Scott Poole’s book Monsters in America

Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting by Scott Poole depicts the American nightmare rather than the American dream. It is not a children’s book and all of the monster’s appearances from the past to the present have become a staple of American culture. Poole’s focus on monsters reflects an increasing scholarly movement centered on investigating the ancient and ongoing cultural obsession with monsters. In chapter one, the author clarified monsters’ responses to cultural influences but not fears of the individual’s psyche. The Monsters in America presents controversial worrying about religious beliefs, politics, sexuality, race, and gender manifested among the populace as haunting beings. Poole concludes by saying that as American society evolves, new monsters appear from Victorian-era mad scientists to modern serial killers that challenge the cultural status quo.

Poole’s preface is more of an average viewer of a horror movie than of the academic historian. He began the story by referring to an entertaining comic that might make some of the historians to be unpleasant with his book. Poole believes that monsters should be taken seriously and after reading his book, you will realise that they are always complicated and inherently sophisticated. He portrays the monster as a creature with its tentacles wrapped around the foundation of American history. The book demonstrates how our culture can help us understand more about the world and our lives. Poole’s examples instil an understanding that the horrific things in our literature can help us make peace with the frightening world we live in. Thanks to Poole’s insights, he makes us see the ubiquity of the monster lurking in and around us.