use of the Learning Center(s).
All English and Philosophy classes, including this one, are Writing Intensive (WR). In WR courses, students have the
opportunity to learn course content through formal and informal writing assignments. To find out more about WR courses
at MCC, consult your student handbook or visit the Writing Across the Curriculum website at
http://www.monroecc.edu/depts/wac.
Emergency closing or class cancellation:
 College closings will be announced on local broadcasts starting at 5:30
AM. The MCC website will also display this information. To avoid
overloading the phone lines, do not call the college.
 Class cancellations are available on the MCC website under “Quick
Links” and via phone at 292-2066. Press “1" for Brighton.
Grading Breakdown:
Class Participation:
Reflection papers
Test 1
Test 2
20%
50%
15%
15%
A = Excellence
B = Above Average
C = Average
D = Below Average
F = Failure
90-100%
80 – 89%
70 – 79%
60 – 69%
0 – 59%
*Bottom 2% are “-” grades, top 2% are “+” grades.
ENG 224 -4
Syllabus
Introduction
Week 1
9/8
9/10
Week 2
9/15
9/17
Week 3
9/22
9/24
Week 4
9/29
10/1
Week 5
10/6-8
Week 6
10/13
10/15
Discuss course overview and syllabus.
Read “Making the Grade” by Kurt Weisenfeld
Assignments due:
Buy materials for the class
Handout – Hawkins: “Should We Study King Kong or King Lear?”
Handout – “Horror, Terror and the Gross-out”
Horror vs. Terror
Assignments due:
Brown: “From Weiland, or The Transformation.” AGT– 10-18
Web reading – “The Monkey’s Paw” – print and bring to class
Assignments due:
Irving: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” AGT – 19-44
Poe: “The Black Cat.” AGT – 78-86
Assignments due:
Web reading Rossetti: “Goblin Market” – print
Handout – Haynes: “Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch”
Reflection paper #1 due
Assignments due:
Gilman: “The Yellow Wallpaper.” AGT – 87-102
Dunn: “From Geek Love, The Nuclear Family: His Talk, Her Teeth.” AGT – 525-32
Assignments due:
Web reading – King: “Survivor Type” – Print
Handout – King: “The Mangler”
Assignments due:
Web reading – William Butler Yeats: “The Second Coming” – print
Hawthorne: “Young Goodman Brown” AGT – 52-64
Assignments due:
Summer and King: American Vampire – Have the entire graphic novel read by
10/6
The Vampire
Assignments due:
Web Reading – Polidori: “The Vampyre” pp. 14-46
Reflection paper #2 due
Assignments due:
Web reading – Le Fanu: “Carmilla”
Reflection paper #3 due
ENG 224-5
Weeks 7-9
10/20
10/22-11/3
Assignments due:
Test 1 – You will have 50 minutes in-class time to complete the test
Assignments due:
Web reading – Stoker: Dracula – Have the entire novel read by 10/20
Week 9
11/5 Assignments due:
We’ll watch Nosferatu in class
Week 10
11/10
Assignment due:
Reflection paper #4 due
Handout – Lee: “Nunc Dimittis”
Web reading – Crawford: “For the Blood Is the Life” – print
11/12
Assignments Due
King: ’Salem’s Lot – Introduction, Prologue, Part I: The Marsten House – pp.
xv-254
Reflection paper #5 due
Week 11
11/17-19
Assignments due:
King: ’Salem’s Lot – Part II: The Emperor of Ice Cream, pp. 255-456
Week 12
11/24
Assignments due:
King: ’Salem’s Lot – Part III: The Deserted Village, Epilogue pp. 451-631
11/26
Enjoy Thanksgiving break – Don’t eat too much turkey!
Week 13
12/1-3
Assignments due:
We will watch Underworld or Lost Boys depending on the popular vote of the
class.
Week 14
12/8-10
Assignments due:
Brite: Lost Souls – Have the entire novel read by 12/8
Reflection paper #6 due 12/8
We’ll begin Interview with the Vampire 12/10
Week 15
12/15
Assignments due:
We’ll watch Interview with the Vampire in class
12/17
Assignments due:
We’ll finish Interview with the Vampire in class and discuss its place in vampire
mythos
Test 2 will be administered during the last hour of class
ENG 224 -6
Reflection Paper Guidelines
Eng. 224
Requirements:
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The paper will be a critical examination of the readings. You will make an argument
about your understanding of the work. To prove that argument, you need to use quotes
and specifics from the text.
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Please do not do research for these papers. I want to know what you think rather than
what “experts” have to say. If you feel you will be unable to complete the assignment
without research, do not forget to properly cite all material used.

Make sure to check the Reflection Papers over so that they follow standard written
English rules. Because they are to be graded, please be sure to type or word-process
each paper. Handwritten work will not be accepted.
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The Reflection Papers shouldn’t be less than one page, but please limit them to no more
than two.
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You may choose any four of the six topics to complete by their due dates.
like to do a fifth, I will drop the lowest grade.
If you would
The reflection paper assignments:
1. Both Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” and Haynes’ “Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch” present women who perform acts which
are viewed as negative in society. Why is one woman redeemed while another is not? Does it matter that one woman
has a sister present while the other has a father present? Why or why not? Due 9/22
2. In Polidori’s “The Vampyre,” Ruthven makes it a point to prey on people with money and power. Why? What does this
mean from a Marxist perspective? Due 10/13
3. LeFanu’s “Carmilla” has what some consider to be overwhelming sexual themes throughout the story. How do these
signs and symbols influence your understanding of the vampire as an entity? In what way is the vampire “vampiric?”
How does she “use” her victims? Due 10/15
4. After watching Nosferatu in class, examine how the film presents the vampire in terms fundamentally different than
Stoker does in Dracula. Murnau’s film is obviously a reproduction of Dracula, but in what ways is it different? Are those
differences significant? Due 11/10
5. In the first part of King’s ’Salem’s Lot, we barely even meet the vampire; instead, King focuses on giving all the
background on the ’Lot. Does King’s description and treatment of the town appear to suggest that they deserve what is
about to happen? Why or why not? Please be as specific as possible.
Due 11/12
6. In Brite’s Lost Souls, she spends a great deal of time examining Nothing’s apathetic approach to life (and his circle of
friends’ as well). What kind of commentary is she setting up about how they treat sexuality and the meaning (or
meaninglessness) of their lives? Is the horror of the story really in the behavior of the vampires? Or is the horror in the
way human beings behave toward each other? Explain your answers with specifics from the text. Due 12/8
The Reflection Papers combined are worth 50% of the grade – Don’t forget to hand them in.