This volume collects chapters written to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Philip K. Dick’s transformative 1974 mystical experiences, through which he ultimately contextualized his influential and posthumously much-adapted science-fiction and speculative fiction. Contributing authors here examine the enduring significance of Philip K. Dick and his work, drawing on diverse scholarly perspectives that engage seriously with his self-understanding as Christian, gnostic, mystic, and theologian. Including contextual introduction and overviews, individual chapters focusing on specific works of PKD (as well as some of their adaptations), critical analysis, and examination of their significance within the life and worldview of PKD and his milieu, this collection continues foundational work that has characterized PKD’s contributions to science fiction and speculative fiction as significant to its increasingly gnostic trajectory, as well as opening new avenues of exploration that situates PKD’s impact within the broader appeal of esoteric worldviews as they have continued to propagate through the counterculture into the mainstream. PKD’s commitment and dedication to Christian belief, faith, and practice, as well as Christian gnosis and mystical experience, are foci of particular interest, and this volume challenges the frequent misconception of PKD as exclusively relevant to Gnostic counter-cultural mysticism. Instead, his esoteric Christian gnosis is identified and analyzed as the basis of his ultimately moral and consistently humanistic theology.
I’m a lifelong Star Trek fan. I remember my dad watching it when I was growing up, and I’m just old enough to have either dim memories of him watching the original airings or catching early syndication. At any rate, I’ve been watching since the early series first put Gene Roddenberry’s secular science fiction vision on the small screen in several incarnations, and later in various cinematic versions.
But while I’m a fan of the franchise I also recognize that it is of varying quality, and in my view it has been in decline for many years. Beyond some of the films with the original series cast being hit or miss, I’ve gone on record previously critiquing the Star Trek 2.0 film reboot as an abandonment of elements of the franchise’s mythos that were important not only in terms of narrative, but also as an important facet embraced by the fan base. This seems to be the case, on steroids, with the new Starfleet Academy series, if the critical reviews are accurate. I’ve shared a video of one review above as an example, but there are others. I recognize that pop culture entertainment needs to be updated for its contemporary social context, but if the culture wars and political commitments are incorporated in so a way that they are accounted for at the expense of its credibility and narrative canon, that’s a problem. As a result, Star Trek will be seen as quickly moving from science fiction icon to unintentional comedy.
Latter-day Saints may not be happy with how their tradition is incorporated into horror films. In 2024 Heretic debuted with a psychological horror tale involving two female LDS missionaries. Now we have Diabolic, a film where “fundamentalist” LDS practices are said to be tapped into to help the traumatized psyche through experiences with the divine.
Author Paul Meehan discusses his book The Alien Abduction Phenomenon: Science, Evidence and the Unknown (Exposit, 2025). Meehan is the author of several books on science fiction, film noir and horror films. A description of the book from its back cover:
News reports, books, articles and films about alien abductions have long captured the public imagination. This book traces the evolution of the phenomenon from the late 1940s flying saucer era and the contactee and occupant sightings of the 1950s to the widespread abduction stories of the 1960s and beyond. It examines how broader social, cultural and scientific contexts have shaped these accounts and offers a critical analysis of their interpretations over time.
Also discussed are the key researchers who have sought to understand the nature and intentions of alleged extraterrestrial beings, or “ufonauts,” while addressing the skepticism about the subject. The efforts of the scientific community to investigate unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) and abductions are assessed, acknowledging both the challenges and limitations of such inquiries. Firsthand encounters with non-human entities are examined, attempting to uncover the forces behind these sightings and arguing that there could be unforeseen consequences of ignoring the phenomena.
Brandon R. Grafius is the guest who discusses his new book Scared by the Bible: The Roots of Horror in Scripture (Morehouse, 2025).
You may know the Bible as a testament of faith. But within this sacred book are also the world’s first horror stories.
Conventional wisdom has it that the origins of the horror genre are found in the nineteenth century, in works like Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In this paradigm-shaking new book, Bible scholar and cultural historian Brandon Grafius argues that the Bible is, among other things, the world’s first work of horror literature.
The tropes and themes that we find in slasher movies, body horror, folk horror and zombie apocalypses were kickstarted by the Bible. Before Godzilla, there were the monsters arising from the sea in the book of Daniel. Before The Wicker Man, there was the folk horror violence of the book of Judges. And before The Fly, Leviticus and Paul understood that our bodies are untrustworthy. Sometimes, the Bible has decided that the best way to help us understand the world in new ways is to scare us.
Grafius’s book is a revelatory work of biblical scholarship as well as a cultural analysis of the contemporary horror genre. It is a book that will make readers revise how they see the Bible and impact how they consume horror literature and cinema. It is guaranteed to make them wiser consumers of both.
