Category Archives: Critical thoughts

Tracy Hastie, ‘Leather Clad Heroines and the Monster Within’

Posted on 15th October 2015 by William the Bloody

An excellent blog post by Tracy Hastie on the ambivalent sexual politics of the female protagonist of paranormal romance/urban fantasy.

Posted in Critical thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Return of the Wolves

Posted on 14th October 2015 by firekrank

A few people today have drawn my attention to the following article on the BBC website: The place where wolves could soon return. I took great pleasure in reading it as I think it offers a balanced view of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical thoughts, Resources | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Witches from Fiction, Witches from History

Posted on 14th October 2015 by firekrank

Having read Sam’s post on The Emergence of the Sympathetic Witch in Twentieth-Century Culture, I was pleased to see one of my favourite online groups, A Mighty Girl, posting about a book called History’s Witches: An Illustrated Guide (2013) by Lisa Graves. … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical thoughts, Fun stuff, Resources | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Emergence of the Sympathetic Witch in Twentieth-Century Culture

Posted on 13th October 2015 by Sam George

I’ve been wondering lately how neatly the sympathetic witch corresponds to the rise of the sympathetic vampire in twentieth-century culture?  I was named after one very memorable good witch, Samantha Stephens below, played by Elizabeth Montgomery (my parents were huge … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical thoughts, Fun stuff | Tagged | 4 Comments

Reflections on ‘The Company of Wolves’

Posted on 30th September 2015 by firekrank

It has been almost a month since ‘Company of Wolves’ and, now that I am back from my holidays, I thought it would be good to reflect on the conference. As is so often the case being an organiser, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical thoughts, OGOM: The Company of Wolves | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Werewolves in a dog eat dog world: Kathryn Hughes in The Guardian

Posted on 31st August 2015 by Sam George

Kathryn Hughes has written a lengthy and pertinent article in The Guardian today in response to our werewolves conference In Our Dog Eat Dog World its Time for Werewolves This article has been shared many many times by Guardian readers … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical thoughts, OGOM: The Company of Wolves, Press Coverage | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Wolves in Southern France

Posted on 19th August 2015 by firekrank

I was lucky enough to spend a few days in the Southern France a few weeks ago. Of course, the wolves were never far behind. Wolves were prevalent in the forested areas of Southern France (Robinson Crusoe’s companion gets eaten … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical thoughts | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Shakespeare’s Irish Werewolves

Posted on 16th August 2015 by Sam George

Serendipity is perhaps an overused term but I saw a production of As You Like It today, whilst taking time out from ‘Company of Wolves’, only to find a bardic reference to (were)wolves! In Act V, Scene ii when Rosalind … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical thoughts, OGOM: The Company of Wolves | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Roger Luckhurst, ‘From Dracula to The Strain: Where do vampires come from?’

Posted on 1st August 2015 by William the Bloody

A brilliant, concise overview of the origins of contemporary vampire narratives by Prof, Roger Luckhurst of Birkbeck College, London. He traces the vampire story from the Eats European accounts in the eighteenth-century through Polidori, Varney the Vampire, ‘Carmilla’ and (inevitably) … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Grave Diggers Steal Vampire Director’s Skull: Is this why Bram Stoker has no Tomb ?

Posted on 15th July 2015 by Sam George

I was presenting on Nosferatu recently whilst in Romania and talking about what happened when the Dracula myth shifted to Germany in 1922. Today I was surprised to read that Murnau’s head had been stolen from his grave in Germany … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical thoughts | Tagged , , | Leave a comment