Author Archives: firekrank

‘Horror Literature through History: An Encyclopedia of the Stories That Speak to Our Deepest Fears’

Last year I was lucky enough to contribute to this wonderful project: Horror Literature through History: An Encyclopedia of the Stories That Speak to Our Deepest Fears, edited by Matt Cardin. I’m delighted to say that it is being released today. … Continue reading

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My 10 must-read YA books …

This morning I awoke to a tweet from the YA Literature, Media and Culture Research Network which made me a little angry to say the least. It was a link to The Telegraph‘s list of ‘The 10 must-read YA books’. What … Continue reading

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Blogging Buffy for the 20th Anniversary (with Werewolves)

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, the Sheffield Gothic Reading Group have dedicated a series of blogs to this timeless element of popular culture. (I wrote my own personal reflections of my childhood with Buffy … Continue reading

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A seasonal makeover for everyone’s birthday favourite Colin the Caterpillar

According to British etiquette, a birthday isn’t a birthday unless someone has bought a Colin the Caterpillar cake from Marks and Spencer. However, for those who feel that his cheerful face is a little too wholesome as we start approaching … Continue reading

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Lincoln Book Festival has a Gothic theme

In a previous post, I mentioned that the theme for this year’s Lincoln Book Festival (25th-30th September 2017) is the Gothic. This year they had a Flash Fiction Competition which I entered. Much to my surprise (I’m not a creative … Continue reading

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‘Valley of Shadows’ Trailer – A werewolf film?

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the trailer for Valley of Shadows, a Scandinavian Gothic tale directed by Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen. From the trailer, it appears that the narrative follows a young boy whose community is plagued by a series of attacks on sheep … Continue reading

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What Happens to Werewolves During a Solar Eclipse

Following on from Sam’s brilliant post about the coming solar eclipse and Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’, I found myself wondering: What about the Werewolves? Will nobody think of the werewolves? Sure enough, a quick search on the … Continue reading

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The Dark Side of Studying Vampires

My daily Google search for the word ‘vampire’ brought up a rather disturbing article today. An academic, specialising in vampire studies, has been accused of tacitly encouraging blood drinking during his lectures. (The original story can be found in The Daily … Continue reading

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The Making of ‘An American Werewolf in London’

This is a very interesting, albeit brief, article from The Guardian on the making of An American Werewolf in London (1981). I particularly enjoy the comment about making it look painful. During the ‘Company of Wolves’ conference, my mother watched the transformation scene in … Continue reading

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Lincoln Book Festival Goes Gothic

As I have no doubt mentioned before, I grew up in Lincolnshire. Therefore I was very interested to see that the Lincoln Book Festival (25th-30th September, 2017) this year has a Gothic theme, including a Gothic flashfiction competition. With its endless … Continue reading

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