World’s first Horror Studies Center spotlights University Library System’s horror collections

Spooky season is here to stay at Pitt with the University’s newly launched Horror Studies Center. 

This September, Pitt launched its Horror Studies Center, the world’s first academic study dedicated to the horror genre. The center, though not a physical location, will work with the University Library System to showcase the archives of popular horror filmmakers and writers. 

Adam Lowenstein, director of the Horror Studies Center and professor of English and film and media studies, said the collection of archival records will feature some of the cult classic horror films that people know and love, including the archive for “The Blair Witch Project,” first edition copies of “Dracula,” “Frankenstein” and Edgar Allan Poe’s works, horror pulp magazines and comics and the George A. Romero Archival Collection, among others.

The center is currently made up of five scholarship pillars — the Horror Studies Collection in the ULS’s Archives and Special Collections, the “Horror Genre as Social Force” Scholar Community in the Honors College, the Global Horror Studies Archival and Research Network, the Horror Studies Working Group and the George A. Romero Foundation.

Lowenstein said support from foundations will help to strengthen the center and its archival collection, ensuring “that horror education is something that real energy is brought to.” 

The center has been in the works for a while, according to Lowstein. 

“The horror studies center is the accumulation of many years of work by many different people associated with Pitt,” Lowenstein said. “But also beyond Pitt, that all share a commitment to the idea that the horror genre is something worthy of scholarly inquiry, investigation and student education.” 

Benjamin Rubin, coordinator of the Horror Studies Center, sees horror as a symbol of culture and a reflection of current social and psychological trends. 

“Horror shows up all over pop culture and has recognizable icons and symbols, even if people aren’t entirely sure where they came from,” Rubin said. “The shrieking violins from the shower scene in Psycho, the razored glove of Freddy or hockey mask of Jason, the fear of a dog named Cujo are all instantly recognizable within broader pop culture — even among people who have not seen any of these movies or enjoy the genre.”

In 2018, Pitt partnered with the Horror Studies Working Group, which helped plan events and officially launch horror as a topic worthy of academia. These were some of the first accounts of University-sponsored horror studies. Since then, horror studies at Pitt have only grown, according to Rubin.

“I have already seen the impact that the horror studies collections at the ULS has had on legitimating horror by hosting it at the library of a major research university and expect that the Center will only add to this legitimacy,” Rubin said.

Lowenstein — who has loved horror and Romero’s work, including “Night of the Living Dead,” since he was young — thinks of the center as somewhat of a passion project. 

“I think of myself as the very happy and lucky story of the guy whose childhood obsession turned into a career,” Lowenstein said. 

Part of the Center’s mission is to challenge the common misconception of what horror is, according to Rubin. 

“I often find that people are surprised that they actually enjoy lots of examples of literature or film that we would classify as horror but which they think of [as] outside the genre [because] it lacks certain characteristics — often gore or supernatural elements,” Rubin said.

Jack Russo, screenwriter for “Night of the Living Dead,” said studying horror can help students understand the parallels between some of their favorite movies and the world around them.

“Although there are obviously millions of people who like horror films, it may be difficult for many of them to realize how and why these types of movies have had a huge sociological and cultural impact,” Russo said. “Therefore, studying them under the guidance of a thoroughly knowledgeable instructor can open the eyes of students in a deeper and more meaningful way.”

Russo said he found his inspiration for his horror projects right in the heart of Oakland, alongside his friend George Romero.

“I didn’t think much about becoming a filmmaker until I met George Romero,” Russo said. “Naturally, we figured we’d have to make a horror film because we might be able to do something in that genre on a very low budget. We ended up making ‘Night of the Living Dead.’” 

Russo hopes his archives might be of some inspiration for other contemporary, independent filmmakers. 

“If people are intrigued by my work or by the works of any others whose works are archived, then they could really dig deeply into my thoughts and concerns and how those factors may have evolved over my long career,” Russo said. “Jokingly, I might add that they could be surprised to find out I’m not just ‘the zombie guy.’”

Lowenstein said the center is open to students of any major, and he believes studying horror at the academic level should be an opportunity that everyone gets to partake in. 

“The mission of the center is to engage horror in the most broad and ambitious way,” Lowenstein said. “We’ll be covering film [and] literature — but also issues that deal with history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, religious studies — you name it.” 

The collaboration between STEM and literary fields is invaluable, according to Lowenstein. 

Lowenstein previously worked in research with Greg Siegle, a professor of psychiatry at Pitt. With the combination of Lowenstein’s knowledge of horror and Siegle’s understanding of human suffering, the team developed a simulation for treating patients at risk of suicide.

“We’re learning about science and he’s learning about the humanities, and the two together just really strengthen each other,” Lowenstein said. 

According to Lowenstein, the long-term goal for the center is to help implement more horror classes into Pitt’s curriculum and continue building the ULS’s horror archives. By including horror in more classroom curricula, Lowenstein hopes that horror studies can eventually expand into its own branch at Pitt, complete with certificates, minors and majors. 

Lowenstein thinks that Pitt already offers a number of classes that could fit into a potential horror studies program. However, he hopes Pitt can soon offer a horror studies-focused lecture class.

“I’m really looking forward to developing and designing a kind of introduction to horror studies class that would be an introductory lecture that could draw on the rich and diverse horror studies community at Pitt,” Lowenstein said. 

Lowenstein encourages students to get involved by actively keeping up with the Horror Studies Center events, which can be found on the center’s website.