Extract

Yvonne Leffler

John Ajvide Lindqvist’s vampire novel Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in, 2004), Lars von Trier’s psychological drama Anti-Christ (2009), and Tommy Wirkola zombie comedy Dead Snow (Död snö, 2009) are all good examples of the explosion of horror stories that has taken place in Scandinavia in the last decade. Ajvide Lindqvist’s Let the Right One is a bestseller both inside and outside Sweden, and it has been translated into several languages, including English. It has also resulted in two films: a Swedish-language film by the same name, directed by Tomas Alfredson in 2008, and an English-language film, Let Me In, directed by Matt Reeves and released in 2010. Lars von Trier’s film Anti-Christ has won several prizes and attracted much attention as it caused disagreement about gender issues. In several interviews, the Danish director has confirmed that he chose to make a horror film as it could be used for certain images and themes he wanted to communicate. Wirkola’s Dead Snow (2009) is one of many appreciated Norwegian zombie films dealing with certain aspects of Norwegian history. Although contemporary Scandinavian authors and directors, such as Ajvide Lindqvist, Wirkola, and von Trier, are very much part of the worldwide and international production and distribution of horror, their works thrive on a Scandinavian tradition of the genre dating back to the earlynineteenth century. Just as in former works by Scandinavian writers, the mazy architecture of the Gothic medieval castle,...