Stalking is very real and very pervasive. In recent years, more and more people have been harassed by strangers or persecuted by ex-lovers. Almost any celebrity you care to mention has been stalked. Numerous films and novels revolve around the figure of the stalker. But, though seemingly everywhere, it is only since the 1990s that the term ‘stalking’ has begun to be widely used. Are we dealing with something new? Have ways of relating to other people changed over recent decades, becoming more intense or even perverse? Or have we simply begun to describe established forms of social interaction in a new way? Stalking Culture is the first serious book to reveal the cultural dimension of this obsessive pursuit and examines stalking in the context of contemporary media-saturated culture. It also hows that ‘stalking’ has been part of the cultural consciousness (and unconscious) for almost 200 years. The discussion ranges widely from novels of previous historical periods, such as Richardson’s Clarissa and Dickens’s Our Mutual Friend , to classic Hollywood cinema, such as Play Misty For Me and Taxi Driver , to more recent stalking films and novels, Fatal Attraction , One Hour Photo , and Enduring Love , among others. It also considers famous cases of celebrity stalking, such as Jodie Foster, John Lennon, Monica Seles and Jill Dando and related issues, such as the internet and TV shows. By examining the depiction of stalking in books, films and the news, and drawing on forensic psychology, psychoanalysis and cultural theory, this book reveals how fears and desires are expressed in contemporary culture. Stalking Culture offers a unique analysis and history for anyone who wants to make sense of this contemporary phenomenon.