Author Archives: William the Bloody

About William the Bloody

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

Prince Lestat: A New Era for the Vampire Chronicles of Anne Rice

Leigh McLennon reviews Anne Rice’s return to The Vampire Chronicles with Prince Lestat, asking how Rice has adapted her vampires to suit the changed social conditions since the series began.

Posted in Critical thoughts | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Barry Forshaw ‘Sex and Death: Vampires from Coleridge to Hammer’

Instructive extract from Barry Forshaw’s British Gothic Cinema on the vampire theme in Gothic fiction from Coleridge’s ‘Christabel’ through ‘Carmilla’ and dracula to its incarnation in cinema.

Posted in Critical thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is Your Supernatural Spirit Animal a Vampire or a Werewolf?

Perhaps the biggest division between scholars and fans of paranormal romance is that over vampires versus werewolves. Take this quiz and find out who you are. It’s incredibly scientific and accurate, as demonstrated by its assuring me that I am … Continue reading

Posted in Fun stuff | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Folklore and Modern Irish Writing, by Anne Markey and Anne O’Connor

This book on Irish folklore and modern Irish writing looks very useful for those who, like myself, are fascinated by the way that folk tales can be endlessly reworked to give contemporary significance to old narrative structures and content.

Posted in Books and Articles, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Young Adult Literature Convention, London, July 2015

This looks an exciting convention on YA and children’s Literature–part of the London Film and Comic Con. Of special interest is that Cassandra Clare, author of the splendid Mortal Instruments YA paranormal romance series (and its clockpunk prequel, the Infernal … Continue reading

Posted in Events | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

How our zombie obsession explains our fear of globalisation

Jospeh Gillings in a thoughtful piece that sees the current appeal of zombie fiction in the context of the helplessness felt in the face of the lawless nature of present-day capitalism. I would want to qualify the use of ‘globalisation’ … Continue reading

Posted in Critical thoughts | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Phantasmagoria : The Dark Side of the Light

A fascinating short film with Mervyn Heard on the spooky spectacle of the late eighteenth-century/early nineteenth-century phantasmagoria and its uncanny foreshadowings of cinematic thrills. If this whets your appetite, come to the OGOM Company of Wolves Conference in September–we will … Continue reading

Posted in Critical thoughts | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Otranto: Gothic articles and resources

Otranto is a marvellous new project for publishing peer-reviewd online articles on the Gothic.

Posted in Books and Articles, Resources | Tagged | Leave a comment

Grandma, what a long history you have! The origins of “Little Red Riding Hood”

An interesting account by Tom Jacobs of the origins and dispersal of the Red Riding Hood tale. This is probably not such new and startling news as it proclaims, but that’s newspapers for you. And it begs a few questions … Continue reading

Posted in Critical thoughts | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Comedy Crib: Faeries, ‘Dry Spell’

Some entertainingly grimy urban faeries.

Posted in Fun stuff | Tagged | Leave a comment