A flash of lightning. A rumble of thunder. The sinister silhouette of an indistinct figure. A bestial howl echoes across the misty moors. A skeletal hand reaches, slowly, deliberately around your door. Meanwhile there are unholy stirrings in the graveyard and disappearances from the local morgue. A scream pierces the chill air as a madman cackles, the blood dripping from his old rusty axe...

Horror is one of cinema's most disreputable genres. Frequently dismissed or reviled by critics, the horror film nevertheless provides a way of confronting our fears in a safe environment. Often subject to more cuts at the hands of the censor than a serial killer's razor, the horror film is also a benchmark, a sign of what's considered acceptable for the public to view and what the state will allow its citizens to see. But for the most part horror films are about entertainment, consistently profitable, eminently enjoyable. So what makes this genre so detested and why do people pay to be scared?

The Kamera Book of Horror Films will take you on a journey into the realm of fear. From horror cinema's beginnings in the late 19th century to the latest splatter films, from the chills of the ghost film to the terror of the living dead there's more than enough to keep you awake at night. There's a whole world of terror to explore - Spanish werewolves, Chinese vampires, Italian zombies, demons from Britain, killers in America, evil spirits in Japan. This book offers a guide to key films, directors and movements. Amongst the many discussed are the popular Dracula, Frankenstein, Scream, Halloween, The Sixth Sense, Ringu and Evil Dead, and the more unusual The Living Dead Girl, Rouge, Les Yeux sans Visage, Nang Nak and Black Cat.

So join us on a gruesome and terrifying journey into the world of horror but don't dawdle, the last in line is always the first to get picked off...