This revised and updated edition of A History of Horrors traces the life and _spirit_ of Hammer, from its fledgling days in the late 1940s through its successes of the 1950s and '60s to its decline and eventual liquidation in the late 1970s. With the exclusive participation of all of the personnel who were key to Hammer's success, Denis Meikle paints a vivid and fascinating picture of the rise and fall of a film empire, offering new and revealing insights into _the truth behind the legend._ Much has been written about Hammer's films, but this is the only book to tell the story of the company itself from the perspective of those who ran it in its heyday and who helped to turn it into a universal byword for terror on the screen....

Some call it horror. Others call it fantasy. Whatever they choose to call it, most critics, historians, and filmmakers agree that no single entity has had more influence over the genre than Hammer Film Productions, a small independent British film company. "A History of Horrors" traces the life and spirit of the "House of Hammer" from its fledging days of the late 1940s, through its successes of the 1950s and 60s, to its decline in the 1970s. Through the eyes of many of the studio's key players, and through the works of film critics and historians, the book paints a vivid and fascinating picture of the rise and fall of a film empire, offering what author Denis Meikle refers to as "the truth behind that legend."...