Haunted States

Haunted States is a fusion of travel literature and cultural criticism that investigates the dark history of the US, exploring how past horrors—from witch trials to slavery and genocide—continue to haunt the national consciousness.

This unique guidebook, based on the author's journey across the United States in the summer of 2022, explores locations connected to Gothic fiction and film. It tracks the relationship between the American landscapes and the various forms of fictional horror that the nation has produced over the centuries.

Part cultural history and part travelogue, Haunted States traces how the American Gothic draws inspiration from both natural and built environments. The astounding geographical variation of the landscape influences the distinctive forms of horror produced across its many diverse regions.

The book investigates how the horrors of the American Gothic have roots in the nation's dark history of colonialism, slavery, violence, and oppression—past sins that continue to haunt the national consciousness to this day. Taking horror (in literature, film, and the visual arts) as its starting point, Haunted States delves into the landscapes, places, and cultures that have produced these forms of horror.

Incorporating first-person travel narrative, historical context, and supplementary interviews, Haunted States journeys across the USA to discover its eclectic, regional forms of horror.