Mentioned this in the Now Showing topic.
I'm well into
Danse Macabre now. It's a little frustrating that King hasn't updated the book, but I guess it would be hard. There are some glaringly bad bits now where it shows its age (for instance, suggesting Wes Craven is forgettable and dreadful, yet bigging up John Carpenter - soon after the book was published I'd say the two had a role-reversal, especially after Nightmare on Elm Street came out).
Essentially, the book is tracking the history of "modern horror" (modern being from the fifties to to 1980). This is in all its forms, book, radio, film and TV. It does step back a little earlier as a background, but mostly focuses on both trash, and superb horror from the times.
I'm finding it superb, as I have seen most of the stuff he references, and read a great deal of the work he mentions. It's a great reminder of when I was young, watching the monster movies in black and white on holiday afternoons and Thursday evenings. I was a similar age to King when he saw these too, so it's a really great moment of connection.
For the horror fan, it's a great reference work. If you can get to see maybe half the films he mentions, you'll be a much better fan
He also makes the distinction between dire "junk food" horror, and good works. It's interesting to see him justify and put down being a fan of the genre in such a simple and jolly kind of way
There are also some fantastic references to his work to come. Little bits here and there you will recognise from his later books, books he hadn't written when this was (in truth, he'd only had half a dozen or so released by the time he wrote Danse Macabre).
If you like horror, you really need to read this book, absorb it, and learn from it