Daily Dead readers are undoubtedly familiar with the work of Daniel Kraus, from Whalefall and Angel Down to co-authoring The Shape of Water with Guillermo del Toro and The Living Dead and Pay the Piper with George A. Romero. Now he's back with Partially Devoured: How Night of the Living Dead Saved My Life and Changed the World, a deep dive into one of the greatest horror films ever made. Many of us owe our careers and love of horror to Romero's landmark 1968 film, and Kraus' Partially Devoured details both the cultural impact of the film, as well as the personal impact it had on him. The book is now available, and we have an excerpt we're excited to share with Daily Dead readers!
The New York Times bestselling author of Whalefall and Angel Down dives into a horror movie classic to examine his favorite film’s importance to our history, culture, and psychology—a perfect blend of research and memoir for fans of the movie, the genre, and beyond
Daniel Kraus first saw George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead when he was five years old. Through watching it approximately three hundred times since, Kraus discovered the many ways the film is tied to his childhood trauma and how its influence has carried into his adulthood. He couldn’t help but wonder: Are there other admirers of the film out there who feel the same?
Partially Devoured uses a frame-by-frame deep dive into Night of the Living Dead to produce a kaleidoscopic cultural investigation of the film’s importance and to examine the author’s early life of rural isolation and local violence.
Careening from film analysis to rabbit-hole tangents, Partially Devoured will take readers from screaming laughter to the depths of grief, all while illustrating how a beloved genre film has woven itself into so many facets of our lives.
About the Author: Daniel Kraus is a New York Times bestselling writer of novels, TV, and film. His latest novel, Angel Down, was a USA Today bestseller and a New York Times Top 10 Book of 2025. Kraus is writing the film adaptation in collaboration with Imagine Entertainment. His novel Whalefall received a front-cover review in the New York Times Book Review, won the Alex Award, was an L.A. Times Book Prize Finalist, and was a Best Book of 2023 from NPR, the New York Times, Amazon, Chicago Tribune, and more. The film adaptation, co-written by Kraus, will be released by 20th Century Studios in October 2026. With Guillermo del Toro, he co-authored The Shape of Water, based on the same idea the two created for the Oscar-winning film. Also with del Toro, Kraus co-authored Trollhunters, which was adapted into the Emmy-winning Netflix series. He co-wrote The Living Dead and Pay the Piper with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero. Kraus’s The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch was named one of Entertainment Weekly‘s Top 10 Books of the Year. Kraus has won the Bram Stoker Award, Scribe Award, two Odyssey Awards (for both Rotters and Scowler), and has appeared multiple times as Library Guild selections, and more. Kraus’s work has been translated into over 25 languages. Visit him at danielkraus.com.
To purchase Partially Devoured: How Night of the Living Dead Saved My Life and Changed the World, visit: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804573/partially-devoured-by-daniel-kraus/
To read the excerpt, click on the link below or visit: https://dailydead.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Partially-Devoured-Eerie-Heavy-Echo-excerpt-.pdf
[Excerpted from Partially Devoured: How Night of the Living Dead Saved My Life and Changed the World, Copyright © 2026 by Daniel Kraus. Reprinted by permission of Counterpoint Press.]
After more than a decade as a consultant in the entertainment industry, Jonathan James launched Daily Dead in 2010 to share his passion for horror. He takes immense pride in Daily Dead's talented team of writers, who passionately explore and celebrate horror as a respected art form capable of telling complex, character-driven stories with deep emotional and cultural impact.
Over the course of his career, Jonathan has written more than 10,000 articles and hosted panels at major conventions, including New York Comic Con and San Diego Comic-Con. He is also consulted with as an expert on horror and pop culture, offering insights on horror history and the latest trends through media outlets, film festivals, and conventions.
After more than a decade as a consultant in the entertainment industry, Jonathan James launched Daily Dead in 2010 to share his passion for horror. He takes immense pride in Daily Dead's talented team of writers, who passionately explore and celebrate horror as a respected art form capable of telling complex, character-driven stories with deep emotional and cultural impact.
Over the course of his career, Jonathan has written more than 10,000 articles and hosted panels at major conventions, including New York Comic Con and San Diego Comic-Con. He is also consulted with as an expert on horror and pop culture, offering insights on horror history and the latest trends through media outlets, film festivals, and conventions.
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