Forthcoming Book on Demonology and Popular Culture

Amazon.com notified me that a new book will be coming out on June 30 in the form of The Lure of the Darkside: Satan and Western Demonology in Popular Culture (Equinox Publishing, 2008). The volume is edited by Christopher Partridge and Eric Christianson. I have been impressed by the quality and originality of Partridge's work, and that, coupled with the book's subject matter make this book worth seeking out.

The publisher's website includes the following:

DESCRIPTION
Personifications of evil in the form of demons, devils, spirits, vampires, and other malign entities can be found across the popular cultural spectrum. One only has to peruse the shelves of music and bookstores or view the content of some of the most successful films and television series to discover evidence for the phenomenal popular fascination with the demonic other. However, rather surprisingly, this is not an area in which much research has been done.

This volume examines the demonic foil within popular culture. Its brings together an international team of some of most important and creative scholars in the areas of Biblical Studies, Religious Studies, and Christian Theology currently exploring the religious significance of popular culture.

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION Christopher Partridge & Eric Christianson

Part I: Music

CHAPTER 1: Satanism and Popular Music
Asbjørn Dyrendal (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

CHAPTER 2: Between Hymn and Horror Film: How Do We Listen to the Cradle of Filth?
Peter Mercer-Taylor (University of Minnesota)

CHAPTER 3: When Demons Come Calling: Dealing with the Devil and Paradigms of Life in African American Music
Anthony Pinn (Rice University, Houston)

CHAPTER 4: Dark Theology: Dissident Commerce, Gothic Capitalism and The Spirit of Rock ‘n’ Roll
Charlie Blake (Liverpool Hope University)

Part II: Film

CHAPTER 5: Speak of the Devil: The Portrayal of Satan in the Christ Film
Bill Telford (University of Durham)

CHAPTER 6: Celluloid Vampires, Technology, and the Decline of Religion
Titus Hjelm (University of Helsinki)

CHAPTER 7: A Man of Wealth and Taste: The Strange Career of Hannibal Lecter
Brian Baker (University of Lancaster)

CHAPTER 8: Demons of the New Polytheism
George Aichele (Adrian College, Michigan)

CHAPTER 9: Scriptural Dimensions of Evil: Biblical Text as Timepiece, Talisman, and Tatoo
Larry Kreitzer (University of Oxford)

Part III: Literature

CHAPTER 10: James Hogg and the Demons of Scottish Presbyterianism
Crawford Gribben (University of Manchester)

CHAPTER 11: Voldemort, Death Eaters, Dementors, and the Dark Arts: A Contemporary Theology of Spiritual Perversion in the Harry Potter Stories
Colin Duriez