Calling All Citizens

...To come cross over into the Macabre Republic.  Home of the red, black, and blue.

Today marks the launch of this daily blog devoted to the celebration/appreciation of American Gothic in literature and pop culture.  Macabre Republic gives me a forum to speak on a subject I'm passionate about, but I also hope to connect with, and build an interactive community of, people who are just as avid fans of all things American Gothic.  People eager to spend a few minutes each and every day indulging their delight in the dark side of the U.S.A.

"American Gothic" overlaps significantly with horror (e.g. Stephen King's great body of work) yet also ranges beyond that particular genre.  A Gothic sensibility can be found in crime novels (from James M. Cain to James E. Ellroy), paranormal romance (from Dark Shadows to True Blood), the western (Deadwood--enough said), and science fiction (especially the post-apocalyptic variety).   Macabre Republic will cover all these genres, in their various mediums.

Some of the features you'll find on this blog: Book Reviews (fiction and nonfiction, modern and classic); Author Interviews; Cinemacabre (Movie Reviews; Make vs. Remake; Book vs. Film); QuickLists and ongoing Top 20 Countdowns; Games and Trivia; Photesquerie (snapshots of the Republic); A.G.T.V. (episode guides); Dark Articles (literary criticism and pop culture analysis); Poetry and Flash Fiction; Haunted Jaunts (reports on Things to Do and places to See in Gothic America).

So, if your Halloween spirit manifests the whole year round...

If writers like Lovecraft and Bradbury and King and Oates hold  a special place in your (palpitating) heart...

If you transmute into a couch potato whenever a Twilight Zone marathon airs...

If you can't help but think of Psycho every time you drive pass a motel...

If you love Sunday, because that's when the PostSecret site is updated...

...Then you'll be right at home in the Macabre Republic.

Welcome.  Hope you venture back tomorrow, when we'll be taking a look at America's most famous (some might say "notorious") work of art.  And on Tuesday, I'll be posting an interview conducted with the author of what is arguably the greatest zombie novel ever written.