Monthly Archives: April 2015

Happy Walpurgisnacht!

Tonight is the night that witches party. There is a wild, fantastic depiction of this in Goethe’s Faust and there are memorable reworkings throughout literature and the arts–in Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, Joseph Heller’s … Continue reading

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Scenarios you will never find in a Werewolf Romance

The following is in no way a proper critique of the romance genre. I’ve just had to read quite a few for my Table of Werewolves and certain aspects have become grating. So, without further ado, here are: Seven scenarios … Continue reading

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‘Spring-Heeled Jack and the ersatz Victorian Vampire’: Dr Karl Bell, 6th May, University of Hertfordshire

Dr Karl Bell will be in dialogue with OGOM on 6th May at the University of Hertfordshire where he will present his research into  Spring-Heeled Jack and the Victorian vampire myth. His talk is entitled: – ‘”His eyes resembled red … Continue reading

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Landscapes of Romance: Generic Boundaries and Epistemological Dialectics in the Paranormal Romance of Julie Kagawa’s The Iron King

Here’s the abstract for the paper I presented last week at the excellent Reading the Fantastic: Tales beyond Borders conference at the University of Leeds. You can download the paper from here, too. Within contemporary fantastic fiction, a modulation of … Continue reading

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Re-wilding the British Lynx and Other Animal Stories at Company of Wolves

The BBC’s debate today about re-wilding the Lynx in the UK is quite pertinent to our Company of Wolves conference. There is a lot of tension around such stories which makes them ripe for discussion in relation to our strand on … Continue reading

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Gothic in Birmingham: New Show

This looks worth visiting if you are in the Midlands: Gothic in Birmingham: Exhibition and Conference Literature, film, architecture, art, Goth culture and more Tuesday 7 April until Saturday 2 May 2015, Highlight, Level 3, Library of Birmingham All Welcome … Continue reading

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What do botany and vampirism have in common?

Literature and science is a field that has always interested me and Professor Martin Willis has just published Literature and Science: Reader’s Guide to Essential Criticism. This will be of interest to Company of Wolves delegates as it has a … Continue reading

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Great Day at Daughter of Fangdom: Women and Telvision Vampires Conference

Well done to Stacey, Lorna and Mike for their excellent conference at the University of Roehampton on women and television vampires on April 18th. You can view the programme here daughter-of-fangdom-programme-11-march. Stacey Abbott has contributed widely to OGOM and will … Continue reading

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Vampires aren’t that bad

Dr Sorcha Ní Fhlainn, Gothic/Horror academic & lecturer at MMU, takes issue with the stance of some Roman Catholics who think that the allure of fictional vampires is dangerous (see previous post here).

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Vatican Wants Exorcisms for Teens Who Love Vampires

Thanks to Dr Beyer for forwarding the link to The Independent which today claimed that Exorcists Warn Vatican over Beautiful Young Vampires   Perhaps Pope Francis would like to borrow our vampire slaying kit complete with crucifix bible and holy water. … Continue reading

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