Dom Augustin Calmet: Biblical Scholar and Vampire Researcher
Previously I discussed Sabine Baring-Gould, a Christian minister who also maintained a research interest in the paranormal and the horrific. I recently came across another individual like this when reading a paper from the 2010 conference of the Center for Studies of New Religions. In “Vampires and Alternative Religions,” co-authored by J. Gordon Melton and [...]
Sabine Baring-Gould: Hymns and Werewolves
I sometimes think I am a strange phenomenon. I work in the area of theology and cultural studies on the one hand, and yet also have this interest in the fantastic and bizarre in popular culture, including horror, science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal. From time to time, however, I discover that there have been, [...]
Black Death Podcast: Peg Aloi, Medieval Horror, and Religious Dialogue
TheoFantastique Podcast 2.2 for 2011 is now available. In this edition my special guest is Peg Aloi, a religion scholar and film critic and who maintains her own blog at The Witching Hour, who engages me about the film Black Death directed by Christopher Smith. In this interview and dialogue, Peg and I discuss [...]
Avril Hannah-Jones on Faith and Fantasy: Behind the Scenes in the Church of Latter-Day Geeks
In a recent post I commented on an Australian news item that went global, along with a certain level of controversy, as Pastor Avril Hannah-Jones combined her love for science fiction and fantasy with a service in her local church. Now that the controversy has died down, and her busy Easter service is behind her, [...]
Church of the Latter-Day Geek Stirs Controversy Down Under
I recently came across an interesting couple of news items related to a church in Australia that has scheduled a fantasy and science fiction service. The idea is the brainchild of the Uniting Church’s pastor, Avril Hannah-Jones, who is a fan of the fantastic in popular culture. From the Unsettled Christianity website: What started as [...]
Arts & Faith: Top 25 Horror Films
Arts & Faith has published their list of the top 25 horror films. The top 10 include: 1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 2. Vampyr 3. The Exorcist 4. Nosferatu 5. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1922) 6. Let Me In (2010)/Let the Right One In (2008) 7. Psycho 8. Night of the Living Dead [...]
Catholic Theologian Rejects “Zombie Jesus”
Today I came across an essay and interview that appeared last year in Religion Dispatches by Jason VonWachenfeldt that touched on a controversy between the Vatican and systematic theologian Roger Haight. I’m not sure of the present state of the controversy, if there is one, but a year ago the Vatican had concerns about some [...]
News This Week: Intersections Between Christians and the Fantastic
Two items recently came to my attention that originate from the same source, that is, the interaction of Christians with elements of the fantastic. In this case the contexts are those of a former writer of vampire fiction, and comic fans. Anne Rice made news this week with an announcement that she had left Christianity. [...]
i09: Why Won’t Christian Publishers Take on Science Fiction?
The science fiction website i09, recently included an article titled “Christian readers demand more science fiction. Why won’t Christian publishers listen?”. With this post I’d like to suggest some answers. This article, by Charlie Jane Anders, introduces the subject matter with reference to three separate articles, the first by StephanieP, a Catholic, who argues in [...]
LEGION Review at Cinefantastique Online
My review of LEGION is now available online at Cinefantastique Online. The title is “”Action-Horror Meets Postmodern Angelic Apocalyptic.” Here is an excerpt: As might be expected in a film that draws upon characters taken from a religious tradition, in this case Judeo-Christianity, there are plenty of religious elements here for reflection beyond the obvious [...]
