Category Archives: Fun stuff

Gothic Romance and romantic Gothic

Posted on 11th February 2016 by firekrank

In order to celebrate Valentine’s Day the IGA have a guest post by Val Derbyshire, ‘From Romance to romance: Gothic tropes in Harlequin Mills & Boon novels’. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable read and made me reminisce about borrowing the Mills & Boon … Continue reading →

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Which scenes in literature have chilled you to the bone?

Posted on 11th February 2016 by firekrank

The Royal Society of Literature is posing the question ‘What have been your scariest reads?’ to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein. Feel free to comment below if you have any good ideas. I think mine is … Continue reading →

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How to be an Extra on the New Twin Peaks

Posted on 10th February 2016 by firekrank

For those of you who are fans of the cult television programme ‘Twin Peaks’ (1990-1991), the website ‘Welcome to Twin Peaks’ gives you details on how you can be an extra on the new ‘Twin Peaks’. It is a charity … Continue reading →

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Police issued guidelines on how to behave while trapped in a wicker man

Posted on 9th February 2016 by firekrank

I’m a big fan of the Daily Mash especially as a bit of light relief when reading anything dense. This article, ‘Police issued guidelines on how to behave while trapped in a wicker man’, is an oldie but a goodie and … Continue reading →

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Does 2016 Mark the Return of the Troll?

Posted on 7th February 2016 by Sam George

Apparently a Troll Doll is also known as a Dam Doll after their creator Danish woodcutter Thomas Dam, or as a Gonk Troll outside the US. There is a Danish connection for you here Kaja. Again, in Cumbria we would use the word ‘Gonk’ to … Continue reading →

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Trolls and Tree people

Posted on 7th February 2016 by Sam George

In response to Kaja’s entertaining and informative post about trolls comes this picture which I love  from Grimm’s Fairy Tales, published by Constable in 1909. A wonderful example of one of Rackham’s anthropomorphic trees which has some similarities to the Norwegian troll … Continue reading →

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The Artistic Troll

Posted on 6th February 2016 by firekrank

I love studying the Gothic. I love exploring the twisted realms of the imagination. I love the creatures hidden in the pages of books that follow me home at night. (I can live with the shadows on my walls transforming … Continue reading →

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Public Lecture Series at Strawberry Hill, Spring 2016

Posted on 3rd February 2016 by firekrank

From May to June 2016, there will be a series of six lectures taking place at Horace Walpole’s abode, Strawberry Hill in Twickenham. The lectures are part of the AHRC-Funded research project based at Stirling, ‘Writing Britain’s Ruins, 1700-1850: The … Continue reading →

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100 Years (Give or Take) of Zombie Evolution

Posted on 3rd February 2016 by firekrank

This video is proof that my Buzzfeed procrastination is sometimes a good thing. Made by the Top Trending channel, this video pertains to follow 100 years of the zombie transformation. Whilst this is a claim that will have purists cringing … Continue reading →

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The Science of Lycanthropy

Posted on 3rd February 2016 by firekrank

The website for ‘The Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency’ has a page dedicated to the science of Lycanthropy. Whilst there are plenty of other pages and books dedicated to pseudo-scientific frameworks for the existence of monsters – Max Brooks’ The Zombie … Continue reading →

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