Titles of Interest: Routledge Handbook of Dark Events
Someone in my social media feed announced their contribution to this new volume. It looks great. Routledge Handbook of Dark Events: Celebrations, Heritage, and Customs of Death and the Macabre. From the Routledge website: This handbook explores and critically evaluates key debates and controversies in the emerging field of Dark Events. It brings together leading […]
Titles of Interest: LAIKA: The Magic Behind a Stop-Motion Dream Factory
I am a huge fan of the work of Laika Studios in Oregon. They are the premier torch bearers for the legacy of stop-motion animation. They have continued to push the boundaries of technology in animation as it is wedded to artistry and storytelling. For these reasons, I was excited to receive their new book […]
Titles of Interest: The Esoteric Theology of Philip K. Dick
The Esoteric Theology of Philip K. Dick, edited by George J. Sieg and Michael C. Barros (Bloomsbury, 2026) 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 […]
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 […]
