Monstrophy: Call for Papers in the Academic Study of Monsters
Preternature, vol. 2, issue 2 Monstrophy: The Academic Study of Monsters ‘Monstrophy’ is a term referring to the academic study of monsters as representational and conceptual categories, which has gained recent currency in several related fields of study (literary and cultural history, sociological theories of identity and difference, et al.), as well as in a [...]
Scott Poole and Monsters in America: TheoFantastique Podcast 2.6
On October 15 Scott Poole’s new book goes on sale just in time for the Halloween season. It is titled Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting (Baylor University Press, 2011): Salem witches, frontier wilderness beasts, freak show oddities, alien invasions, Freddie Krueger. From our colonial past to the present, [...]
Stephen T. Asma – On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears
Quite some time ago I promoted a forthcoming interview with Stephen Asma regarding his book On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears (Oxford University Press, 2009). As I worked my way through my growing collection of books for research, review, and interviews, On Monsters finally crawled to the top, and I am pleased [...]
SyFy Channel’s “Beast Legends” Debuts This Week
The SyFy Channel has an interesting series that debuts this week called Beast Legends: Beast Legends is a new six-part series that journeys around the world using scientific data to reconstruct what mythological monsters, from Krakens and Griffins to Fire Dragons, would have looked like. In each of the hour-long episodes, Beast Legends uncovers historical [...]
Monsters and the Monstrous: Inter-Disciplinary.Net
Interest in the monstrous, including academic explorations of this topic, is of course, not limited to America. Some of my recent research found a global group with a strong European component. It is called Monsters and the Monstrous: Myths & Metaphors of Enduring Evil as part of Inter-Disciplinary.Net: A Global Network for Dynamic Research and [...]
Cryptozoology: Chupacabra Killed in Texas?
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Has the legendary, blood-sucking monster, El Chupacabra, been shot and killed in Texas? The Discovery Channel’s description of Chupacabra: Mysterious animal deaths sparked mass hysteria on the small island of Puerto Rico. In 1992, Puerto Rican newspapers reported a series of strange killings [...]
Jewish Monstrosity
For those who may have come to this post via a search engine or link on a website or blog expecting to find something anti-Semitic you’ll be disappointed. Instead, I want to draw the reader’s attention to the recent discussion of various monsters from Jewish folklore, religion, and myth. In the West we tend to [...]
Two Promising Books, Authors, and Interviews for 2010
I’m reading a couple of books to prepare for interviews after the first of the year. They are both very good, so I’ll give them a plug and a preview. I became aware of the first one while reading a book proposal for my friend W. Scott Poole, author of Satan in America. It is [...]
GOLEM: Journal of Religion and Monsters
Readers of TheoFantastique are encouraged to browse through the links included here. They are listed under two categories, the first being Enjoying the Fantastic that includes a number of websites that fans will enjoy. The second category is Exploring the Fantastic. This category is for those who want to go more deeply in understanding why [...]
Forthcoming Interviews on Neglected Aspects of Horror
My research and exploration of the fantastic over the last few months has unearthed some interested gems that touch on neglected aspects of horror. These include the book The Mummy’s Curse: Mummymania in the English-Speaking World(Routledge, 2006) by Jasmine Day, a lecturer in Egyptology. Of the various monster archetypes the mummy is one of the most [...]
