In this chapter, I explore the process of defining European cult cinema, the object of the study for this book. I show that the meaning of European cult cinema was constructed by fans and has been further enhanced by fancademic study. This has led to European cult cinema being studied as a fan object, the majority of fancademic work textually analysing European cult film, without investigating or problematizing either the fandom that surrounds it or the process through which the fan object was delineated, named, and made meaningful. As Ian Olney (2013, p. 11) identifies, ‘fanscholars have produced a substantial number of books on Euro horror cinema’. While I recognize my own status as a fan of European cult cinema, I want to argue that this is an advantageous position if utilized consciously and reflexively. I begin this chapter by identifying some of the discourses that surround the nomination of European cult cinema, briefly outlining its genesis. Secondly, I discuss how these processes of definition can be understood, particularly through a recognition of the privileged role that Italian cult cinema is assigned within the domain of European cult cinema. Finally, I introduce and offer my working definition of the giallo, a specific form of Italian cult cinema that much of the fan activity I discuss in this book is centred around.