Author Archives: William the Bloody

About William the Bloody

Cat lover. 18C scholar on the dialogue and novel. Co-convenor OGOM Project

RIP Ursula K. Le Guin

Posted on 24th January 2018 by William the Bloody

Photo by Marian Wood Kolisch/University of Oregon It’s very sad to hear of the death of Ursula K. Le Guin, aged 88. For me, no other writer of SF or fantasy reaches the heights that she did. She was a … Continue reading →

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Merpeople and Monstrous Lovers

Posted on 16th January 2018 by William the Bloody

I’ve not seen Guillermo del Toro’s film The Shape of Water yet, but it appears to be an intriguing take on the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ archetype that lies behind the genre of Paranormal Romance. With its love affair between … Continue reading →

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Selkies and mermaids in novels and other media

Posted on 5th January 2018 by William the Bloody

Among the many fabulous creatures who cross boundaries, selkies and mermaids are particularly fascinating; the former metamorphose between seal and human, the latter are hybrid fish and human. Both exist on the margin of sea and land. Quite a few … Continue reading →

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YA Gothic at ‘Investigating Identities’ (2): Identity, Agency, Assimilation and Paranormal Romance

Posted on 2nd December 2017 by William the Bloody

Following on from Sam’s post on her keynote talk for the Investigating Identities in Young Adult YA Narratives symposium at the University of Northampton on 16 December, I thought I should post a synopsis of the paper I’ll be presenting … Continue reading →

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Redeeming Beauties and Beasts, Wolves and Humans

Posted on 15th November 2017 by William the Bloody

Kaja and Sam have made me feel guilty, so I’ll just give an account of what I’ll be talking about at the Being Human: Redeeming the Wolf event. I’ll be following up some of the themes that Sam and Kaja have … Continue reading →

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Happy Hallowe’en with Betty Boop

Posted on 31st October 2017 by William the Bloody

Happy Hallowe’en to all from OGOM. What a fabulous party this is! Don’t forget to book for the free Being Human: Redeeming the Wolf event on 18 November 2017–tickets here!  

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‘A devout but nearly silent listener’: dialogue, sociability, and Promethean individualism in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818)

Posted on 30th October 2017 by William the Bloody

My article, ‘”A devout but nearly silent listener”: dialogue, sociability, and Promethean individualism in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818)’, has been published in The Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies, 16 (Autumn 2017) alongside other excellent articles. Here’s a brief … Continue reading →

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How long have we believed in vampires?

Posted on 27th October 2017 by William the Bloody

Sam has an article here, ‘How long have we believed in vampires?‘ for The Conversation on the long history of vampires.

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Female Werewolves and the Big, Bad Wolf

Posted on 19th October 2017 by William the Bloody

In anticipation of OGOM’s Being Human event, ‘Redeeming the Wolf: A Story of Persecution, Loss, and Rediscovery‘ (tickets for this free event still available here), here are three items which may instruct or amuse. Alexandra MoeHagen argues here that ‘Female … Continue reading →

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YA Fiction Reading Lists: Otherness and Oddity

Posted on 18th October 2017 by William the Bloody

Some more tempting reading lists of YA fiction for you. First, from Penguin Teen, ‘10 YA Characters Who Will Mess with Your Mind‘: a list of novels with unreliable narrators or narrators who unsettle. I would add to this the … Continue reading →

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