YA Gothic, fairytale retellings, demon lovers, mermaids and Scottish myths

Here’s a selection of interesting articles on OGOM-related topics.

First, an article on YA Gothic with some recommended novels in the genre. Much of our research has focused on these texts–they are often more adventurous than their adult counterpart, especially in the realm of paranormal romance. Dr Sam George has pioneered the teaching of these novels in her BA module Generation Dead: Young Adult Fiction and the Gothic. This is Amanda Pagan,of the New York Public Library, on ‘Dark and Beautiful: Young Adult Gothic Fiction‘.

Much YA Gothic involves the retelling and reworking of the vast heritage of myth and fairy tale; intertextuality of this sort is again this a special area of interest for OGOM. Angel Cruz has compiled a very useful list of ‘100 must-read retellings of myths, folklore, and classics‘.

The upsurge of tales of loving the vampire and the monstrous in the genre of paranormal romance is part of this Gothic intertextuality. The figure of the Demon Lover from ballads and folklore that these stories build upon is explored here by Lewis Hurst in ‘“Well met, well met, my own true love”: Five Demon Lovers’.

Mermaids figure frequently in these narratives of love between human and supernatural Other. The scholar Cristina Bacchilega, who has just published The Penguin Book of Mermaids, writes here on ‘How Mermaid Stories Illustrate Complex Truths About Being Human: The Tropes, Tricks, and Tools We Find in Tales of Merfolk‘.

Vampires and fairies are among these otherworldly creatures, too. Scottish folklore is rich in these and Karin Goodwin writes here on ‘Scottish myths and legends: vampire fairies, shape shifting selkies and the Loch Ness monster‘.

And finally, to complete this set of resources on folklore reworkings and intertextuality, here’s a list by Courtney Rodgers of ‘7 books of folkloric fiction‘.

About William the Bloody

Cat lover. 18C scholar on the dialogue and novel. Co-convenor OGOM Project
This entry was posted in Generation Dead: YA Fiction and the Gothic news, Reading Lists, Resources and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to YA Gothic, fairytale retellings, demon lovers, mermaids and Scottish myths

  1. Thanks for posting these. I look forward to reading the merfolk one in particular!

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