American Monsters

By: Adam Jortner, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Adam Jortner

Cackling witches in Puritan communities calling forth Satan. Sea serpents squirming along coasts to snack on bathers. Ape creatures slinking through forests and leaving behind mysterious footprints.

In America, tall tales of monsters walking among us have existed for hundreds of years. Real or fictional, human or inhuman, monsters and other terrors directly reflect the events within American culture. As a society changes, its anxiety changes - and its monsters change as well. Thus, any confrontation with America’s monsters is, in truth, a confrontation with the history of fear in America.

Grab a flashlight and go monster-hunting in the safe company of Adam Jortner, award-winning professor of religion at Auburn University, with the 10 eerie and illuminating episodes of American Monsters. You’ll encounter chilling tales of living houses, sentient plants, psychotic toys, brain-eating zombies, and otherworldly beings whose mere name is enough to drive people insane. Along the way, you’ll learn how monster stories change how Americans think and what Americans do, how they shape the history of our country, and what secrets about human nature these inhuman monsters can share.

American monsters are mythical, but in many ways monster stories are frighteningly real. The most terrifying thing about them: what they reveal about the monsters within us.

©2021 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

Great Overview of the History of Horror in the U.S

If you enjoy a good horror story, this book will teach you a lot about where those images come from in America, and how they have been cultivated over the history of the nation. It’s a very quick but fascinating read. In addition to looking at the historical roots of things like spirits and witches, Jortner also spends a great deal of time looking at how movies, televisions, and novels have shaped the images. The popularity of monsters, and the way that those monster stories are told, has a lot to do with the stresses, fears, and problems of American society. Therefore, it should not be surprising that racism and civil rights are often underlying themes of the monster tale. Another fascinating theme is whether or not we can really govern ourselves when the people in charge in the stories often show themselves to be idiots. American isolationism, the Cold War, the proper role of science in our society… all of these themes pop up again and again as do stories about what happens when teens or women start to get a little independence in our dangerous world. Each section fascinated me and my only complaint is that the book wasn’t longer.

very informative

presenter was obviously very knowledgeable about socio, political, religious, influence of each time period and how it affected people. definitely made me think about things in a different way. I greatly enjoyed it. sorry, caps button not working.

10/10 Recommend

very educational, not dry, I learned a lot and want more!! Read it or weep!

Love 😍

What a great take on spooks! I was always wanting to turn it back on to keep listening. Really held my attention. If you love the inner workings of culture and the mind, you’ll love this and the theories. I felt like I was at book club for all things spooky thru the decades!💙

Loved this series of lectures!

For all interested in monster/horror literature and film, these lectures offer a wonderful compilation for understanding the history of the genre in the United States.

Very interesting

I like his voice, very engaging. Interesting subject with lots of examples. I like history and this exceeded my expectations

A good read

Interesting material and great narration. Highly recommend this book for anyone interested in a deep dive into all things monstrous.

Excellent analysis!

Really insightful and enjoyable; sometimes these kinds of things make me roll my eyes, they can feel like they’re trying too hard or reaching for something that isn’t there, but this was GREAT. Reasonable, well-thought-out, spot-on. I loved it.

A great look at the shifting gears of the United States

This was a terrific series of lectures on what has captured and perturbed the American psyche; and how we have created monsters as a “safety value” to deal with uncomfortable topics. I found the pacing, narration, and information to be spot on. I highly recommend everyone listen to it.

Perfect for Horror Fans and Analytical Minds

Absolutely loved this. A great commentary on American monsters from the very founding of the first colonies up to present day movies. What do they mean and what can our fears reveal about our society.