Category: Ghosts

Is The Living and the Dead "Thomas Hardy with Ghosts"?

Proving that ghost stories aren’t just for Christmas, the BBC deviated from the broadcasting mantra that spine-chilling shows are best served up on a cold winter’s night by including The Living and the Dead in the summer schedule for 2016.Nathan Appleby, played by Colin Morgan.Set in 1894, the series centres around troubled psychologist, Nathan Appleby, … Continue reading Is The Living and the Dead "Thomas Hardy with Ghosts"? →

Are you Afraid of the Dark-Hearted Man? The Fifty Year Sword.

Last Wednesday, Sheffield Gothic met to talk stitching, orphans, and vengeance, as we discussed Mark Z. Danielewski's The Fifty Year Sword (2005), a novel which attempts to novelise the ghost story.Within the glossy pages, we are introduced to Chintana, a heartbroken seamstress who dreams of vengeance against her husband’s seductress, Belinda Kite. Chintana soon decides to attend … Continue reading Are you Afraid of the Dark-Hearted Man? The Fifty Year Sword. →

Announcement – Haunted Studies: The Ghost Stories of M.R. James

On Saturday March 19th Andy Smith will deliver a keynote address on 'M.R. James and the Ghosts of World War 1' at 'Haunted Studies: The Ghost Stories of M.R. James' a conference hosted by the historic Leeds Library. Other keynotes include the horror writer Ramsey Campbell and the former president of the folklore society, Jacqueline Simpson. Details … Continue reading Announcement – Haunted Studies: The Ghost Stories of M.R. James →

Reimagining the American Haunted House (Part Three): William Castle’s "House on Haunted Hill"

This is the final installment in the blog series on haunted houses in American literature (drum-roll please!), and because I’m secretly very ornery I’ve decided to write about a film which isn’t (ostensibly) particularly American and about a fictional haunted house which (probably) isn’t actually haunted.  William Castle’s “House on Haunted Hill” (1959) is a famously … Continue reading Reimagining the American Haunted House (Part Three): William Castle’s "House on Haunted Hill" →

Reflections – Eighteenth Century Gothic and Contemporary Horror Cinema

One of things we try to achieve in the Gothic Reading Group is a balance of different media, including non-print materials. This allows us to reflect a little on what kind of legacy or influence the "Gothic" exerts in different mediums and in different periods: asking what it is that makes a text "Gothic" or … Continue reading Reflections – Eighteenth Century Gothic and Contemporary Horror Cinema →