Category Archives: Critical thoughts

“There is no escape.” Horace Walpole and the terrifying rise of the Gothic

Posted on 2nd November 2014 by William the Bloody

Nick Groom on the trajectory from Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764) to present-day Gothic culture. The rise of the Gothic novel to horror and SF film and Goth music and fashion, with a glance at architecture, are all … Continue reading →

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Marina Warner, ‘Once upon a time, part 1’

Posted on 2nd November 2014 by William the Bloody

Marina Warner being typically brilliant and evocative on fairy tales.

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Dead Letter: The Aesthetics of Horror

Posted on 1st November 2014 by William the Bloody

Dead Letter: The Aesthetics of Horror ‘An investigative essay into the value of artistic representations of gore.’ A very thoughtful essay on the ethics and aesthetics of representing the horrific and the profoundly unpleasant in art by Jude D. Russo.

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Sartrean Themes in Joss Whedon’s Angel: A Marxist Interpretation

Posted on 1st November 2014 by William the Bloody

A provocative article by Doug Enaa Green, interpreting Angel in terms of Jean-Paul Sartre’s later, Marxist philosophy.

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The Guardian’s Top Ten vampire books

Posted on 29th October 2014 by Sam George

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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In defence of horror

Posted on 24th October 2014 by William the Bloody

A stimulating essay by Darryl Jones on the literary tradition of horror, which is not confined to the Gothic mode but appears in Greek tragedy. Shakespeare, and even James Joyce.

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What the historical inaccuracies in “Dracula Untold” tell us about the rise of Islamophobia

Posted on 24th October 2014 by William the Bloody

A thought-provoking article about anti-Islamic sentiments in the latest retelling of the Dracula tale, the film Dracula Untold.

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The New Fairy Tale Is Trying to Escape Its Past

Posted on 23rd October 2014 by William the Bloody

. . . and more on the fairy tale, referencing Marina Warner’s book. This essay by Becca Rothfeld looks at the current popularity of reworking classic fairy tales in film and TV. I am currently researching this fascinating mode of … Continue reading →

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A Scientific Guide to Seeing Fairies. A fragment.

Posted on 19th October 2014 by William the Bloody

A fascinating blog essay by Franziska Kohlt on Lewis Carroll, Victorian science, and the perception of fairies. Franziska Kohlt is a DPhil Candidate at Brasenose College at the University of Oxford, and a graduate tutor in English literature at St … Continue reading →

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My hero: Mary Shelley by Neil Gaiman

Posted on 19th October 2014 by William the Bloody

The fantasy writer Neil Gaiman discusses the wonder of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

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