Category Archives: Critical thoughts

‘Christmas’ leaflet distributed in Cambridge claims homosexuals are like vampires

Posted on 15th December 2014 by William the Bloody

The monstrous vampire has longed served to represent the Other, the repulsive outsider that society shuns. And it continues to play this role, despite the ascent of the sympathetic vampire and demonic lover. As OGOM contributors have charted in the … Continue reading →

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Buffyology Lessons in the Academy: Buffy V Shakespeare?

Posted on 14th December 2014 by Sam George

Given we had some papers on Buffy at the original Open Graves, Open Minds conference in 2010 and that she made an appearance in both the OGOM book and the special issue of Gothic Studies on vampires (and that we … Continue reading →

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Spectral Visions: Interview with Bill Hughes

Posted on 6th December 2014 by William the Bloody

Stephanie Gallon, of the University of Sunderland’s Spectral Visions group, has interviewed me here about the Open Graves, Open Minds Project and paranormal romance. I enjoyed the interview very much; her questions were relevant and challenging and helped me clarify … Continue reading →

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Studies in Gothic Fiction, 3.2 (2014)

Posted on 6th December 2014 by William the Bloody

The latest issue of Studies in Gothic Fiction (3.2), edited by Enrique Ajuria Ibarra, is now available on line and is dedicated to Latin American Gothic.

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Davia Sills, ‘The good zombie’

Posted on 6th December 2014 by William the Bloody

Davia Sills charts the rise of the post-Romero humanised zombie and what it might represent. This will be of interest to anyone exploring paranormal romance, particularly texts such as Daniel Waters’s Generation Dead and Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies.

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Gail Turley Houston, ‘From Dickens to Dracula’

Posted on 6th December 2014 by William the Bloody

A thoughtful short essay on Dracula and the presence of the Gothic mode in Victorian fiction generally.

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Adam J Smith, ‘A True Accouneit of Sublime Terror and Paranormal Activity’

Posted on 16th November 2014 by William the Bloody

In this amusing and insightful blog entry, Dr Adam Smith muses on the eighteenth-century origins of terror and the sublime while watching the film Paranormal Activity 4, via Daniel Defoe and Ann Radcliffe.

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Vampires!

Posted on 16th November 2014 by William the Bloody

Dr Sorcha Ní Fhlainn of Manchester Metropolitan University gives a talk on the origin of vampires.

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History at Stake! The Story Behind Vampire Slaying Kits

Posted on 15th November 2014 by William the Bloody

We’ve shown a few pictures of vampire slaying kits on this blog before. Here’s a historical account of them from the British Library, where they have one on display as part of the Terror and Wonder exhibition on Gothic.

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Neil Gaiman on Fairy Tales Revisited

Posted on 15th November 2014 by William the Bloody

Of interest to anyone concerned with the contemporary transformation of fairy tales, in YA Gothic and elsewhere, this podcast by the always brilliant and imaginative author Neil Gaiman discusses his new interpretation of the Grimms’ tale ‘Hansel and Gretel’.

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