Category Archives: sacred

Titles of Interest – “Science Fiction and the Imitation of the Sacred”

Science Fiction and the Imitation of the Sacred Richard Grigg Bloomsberry, 2018 This book examines science fiction’s relationship to religion and the sacred through the lens of significant books, films and television shows. It provides a clear account of the larger cultural and philosophical significance of science fiction, and explores its potential sacrality in today’s […]

“The Sacred in Fantastic Fandom: Essays on the Intersection of Religion and Pop Culture” now available

The Sacred in Fantastic Fandom: Essays on the Intersection of Religion and Pop Culture (McFarland, 2019). This is another work of mine that was recently completed.  I am especially thankful for my co-editors who came on at my invitation to help finish the volume once an urgent personal issue upended my writing and editing schedule. […]

Book Cover for my forthcoming volume “The Sacred in Fantastic Fandom”

The cover design for one of the book projects I’ve been working on for a while. My thanks to the best book cover designers UK has, and my co-editors who came on board when the needs of the book and my life circumstances at the time meant I needed a lot of help to get […]

Titles of Interest – Divine Horror: Essays on the Cinematic Battle Between the Sacred and the Diabolical

Divine Horror: Essays on the Cinematic Battle Between the Sacred and the Diabolical Cynthia J. Miller and A. Bowdoin Van Riper, eds. McFarland, 2017 From Rosemary’s Baby (1968) to The Witch (2015), horror films use religious entities to both inspire and combat fear and to call into question or affirm the moral order. Churches provide […]

Guillermo del Toro: You Can’t Take the Catholicism Out of the Collector

As regular readers of this blog are aware, Guillermo del Toro is a figure of particular interest to me. I edited The Supernatural Cinema of Guillermo del Toro: Critical Essays (McFarland, 2015), and have written a number of posts about his work over the years. The most recent was “Del Toro, Bleak House, and Sacred […]

Call for Submissions for an anthology volume: Fantastic Fan Cultures and the Sacred

Call for Submissions for an anthology volume: Fantastic Fan Cultures and the Sacred They ways in which people pursue religion has changed in America and the West. Traditional, institutional religions are in decline, and even among those who claim “None” as their identity, an individualized spirituality of seeking is growing in popularity. As a part […]

Del Toro, Bleak House, and Sacred Relics

The current issue of Rue Morgue, July 2016, includes an article by Dave Alexander titled “Beyond the Walls of Bleak.” It is inspired by the upcoming tour of some of Guillermo del Toro’s collection in his Bleak House called “At Home with Monsters,” beginning with the venue of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. […]

Critical Exchanges on the Paranormal

Today I came across an item that is a couple of years old, but it’s worth taking a look at. It involves an essay by Jeffrey Kripal, who has been interviewed here at TheoFantastique previously on two occasions, once on his book on the paranormal and the sacred, and the second time on his book […]

CFP – Divine Horror: The Cinematic Battle Between the Sacred and the Supernatural

PROPOSAL DEADLINE EXTENDED: 3/15/16 Call for Contributors (Abstracts 3/15/16; Essays 8/15/16) Divine Horror: The Cinematic Battle Between the Sacred and the Supernatural (under contract) The struggle between good and evil is classic and as old as time; this struggle becomes iconic when one or both of the combatants is associated with the divine. From Rosemary’s […]

Interview with Robert Geraci on the “Virtually Sacred”

Robert Geraci has been interviewed here previously regarding his work in artificial intelligence. With his return below we discuss his new volume Virtually Sacred: Myth and Meaning in World of Warcraft and Second Life (Oxford University Press, 2014). TheoFantastique: Thanks for your willingness to discuss your new book. How did you come to see video […]

RSS for Posts RSS for Comments