This study traces the history and culture of Spain as seen through the lens of the nation´s production of horror cinema. Starting from the boom of Spanish horror film in the early 1960s, the thesis compares and contrasts the political and social aspects of Spanish society throughout three distinct eras of the 20th century: 1962 – 1975 (the boom of Spanish horror film through the Franco dictatorship), 1975 – 1999 (the transition to democracy through the end of the 20th century) and 2000 – present (the 21st century). Movies as diverse as Gritos en la noche (1962, Jesús Franco), ¿Quién puede matar a un niño? (1976, Narciso Ibáñez Serrador) and Angustia (1987, Bigas Luna) are framed by culturally-related anectodes as well as correlations to their respective social environments. Special attention has been paid to the production and release of each film, especially in regards to censorship during the Franco dictatorship. The results show that Spanish horror cinema has acted as a true mirror to culture, society and politics in its native country throughout the 20th century and that this trend will likely extend in to the future.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with A. W. McCasker. McCasker joined the Royal Australian Navy and at the end of 1942 was stationed on Guadalcanal. He took a small party behind enemy lines to Lord Howe Island on a reconnaissance mission, accompanied by two American soldiers and a Javanese guide. There he was greeted by a Polynesian king who held a formal ceremony declaring war on the Japanese. McCasker brought along a radio that could reach several hundred miles; however, moving its heavy battery chargers required the labor of 12 natives. For nine months they moved from island to island, observing aircraft, reporting to headquarters at Guadalcanal. At one point they found two islanders who had drifted over 700 miles off course in a canoe. When enemy forces landed in August 1943 and McCasker was evacuated by PBY, he brought with him the two displaced islanders, who were eventually flown back to their homeland.