Category Archives: Titles of Interest

Titles of Interest – “Tracking Classical Monsters in Popular Culture”

I learned about this volume from the blog of Steve Wiggins, a fellow monster scholar. The overall topic is very appealing to me, and the discussion of Harryhausen’s monsters (or creatures as he preferred to call them), make this a volume I must add to my library. Tracking Classical Monsters Liz Gloyn Bloomsbury Academic, 2019 […]

Titles of Interest – Monsters of Film, Fiction, and Fable: The Cultural Link Between the Human and the Inhuman

Monsters of Film, Fiction, and Fable: The Cultural Link Between the Human and the Inhuman Edited by Lisa Wenger Bro, Crystal O’Leary-Davidson, and Mary Ann Gareis Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2018 Monsters are a part of every society, and ours is no exception. They are deeply embedded in our history, our mythos, and our culture. However, […]

Titles of Interest – Primal Roots of Horror Cinema: Evolutionary Psychology and Narratives of Fear

This looks like an interesting volume. I’ve drawn attention to a similar one previously, Why Horror Seduces, that seeks to understand horror through evolutionary social psychology. See my prior interview with the author below, Carrol Fry, on his book Cinema of the Occult. Primal Roots of Horror Cinema: Evolutionary Psychology and Narratives of Fear Carrol […]

Volume for review – “Holy Monsters, Sacred Grotesques: Monstrosity and Religion in Europe and the United States”

I just received this volume for review in the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts. Holy Monsters, Sacred Grotesques: Monstrosity and Religion in Europe and the United States, Edited by Michael E. Heyes Lexington Books, 2018 Holy Monsters, Sacred Grotesques examines the intersection of religion and monstrosity in a variety of different time periods […]

Titles of Interest – Our Old Monsters: Witches, Werewolves and Vampires from Medieval Theology to Horror Cinema

Our Old Monsters: Witches, Werewolves and Vampires from Medieval Theology to Horror Cinema Brenda S. Gardenour Walter McFarland, 2015 The witch, the vampire and the werewolf endure in modern horror. These “old monsters” have their origins in Aristotle as studied in the universities of medieval Europe, where Christian scholars reconciled works of natural philosophy and […]

New title available – Magic, Monsters, and Make-Believe Heroes

My friend and colleague, Doug, Cowan, has been prolific lately with his books. One of his latest is now available for pre-order: Magic, Monsters, and Make-Believe Heroess looks at fantasy film, television, and participative culture as evidence of our ongoing need for a mythic vision—for stories larger than ourselves into which we write ourselves and […]

Titles of Interest – The Supernatural in Society, Culture, and History

I am busy co-editing a volume on the paranormal in popular culture for Routledge and came across this forthcoming volume. The Supernatural in Society, Culture and History Edited by Dennis Waskul and Marc EatonTemple University Press, 2018 In the twenty-first century, as in centuries past, stories of the supernatural thrill and terrify us. But despite […]

Titles of Interest – Bell, Book and Camera: A Critical History of Witches in American Film and Television

A new book by my friend Heather who does an outstanding job as editor of The Wild Hunt blog. Bell, Book and Camera: A Critical History of Witches in American Film and Television by Heather Greene McFarland, 2018 The witch as a cultural archetype has existed in some form since the beginning of recorded history. […]

Titles of Interest – Holy Horror: The Bible and Fear in Movies

Holy Horror: The Bible and Fear in Movies By Steve Wiggins McFarland, 2018 What makes you afraid? It may be more than what you think. Horror films have been exploiting our fears almost from the moment movies were invented. Lurking unseen in the corner of horror, however, is something unexpected: the Bible. Sit back while […]

Titles of Interest: Pseudoscience and Science Fiction

Pseudoscience and Science Fiction by Andre May Springer, 2017 Aliens, flying saucers, ESP, the Bermuda Triangle, antigravity … are we talking about science fiction or pseudoscience? Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference. Both pseudoscience and science fiction (SF) are creative endeavours that have little in common with academic science, beyond the superficial trappings […]

RSS for Posts RSS for Comments