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 – From Infinity to the Abyss: Gods and Monsters in Science Fiction Film
CALL FOR PAPERS An area of multiple panels for the 2016 Film & History Conference: Gods and Heretics: Figures of Power and Subversion in Film and Television October 26-October 30, 2016 The Milwaukee Hilton Milwaukee, WI (USA) DEADLINE for abstracts: June 1, 2016 AREA: From Infinity to the Abyss: Gods and Monsters in Science Fiction […]
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 […]
Titles of Interest – “The Undead on the Battlefield: Horrors of War”
The Undead on the Battlefield: Horrors of War, edited by Cynthia J. Miller and Bowdoin Van Riper (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2015) Battlefields have traditionally been considered places where the spirits of the dead linger, and popular culture brings those thoughts to life. Supernatural tales of war told in print, on screen, and in other […]
Rev. Robert Kirk and the study of elves and faeries
Given my own background and research interests I am always intrigued to learn of others similar to myself, whether past or present. I recently learned of the Rev. Robert Kirk, an Episcopalian minister in Scotland in the 17th century. He pursued research on faeries, published as The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Faun and Fairies, that […]
Why did satanists endorse “The Witch”?
The new horror film The Witch is getting positive reviews, but prior to that it was the stuff of minor controversy as a Satanist group issued a public endorsement for the film, calling it a “satanic experience.” Such an endorsement would have caused a major controversy in the culture wars from Christians as happened in […]
Change of paranormal and conspiracy in ‘The X-Files’ Reboot
Jess Peacock, author of Such a Dark Thing, posted his Facebook criticism of last night’s premier of the new The X-Files series reboot. In his view the dramatic shift in scrapping the reality of the UFO and abduction phenomenon in favor of a new set of conspiracies is akin to the 1980s television series Dallas […]
New research on ancient origins of fairy tales
The BBC.com has an interesting story on the ancient origins of fairy tales titled “Fairy tale origins thousands of years old, researchers say.” The story tells of the research at the Universities of Durham and Lisbon that reveals that some basic fairy tale ideas go back quite some time: Using techniques normally employed by biologists, […]
Call for Papers – Supernatural Cities: Exploring the Urban Mindscape
Supernatural Cities: Exploring the Urban Mindscape Saturday 30th April 2016 University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK Keynote Speaker: Professor Steve Pile, Open University Call for Papers: Where do urban supernatural stories and beliefs come from and why do they survive in our modern cities? What is it about the nature of the urban environment that encourages […]
Ethics and Videogames in “Star Wars: The Old Republic”
Robert Geraci’s work has been featured here previously (just one example here. He has a very interesting essay in Religion Dispatches titled “A STAR WARS VIDEOGAME INVITES PLAYERS TO THE DARK SIDE.” The essay provides a scientific analysis of the ethical choices players make when involved in the Star Wars: The Old Republic videogame. Some […]
