Category: Witches

A Brief Celebration of Witches

(This is a special Halloween post by Sophie Barber) There is no character we are guaranteed to see at Halloween more than the witch. A favourite fancy dress costume for children and adults alike, we have come to associate witches with the frivolity of Western Halloween celebrations. But the pointy hats and broomsticks of our modern-day witches have a rich history that has not always been so light-hearted...

The Only Way Is Witchcraft

Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live (Exodus  22:18)Blonde, dumb, easy, sleeps around, drunk every night, is known for being a slut, stupid, cheap, hair tight to head etc. (Urban dictionary)It’s my theory that, despite memories of the witch hunts fading, the reputation of the county’s women never really recovered, which is why, when … Continue reading The Only Way Is Witchcraft →

Review: Iqbal Khan’s Macbeth

I feel as if I should preface this review/blog with a disclaimer: I am neither a Shakespearean expert (at least no more than anyone with an undergraduate degree in English Literature is) nor a ‘purist’. Shakespeares’s Globe’s Wonder season, Emma Rice’s first as the theatre’s artisitc director, has been the topic of much conversation, both … Continue reading Review: Iqbal Khan’s Macbeth →

Reimagining the American Haunted House (Part Two): H.P. Lovecraft’s "The Dreams in the Witch House"

This blog is the second installment in a series examining American ‘haunted houses' in Gothic literature.  As I suggested in an earlier post, when most people think about haunted houses they usual have a fairly standard picture in mind... the creepy castle, the abandoned shack, the old ruin.  However, because America has a unique history … Continue reading Reimagining the American Haunted House (Part Two): H.P. Lovecraft’s "The Dreams in the Witch House" →

Sources and Resources – Background and Materials for Winterson

The Gothic Reading Group meets for its last session of 2013 this week: capping off a semester that's seen us travel from 21st century horror cinema to transatlantic 19th century fictionalisations of madness and now back (via a bit of cosmic horror) to Jeanette Winterson's 2012 novel based on the infamous Lancashire Witch trials. As … Continue reading Sources and Resources – Background and Materials for Winterson →