ABSTRACT
Many scholars have pointed out the interrelationships of folklore and the mass media, in particular the products of popular culture. Danielson has been one of the foremost scholars in these discussions (see, for example, his “Toward the Analysis of Vernacular Texts: The Supernatural Narrative in Oral and Popular Print Sources.” Journal of the Folklore Institute 16 [19791:130–154). In the review article below, he discusses the way films draw on traditional folklore themes and motifs, in particular the reliance of the horror genre on contemporary legends, which, he points out, in many cases could be classified under Baughman’s “Horror Story” category, Z500-599. In this essay, he pays special attention to the relationships of the legend of “The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs “ and the films Foster’s Release (1971) and Halloween (1978). A footnote also draws attention to When a Stranger Calls, which was released after this article had gone to press. Danielson points to the psychological potency of the motifs that the films and legends share, and the role of films in “the re-animation, intensification and distribution “ of folk narrative. This essay is reprinted from Western Folklore 38 (1979):209–19.
