Category Archives: Critical thoughts

Are haunted houses the new vampires?

Posted on 25th October 2015 by firekrank

In yesterday’s paper there was a very interesting article by Sarah Hughes entitled ‘Out with vampires, in with haunted houses: the ghost story is back’. Now whilst I do not wish to see the true death of my favourite revenants, … Continue reading →

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Vampire Breast Lifts and the Cult of Eternal Youth

Posted on 19th October 2015 by firekrank

Following the ‘vampire facelift’, there is now the ‘vampire breast lift’. These procedures have been linked to immortal blood-drinkers because they both involve injecting the patients blood back into their skin in order to rejuvenate it. The idea of connecting … Continue reading →

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Genevieve Valentine, ‘How the vampire became film’s most feminist monster’

Posted on 16th October 2015 by William the Bloody

A fascinating essay by Genevieve Valentine on the shifting nature of the powerful and ambivalent female vampire in cinema.

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Roger Luckhurst, ‘Why bother reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula?’

Posted on 16th October 2015 by William the Bloody

And again, Roger Luckhurst! This time, a succinct essay on the significance of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, placing it in the context of late nineteenth-century Britain and anxieties over Empire and otherness.

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The Return of ‘The Returned’ (2012 – )

Posted on 15th October 2015 by firekrank

For those who loved ‘The Returned’ (2012 – ), the French series about the dead returning to a small community, Season 2 will be coming out on More 4 later this year. It has been a two year wait for … Continue reading →

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Tracy Hastie, ‘Leather Clad Heroines and the Monster Within’

Posted on 15th October 2015 by William the Bloody

An excellent blog post by Tracy Hastie on the ambivalent sexual politics of the female protagonist of paranormal romance/urban fantasy.

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The Return of the Wolves

Posted on 14th October 2015 by firekrank

A few people today have drawn my attention to the following article on the BBC website: The place where wolves could soon return. I took great pleasure in reading it as I think it offers a balanced view of the … Continue reading →

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Witches from Fiction, Witches from History

Posted on 14th October 2015 by firekrank

Having read Sam’s post on The Emergence of the Sympathetic Witch in Twentieth-Century Culture, I was pleased to see one of my favourite online groups, A Mighty Girl, posting about a book called History’s Witches: An Illustrated Guide (2013) by Lisa Graves. … Continue reading →

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The Emergence of the Sympathetic Witch in Twentieth-Century Culture

Posted on 13th October 2015 by Sam George

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 →

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Reflections on ‘The Company of Wolves’

Posted on 30th September 2015 by firekrank

It has been almost a month since ‘Company of Wolves’ and, now that I am back from my holidays, I thought it would be good to reflect on the conference. As is so often the case being an organiser, I … Continue reading →

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