'Evil Child' in Literature Film and Popular Culture

<p>The 'evil child' has infiltrated the cultural imagination taking on prominent roles in popular films television shows and literature. This collection of essays from a global range of scholars examines a fascinating array of evil children and the cultural work that they perform drawing upon sociohistorical cinematic and psychological approaches. The chapters explore a wide range of characters including Tom Riddle in the <i>Harry Potter</i> series the possessed Regan in William Peter Blatty’s <i>The Exorcist</i> the monstrous Ben in Doris Lessing’s <i>The Fifth Child</i> the hostile fetuses of <i>Rosemary’s Baby</i> and <i>Alien</i> and even the tiny terrors featured in the reality television series <i>Supernanny</i>. Contributors also analyse various themes and issues within film literature and popular culture including ethics representations of evil and critiques of society. </p><p>This book was originally published as two special issues of <i>Literature Interpretation Theory</i>.</p>