Witches, Gothic Novels, and Cosmic Horror

I’ve been a bit lax on posting to the blog; I’ve found lots of interesting and useful material lately but haven’t had time to blog them–they’re usually on our Facebook group, though, and Kaja has been reposting some of these here (thanks, Kaja!).

But here are some very useful essays (revealed to me by the excellent LitHub website, whose mailing list I’m on and which I recommend for fascinating updates on anything literary).

First, three articles on witches in literature, supplementing Sam’s posts on the subject:

• Jess Bergman, ‘A Literary History of Witches’
• Tobias Carroll, ‘Witches, Demons, Mystics: When Writers Cross the Supernatural Line’
• Caitlin Love, ‘Alex Mar’s Journey Into the Occult’

Then, on the ‘horrid’ Gothic novels of the eighteenth century and on Guillermo del Torro’s use of the conventions of the Gothic novel in his new film, Crimson Peak:

• Bridget Read, ‘In Praise of the Horrid Gothic Novel’
• Guillermo del Torro, ‘Guide to Gothic Romance’

And, finally, an exploration of the cosmic horror associated with H. P. Lovecraft; some lesser-known writers are uncovered here:

Tobias Carroll, ‘The Conspiracy Against a Good Night’s Sleep’