This post was written by Cory Capron, Receiving & Cataloging Specialist for Resource Acquisition and Description.
For the ABCs of the UVA Library, Rich Miller, Bryan Kasik, and I set out to tackle H is for Horror by specifically focusing on horror films. Instead of a display featuring objects like laser discs and film posters, we were interested in sharing raw information about the genre’s history and the films that are accessible through Library collections and other open resources. Seeking a way to do this that we felt would be interesting and compelling, we created a slideshow that provides a cursory survey of horror films from the dawn of moving pictures through to the beginning of the 21st century. For each decade, we’ve included a brisk summary and our personal film recommendations, from essential classics to underrated favorites. Though there was a sincere effort to acknowledge international films, these are admittedly quite American-focused selections, drawing on films that, if not from the United States, either became popular or proceeded to influence U.S. horror in a significant way. A more ideal presentation ultimately proved a bit too ambitious to realize within the format of something that could be casually taken in, so compromises were made for length and viewability. In the end, we hope the exhibit stimulates conversation—a water cooler of sorts for students, faculty, and staff to discuss what is absent as much as what is included.
The survey can be watched on a large monitor that we’ve installed on the fourth floor of Clemons Library, where it will be displayed on repeat for students and staff to view at their leisure through June 13, 2026.
For those wanting to watch some of these films, I have included a PDF listing all the titles featured in the exhibit with links to their Virgo pages (or external resources where necessary). I have also included many of the additional films we wanted to feature but ran out of space for, as well as a list of relevant academic works on horror films, for further study.