Screaming and Conjuring - by Clark Collis (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

LIMITED DELUXE EDITION (first 5,000 copies worldwide) has black foil gilded page edges, textured cover spot varnish, and is printed on heavyweight paper stock. As featured in People, Variety, Entertainment Weekly, The Economist, Empire, Sight and Sound, Deadline, New York Post, Fangoria, and more!

Blockbuster box office. Critical acclaim and Oscars recognition. From Get Out and Weapons to The Substance and Sinners, the horror genre is enjoying a glorious-and gory-golden age.

Screaming and Conjuring details the films and frights that led to this extraordinary renaissance, from the release of the groundbreaking Scream in 1996 to the arrival of 2013's The Conjuring, which spawned a multi-billion dollar franchise. Written by entertainment journalist Clark Collis (author of You've Got Red on You: How Shaun of the Dead Was Brought to Life), this exhaustively researched book is the first in-depth examination of a remarkably fertile and influential time for big screen horror.

Wes Craven's Scream was followed by a flood of classic terror tales such as The Blair Witch Project, The Sixth Sense, Final Destination, The Others, Pan's Labyrinth, 28 Days Later, Resident Evil, Saw, Hostel, Paranormal Activity, and Insidious. This comprehensive history covers the often difficult and tortuous making of all these films (and many more), giving readers the exclusive lowdown on productions which were often as intense as the horrifying sights that ended up on screen.

Screaming and Conjuring features recollections from a host of genre icons, including actors Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween) and Neve Campbell (Scream), directors Eli Roth (Hostel) and Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Drag Me to Hell), and legendary makeup effects artist Greg Nicotero (The Mist, The Walking Dead). The book also includes 200 production stills, film posters, and rarely seen images.

Review Quotes

Praise for SCREAMING AND CONJURING:

"One of the best books of the year." -- Sight and Sound / BFI (British Film Institute)

#5 on the Entertainment Weekly "MUST LIST" in September, 2025. "Clark Collis explores a true golden age of modern horror by exhuming the bloody great era between the first Scream and Conjuring films via in-depth interviews and rarely seen photos." -- Entertainment Weekly

"An amazing account of one of the wildest, blood-soaked periods in modern cinema. A treasure chest of bloody good memories and stories from everyone who lived through it. A must-read for any horror fan who wants to know how the sausage is disemboweled." -- Eli Roth (director, Thanksgiving / Hostel / Cabin Fever)

"The breadth and depth of this horror history is impressive...There's deep, rich research here, and a clutch of new interviews, from scream queens (Jamie Lee Curtis, Neve Campbell) to behind-the-scenes legends (Sam Raimi, Greg Nicotero). Collis unearths some fun stories, too: Jamie Kennedy's dad having hummus with Steven Seagal at the Scream premiere; Kevin Bacon having Vaseline rubbed onto his penis for Hollow Man; [Wes] Craven's love of birdwatching [and more]." -- Empire

"The veteran entertainment journalist dives deep. With fascinating tidbits, interviews and behind-the-scenes stories, it's a must-have for any genre fan." -- Variety

"The Substance (2024), a body-horror flick, was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards in March; Michael B. Jordan and Amy Madigan are attracting Oscar buzz for their performances in Sinners and Weapons, respectively. This is a golden age for horror films. Why and how did it come about? Clark Collis addresses the second question in Screaming and Conjuring, a deeply reported account of the genre's reanimation." -- The Economist

"Clark Collis has been one of the most consistent champions of horror films I've ever met in my life. This is a definite recommendation if you are a horror fan." -- Jeffrey Reddick (creator of the Final Destination film franchise)

"If you love horror movies, you can't *not* read Clark Collis' new book. Totally definitive!" -- Rhett Reese (co-writer, Zombieland series / Deadpool series)

"A must-have...and it doesn't hurt when the book itself is a gorgeous work of art." -- Rue Morgue

"Screaming and Conjuring is the definitive, five-hundred page history of the modern horror film." -- Fangoria

"[Screaming and Conjuring] is engaging, thoroughly researched, bursting with knowledge, and in the best possible way, scholarly. It's one of the best books on modern horror available. 4/4 stars." - The Dark Side

"No mere coffee table book, this is a dense, scary, deeply researched 500 pages on how horror rose to dominate the 21st century. EVERYONE is in there somewhere." -- C. Robert Cargill (screenwriter, The Black Phone series / Sinister series)

"A thoroughly definitive, comprehensive, and meticulous assembly of horrors." -- Corin Hardy (director, The Nun)

"Clark Collis weaves his way through the movies released between Scream and The Conjuring with impeccable research and remarkable clarity. Scream changed the game. The Conjuring launched the biggest horror franchise of all time. Screaming and Conjuring is a wonderful time capsule of everything that happened in the horror world in between." -- John Squires (editor-in-chief, Bloody Disgusting)

"Not only does Screaming and Conjuring define the era that defined an era, this in-depth autopsy maps out the entire circulatory system of horror, painstakingly cataloguing every blood cell of celluloid." -- Clay McLeod Chapman (author, Wake Up and Open Your Eyes)

"A delicious account of horror from the '90s to present day." -- Larry Fessenden (writer and director, Habit and The Last Winter)

"A well-researched and engaging look at this era." -- Library Journal

Acclaim for Clark Collis' previous book YOU'VE GOT RED ON YOU:

"Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and more offer unique insights into the making of their 2004 zombie comedy classic, Shaun of the Dead. The 424-page book traces the film's story, from late-night pub conversations about surviving the zombie apocalypse to an unexpected hit at Comic-Con 2004." -- Rolling Stone

"A sharply written, thorough, and loving tribute to a modern-day cinema classic." -- Kirkus, starred review

"You've Got Red on You is a must-buy." -- Fangoria

"Witty and deeply researched. What a wonderful, fun, fascinating read." -- MovieMaker

"An exemplary movie retrospective, one which combines an astonishing amount of research with a real flair for storytelling. 5/5 stars." -- SFX

"Just look at Clark Collis's stunning book on the making of Shaun Of The Dead. The red metallic page edging, the cover art, the inside... it's a thing of beauty. In other words: how's that for a slice of fried gold?" -- Ali Plumb, BBC Radio 1

"A really entertaining read and, if you're a fan of the film, very illuminating on the struggles to not only get it made, but also to have the film be taken seriously. If you've ever wanted to make a movie, you'll learn a lot in You've Got Red on You." -- Shaun of the Dead co-writer/director Edgar Wright

"So many relationships grow and expand over the course of Collis' book that readers will find themselves falling in love with Shaun of the Dead - to say nothing of Wright, Pegg, and Frost - all over again, twenty years on. 4/4 stars." -- Starburst

"[You've Got Red on You] gives unparalleled access to near everyone involved with the movie, plus sketches, script drafts, storyboards, and BTS photos aplenty." -- Total Film

"One of the best books of the year." -- Buzz Magazine

"If you're a fan of Shaun of the Dead or a filmmaker influenced by the films of Wright this is essential reading. It is so good we read it twice before this review." -- Screen Anarchy

About the Author

CLARK COLLIS is a British entertainment journalist who has contributed to The Guardian, Empire, Q, Mojo, and Entertainment Weekly, where he was a senior writer for 18 years. He grew up in Wells, Somerset, and studied history at Cambridge University. Collis is the author of the 2021 book You've Got Red on You: How Shaun of the Dead Was Brought to Life and 2025's Screaming and Conjuring: The Resurrection and Unstoppable Rise of the Modern Horror Movie. He is also co-head of acquisitions at the streaming service BloodStream.