Category Archives: Critical thoughts

Dark Musings From A Discarded Christmas Tree

Posted on 3rd January 2017 by Sam George

  There is something of an arboreal theme going on on the blog just now following the announcement of the Beasts of the Forest conference. If you are decorating your tree you might like to read Hans Andersen’s unsettling account of … Continue reading →

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Folk Gothic and Folk Noir

Posted on 3rd December 2016 by William the Bloody

We’ve mentioned the growing interest in folk Gothic a couple of times on this site, where the darkness of Gothic narrative roots itself in folk traditions (or invented replicas of such traditions). Folklore, too, interests us in the form of … Continue reading →

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Theodore von Holst, ‘Frankenstein’ (1831)

Posted on 3rd December 2016 by William the Bloody

A very erudite and penetrating article here by Ian Haywood of the University of Roehampton on the frontispiece to Mary Shelley’s 1831 edition of Frankenstein by Theodore von Holst, a protégé of Henry Fuseli. Haywood’s essay uses the image of … Continue reading →

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Gothic Sensibilities: Charlotte Bronte Stitches Her Dead Sibling’s Hair Into Her Shoes

Posted on 1st December 2016 by Sam George

Just when you thought the Bronte sisters could not get any more gothic Charlotte Bronte’s silk shoes from 1850 reveal that she repaired them using her dead sibling’s hair!! This may seem maudlin to us but it was evidently an … Continue reading →

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Fairy Tales, feminism, and strangeness

Posted on 28th November 2016 by William the Bloody

A handful of interesting items on fairy tale here. First, a very scholarly but readable and fascinating account of the classic English fairy tale, ‘Mr Fox’ (a Bluebeard variant). Then, there’s a review, ‘A Dwarf Becomes a Wolf Girl in … Continue reading →

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Gargoyles and Temptation

Posted on 18th November 2016 by William the Bloody

This is a fascinating piece from the always-wonderful Folklore Thursday on the history and significance of gargoyles. It begins and ends with the presence of these ambivalent creatures in popular culture, from a childhood memory of the animated series Gargoyles … Continue reading →

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Whitby, Goth, and Steampunk

Posted on 14th November 2016 by William the Bloody

An incisive article here by Claire Nally of Northumbria University on the proliferation of subcultures around Goth and steampunk, focusing on Whitby (and a nod to OGOM collaborator Catherine Spooner’s work).

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Post-millennial Vampires

Posted on 6th November 2016 by William the Bloody

Posted slightly late for Hallowe’en, but this essay by Prof. Dale Townshend on the contemporary, post-millennial vampire and what it might stand for is hugely insightful.

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Goths Just Wanna have Fun!

Posted on 2nd November 2016 by Sam George

Thanks to those who shared or commented on my article in The Conversation. I replied to over 40 comments on the day. There are some gems in this publication and I have just uncovered Catherine Spooner’s article Goths Just Wanna … Continue reading →

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Generation Dead: Maggie Stiefvater’s ‘Shiver’ (2009)

Posted on 1st November 2016 by firekrank

Last week’s lecture and seminar for ‘Generation Dead’ was dedicated to Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver (2009), the first novel in the Wolves of Mercy Fall trilogy. Moving away from vampires, this novel is a YA Gothic novel featuring a love story … Continue reading →

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