Brandon R. Grafius is associate professor of Biblical Studies at Ecumenical Theological Seminary, Detroit. In addition to his teaching, he is a noted scholar, author, and speaker. As an author and academic, Brandon is known for his expertise in the fields of both Bible and horror. A member of both the Society of Biblical Literature and the Horror Writers’ Association, Grafius completed his Master of Divinity at Ecumenical Theological Seminary, then earned his PhD from Chicago Theological Seminary under the direction of Dr. Timothy Sandoval. His book, Lurking Under the Surface: Horror, Religion, and the Questions that Haunt Us (Broadleaf Books, 2022) was widely praised, with the Los Angles Review of Books calling it a “surprising, and often insightful, eclectic intellectual enterprise.” He lives in Mason, Michigan.
Regular readers of this blog know that I am a huge fan of director Guillermo del Toro. I’ve done several posts exploring his work that you can find by searching this site, and I edited a volume on him, The Supernatural Cinema of Guillermo del Toro. One of the more interesting facets of the man is his collection of books, art, and memorabilia. I’ve posted previously on how his lapsed Catholicism informs his perspective on collecting. It turns out that the fires in California which got very close to his homes where he houses his collection, as well as his concern for estate planning in connection with his age, have influenced his decision to auction off a portion of his collected materials. This will take place in two phases through Heritage Auctions. You can watch the video above which gives some background related to his collecting and the upcoming auctions.
Steve Wiggins is a frequent guest here at TheoFantastique. I love his work, and his latest book is now exception with Sleepy Hollow as American Myth: Irving’s Story Retold, Adapted and Cemented in Popular Culture (McFarland, 2025). In this book, Wiggins takes us into the labyrinth of the myth of the headless horseman, I figure I was first introduced to in Disney’s The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. It has stuck with me ever since. Perhaps the same is true for you. At any rate, if you have an interest in exploring Washington Irving’s story and its transformation into an American myth, this is the book for you. From the book’s description:
Set near Tarrytown, New York, Washington Irving’s short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” has become mythic in American culture. Its repeated reconceptions range from written works such as Christopher Golden and Ford Lytle Gilmore’s Horseman (2005) and Austin Dragon’s two Hunt for the Foul Murderer of Ichabod Crane books (2015) to film and TV adaptations such as Etienne Arnaud’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1912), Edward D. Venturini’s The Headless Horseman (1922), Disney’s The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow (1999) and Fox Television’s Sleepy Hollow (2013-17) that combined Sleepy Hollow’s Ichabod Crane with Irving’s other creation, Rip Van Winkle. This book explores the tale’s host of afterlives, tracing its path from a gothic, comic story of Crane’s encounter with the ominous Headless Horseman to Halloween and horror icon and cultural landmark for generations.
Those who have spent much time perusing the posts at this blog may recall that the paranormal is a topic of frequent interest. It goes back to my childhood and teen years in the 1970s, inspired in part by the many “documentaries” exploring a variety of phenomena. This interest has stayed with me, including an exploration of the topic from an academic perspective (resulting in this edited volume) and how it scratches an itch for many as a way of creating a sense of wonder and pointing toward transcendence for a skeptical West.
Given my background and this interest, I was excited to learn of a book that came across my social media feed, Weirdumentary: Ancient Aliens, Fallacious Prophecies, and Mysterious Monsters from 1970s Documentaries, by Gary D. Rhodes (Feral House, 2025). I looked at an online preview and found it appealing, but after reading a critical review I thought I might pass on it. Then, a friend of mine posted on social media that he had purchased a copy and offered glowing praise. I decided once again to buy a copy for myself, and I’m glad I did.
Weirdumentary is a wonderful celebration of 1970s paranormal documentaries or pseudo-documentaries, and as the book’s pages remind us, there were lots of them. Here you will read about the history behind these possibility-raising pieces of entertainment. You will also find interesting little tidbits along the way, such as the Latter-day Saint connections to Sun International Pictures, the production company behind many such films that you might remember if you watched these things back in the day. This book also includes gorgeous color reproductions of movie posters, stills and screen captures from these programs.
This is a popular treatment of the subject rather than an academic one, but that does not detract from what it offers. To the contrary, it was nice not to get bogged down in scholarly analysis, and simply to look back fondly at a time when popular culture eagerly embraced all manner of things strange and unusual. I highly recommend this book to those who hold 1970s paranormal documentaries in a special place in their memories.
The Journal of Gods and Monsters is a double blind, peer-reviewed, open access journal that seeks to explore the connections between the sacred and the monstrous. We encourage a wide variety of methodologies and approaches, and are open to analyses of monstrosity as it relates to all religious traditions. We are published by the Department of Philosophy at Texas State University.
