ɪn ˈɔːɹdɚ tə pɹəvˈaɪd æz bɹˈɔːd æz pˈɑːsᵻbəl ɐ stˈʌdi ʌv fˈɪɹ, tˈɛɹɚ, ænd hˈɔɹɚ θɹuːˈaʊt ðə sˈɛntʃɚɹiz, ðə bˈʊk fˈiːtʃɚz nˈuːmɚɹəs ˈɛntɹiz ˈɔn "mˈeɪnstɹiːm" ˈɑːɹɾɪsts hˌuː sˈʌlɪvən nˈoʊts "hæv dˈæbəld ɪn ɔːɹ plˈʌndʒd ˌɪntʊ hˈɔɹɚ", sˈʌtʃ ɐz tʃˈɑːɹlz bˌɔːdɪlˈɛɹ, tˈɑːməs hˈɑːɹdi, hˈɛnɹi dʒˈeɪmz, fɹˈænts kˈæfkə, ˈiːdɪθ wˈɔːɹtən, sˈɛɹɡeɪ pɹˈɑːkoʊfˌiːv, tʃˈɑːɹlz dˈɪkənz, hˈaɪnɹɪtʃ vˈɑːn klˈɛst, hˈɜːmən mˈɛlvɪl, dʒˈɔɪs kˈæɹəl ˈoʊts, fɹˈænts lˈɪszt, ˈɑːɹnəld ʃˈɜːnbɜːɡ, wˈɪljəm bˈʌtlɚ jˈiːts, ænd ˈaɪsək bˈæʃɪvˌɪs sˈɪŋɚ, ɐmˌʌŋ ˈʌðɚz.
In order to provide as broad as possible a study of fear, terror, and horror throughout the centuries, the book features numerous entries on "mainstream" artists who Sullivan notes "have dabbled in or plunged into horror", such as Charles Baudelaire, Thomas Hardy, Henry James, Franz Kafka, Edith Wharton, Sergei Prokofiev, Charles Dickens, Heinrich von Kleist, Herman Melville, Joyce Carol Oates, Franz Liszt, Arnold Schönberg, William Butler Yeats, and Isaac Bashevis Singer, among others.