Category Archives: Books and Articles

Grave Desires: Samplers, Sensibility and the Language of Flowers

Posted on 11th December 2017 by Sam George

Miranda Lennon has been collecting verses from the graves of eighteenth and nineteenth-century women and embroidering them into beautiful bespoke samplers. The verses, considered mawkish or sentimental by some, convey a beautiful sensibility around death and mourning and preserve the … Continue reading →

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‘Horror Literature through History: An Encyclopedia of the Stories That Speak to Our Deepest Fears’

Posted on 30th September 2017 by firekrank

Last year I was lucky enough to contribute to this wonderful project: Horror Literature through History: An Encyclopedia of the Stories That Speak to Our Deepest Fears, edited by Matt Cardin. I’m delighted to say that it is being released today. … Continue reading →

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New book: Werewolves, Wolves and the Gothic, ed. by Robert McKay and John Miller

Posted on 15th August 2017 by William the Bloody

We’re pleased to announce this forthcoming collection of essays from the University of Wales Press’s excellent Gothic Literary Studies series, Werewolves, Wolves and the Gothic, ed. by Robert McKay and John Miller, due out September 2017. I should declare an interest: … Continue reading →

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Wonder Woman and Her Influence

Posted on 27th June 2017 by William the Bloody

A fascinating essay by Michele Kennerly and Carly S. Woods, ‘Wonder Woman and Her Influence‘, which takes an unusual approach through Classical Studies and rhetoric, considering the reception of the iconic feminist superheroine and exploring the stress on persuasion that surrounds … Continue reading →

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Struwwelpeter — Original Illustrations

Posted on 27th June 2017 by William the Bloody

An interesting essay by Sarah Lascow on the cautionary tales of Heinrich Hoffman, including, most notably, ‘Struwwelpeter’: ‘The 19th-Century Book of Horrors That Scared German Kids Into Behaving‘. The tales influenced WH Auden and inspired Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands. Some … Continue reading →

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15 Most Anticipated Debut Novels of 2017

Posted on 27th June 2017 by William the Bloody

Here’s a list by Melissa Albert from the always-useful Barnes & Noble Teen Blog (now added to the Blogroll list of links on the right-hand side). These 15 debut YA novels all look very promising; many of them fall into … Continue reading →

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The Making of ‘An American Werewolf in London’

Posted on 14th June 2017 by firekrank

This is a very interesting, albeit brief, article from The Guardian on the making of An American Werewolf in London (1981). I particularly enjoy the comment about making it look painful. During the ‘Company of Wolves’ conference, my mother watched the transformation scene in … Continue reading →

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Tropical Vampires

Posted on 1st June 2017 by William the Bloody

There’s a special issue, Tropical Liminal: Urban Vampires and Other Blood-Sucking Monstrosities of the online journal eTropic: Electronic Journal of Studies in the Tropics, 16.1 (2017), devoted to tropical monsters including werewolves and vampires. Some excellent articles here.

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Fairy Tales and Medieval Latin Literature

Posted on 17th May 2017 by William the Bloody

There’s a new book from the University of Michigan Press by Jan M. Ziolkowski, Fairy Tales from Before Fairy Tales: The Medieval Latin Past of Wonderful Lies which traces the connections between the classic tales of Grimm, Andersen, and so on, and … Continue reading →

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The Postmillennial Vampire

Posted on 16th May 2017 by William the Bloody

Congratulations to Dr Sue Chaplin of Leeds Beckett University on her new book, The Postmillennial Vampire: Power, Sacrifice and Simulation in True Blood, Twilight and Other Contemporary Narratives, out now from Palgrave Macmillan. This book explores the contemporary figure of … Continue reading →

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