Author Archives: Sam George

About Sam George

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

The Guardian’s Top Ten vampire books

Quite an interesting list from The Guardian re: their  top-10-vampire-books. Some unusual choices (Ann Radcliffe as vampire slayer and a vampire parrot) but many blood sucking basics too. I am lucky to have a nice reprint of Florence Marryat’s Blood … Continue reading

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‘Reading the Vampire’ Week 2: From the Peasant to the Aristocrat: the Birth of the Romantic/Byronic Vampire

Our second workshop tonight amidst yet more torrential rain. All the students arrived back for the second session (always a relief that they want to return). Our workshop texts were: Lord Byron, Augustus Darvell( 1819); John Polidori, ‘The Vampyre’ (1819), … Continue reading

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Vampire graves unearthed in Bulgaria – the 7th such site in two years!

Archaeologists have unearthed a vampire burial site in Bulgaria. These medieval corpses were found to have been buried with a metal stake through their hearts to prevent them from returning to menace the living. This is the 7th vampire grave … Continue reading

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‘Reading the Vampire’ our first workshop

Excited to teach the first workshop for ‘Reading the Vampire, Science, Sexuality and Alterity in Modern Culture’ today in suitably gothicky weather (thunder, torrential rain and flash floods). I did raise a smile as I arrived hastily, dripping, and clutching … Continue reading

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Vampire MA Studies (Uni of Herts, four years on)

I mentioned that this is the fourth year of my course: ‘Reading the Vampire: Science, Sexuality and Alterity in Modern Culture’ in the OGOM news blog and I thought you might like to see the  course description and weekly schedule … Continue reading

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Bad Moon Rising: A Song for Lycanthropes

In response to Kaja’s posting of the ‘Devil went Down to Georgia’ in Some Interesting YA and the Gothic Texts and in celebration of William the Bloody’s post on the publication of the first online edition  of the Penny Dreadful … Continue reading

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Embracing the YA Albatross: YA Fiction in the Academy

I  mentioned  Philip Pullman’s carnegie medal speech in my first YA post and it seems apt to return to it here in the wake of renewed criticism of YA fiction in universities. I was interested to read Kaja’s post which … Continue reading

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‘The Twilight of the Gothic’: OGOM Open Discussion 29th October, University of Hertfordshire

In celebration of the beginning of the 4th year of ‘Reading the Vampire: Science, Sexuality Alterity and Modern Culture’ we have Dr Joseph Crawford  speaking on The Twilight of the Gothic?  on Wednesday 29th October (Literature and Creative Writing Research Seminar … Continue reading

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Open Graves, Open Minds: Gothic Writing Evening 7th Nov, St Albans Literary Festival

Excited to report that I will be joined by Dr Catherine Spooner, leading spokesperson for the contemporary Gothic, and Matt Beresford, writer, archaeologist and folklorist for a Gothic Writing Evening to mark the St Albans Literary Festival on 7th November, … Continue reading

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Vampires Make it Into Academia – Wall Street Journal video of Open Graves, Open Minds back in the day..

I have just realised that the Open Graves, Open Minds project is five years old today!!! We started to plan the first OGOM conference at this time in 2009 and the first conference was in March 2010. HAPPY BIRTHDAY OGOM!!! … Continue reading

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