Author Archives: Sam George

About Sam George

Associate Professor of Research, School of Humanities, University of Hertfordshire Co-convenor OGOM Project

ITV This Morning: Frankenstein

Here’s some footage from ITV This Morning’s ‘History of Horror’ on Frankenstein with Charlie Higson, yours truly, Prof. William Hughes and Sir Chris Frayling. I seem to be the only one in the studio and they already had their narrative in place … Continue reading

Posted in OGOM News, Press Coverage | Tagged | Leave a comment

Review of Gothic Manchester’s ‘What Lies Beneath’

There was a deep irony to my journey north for ‘‘What Lies Beneath’, the symposium to mark the Gothic Manchester Festival because what lay beneath the venue was a very big part of my youth – The Cornerhouse. Cornerhouse was … Continue reading

Posted in CFP (Conferences), Critical thoughts, Events, Reviews | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Black Dogs and Hell Hounds

Ted Hughes described this time of year as ‘The month of the drowned dog’ in his evocative poem ‘November’ where after long rain ‘the land  was sodden as the bed of an ancient lake/ Treed with iron and was bird … Continue reading

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

I Saw Three Witches

I saw three witches Asleep in a valley, Their heads in a row, like stones in a flood. Till the moon, creeping upward, Looked white through the valley, And turned them to bushes in bright scarlet bud. (From Walter de … Continue reading

Posted in Books and Articles, Critical thoughts, exhibitions, Fun stuff | Tagged | Leave a comment

How Did I Choose Me My Witchcraft Kin? My Past and Future in Witches

‘My Nannie says I’m a child of sin. How did I choose me my witchcraft kin?’ (Waterhouse, ‘The Magic Circle’, 1886, thanks to Janette for this) I found myself in the north of England at the weekend for the Gothic … Continue reading

Posted in Critical thoughts | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

CFA: OGOM Company of Wolves Book and Journal Issue

Thank you once more for your contribution to the wonderful Company of Wolves Conference. There was a diverse range of papers, all fascinating, and this was one of the factors that made the conference work so well. As promised, we … Continue reading

Posted in Call for Articles, OGOM News, OGOM Research, OGOM: The Company of Wolves | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Emergence of the Sympathetic or Reluctant Vampire in Twentieth-Century Culture

Following my post on the sympathetic witch I should add that I am thinking of Dark Shadows (1966-1971) as being the vampire equivalent of Bewitched (1964-72) and Barnabas Collins as the wonderfully reluctant vampire. Here’s the classic moment when Barnabas Collins is … Continue reading

Posted in Creative Writing, Fun stuff, MA Reading the Vampire module news | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Emergence of the Sympathetic Witch in Twentieth-Century Culture

I’ve been wondering lately how neatly the sympathetic witch corresponds to the rise of the sympathetic vampire in twentieth-century culture?  I was named after one very memorable good witch, Samantha Stephens below, played by Elizabeth Montgomery (my parents were huge … Continue reading

Posted in Critical thoughts, Fun stuff | Tagged | 4 Comments

Gender Flipped Twilight

Following Kaja’s post breaking the news about Beau and Edythe (don’t you just love them already?) I thought I’d post Stephenie Meyer Explains Gender Flipped Twilight from Publisher’s Weekly. Love to hear your views on this. Does Meyer still have … Continue reading

Posted in MA Reading the Vampire module news | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The British Library’s Animal Tales

I went along to the British Library’s Animal Tales Exhibition today. The show is divided into subsections which include ‘metamorphosis’, ‘wildness’, ‘animal allegories’, ‘tales for children’ and more. The highlight for me was undoubtedly the manuscript of  Angela Carter’s ‘Mr … Continue reading

Posted in exhibitions, Reviews | Tagged , | Leave a comment