I am only just scraping in under the wire on this one but here is the May round up… just in time for me to have to write the June one next week.
May was dedicated to supernatural women and people of marginalised genders. It was a broad theme so we had a great range of talks on everything from Shirley Jackson’s relationship to witchcraft to Black Women and Spirits in video games to myths, legends and histories of Antlered Goddesses to Women Writers of the Egyptianised Gothic to Horrific Gender Dypshoria in Fear and Hunger: Termina. We went from ancient statues to short stories and novels to video games. What was exciting this month was less the comparisons and overlaps between talks than the range that we experienced. There are so many ways to explore relationships between women and the supernatural beyond a simple (or simplistic?) idea of women’s ‘innate’ connection to the supernatural and irrational. We had explorations of unsettling supernatural body horror and transformation as exploration of gender dysphoria, explorations of the narratives and histories of divine female figures, 20th century women exploring and writing about witchcraft, navigations of colonial anxieties and supernatural revenge, and supernatural communication as alternative forms of knowledge and power. It was fascinating to see and explore so many different intersections of the supernatural with women and people of marginalised genders more broadly.
Not with a Pen but a Broomstick: Shirley Jackson and Witchcraft with Sarah Hurley
Sarah Hurley joined us for this fascinating talk on Shirley Jackson’s relationship with witchcraft. The talk drew on biography and textual reading to gives new ways of understanding Jackson’s relationship to witchcraft (beyond the headlines and assumptions) and its manifestation in her works. For book group, we read The Haunting of Hill House, which met with mixed reactions from us. It wasn’t for me but for others it was a firm (and oft-read) favourite. It draws tantalising and ambiguously on the possibilities and potentialities of the supernatural.
Ghosted: Black Women, Spirits, and Hauntology in Games with Roshelle Patterson
This talk explored a couple of games but even if you’re not a gamer (I’m not) there was a lot to take from this talk. It offered a really rich exploration of ideas of the ghostly, cultural ghosts, Black women and ghosts and alternative ways of knowing. We didn’t have a tie-in book this week but the book we read the next week – Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa – ended up being an interesting book to read in conversation with this talk. In a talk which focused on the possibilities of knowledge being passed through ghostly communication. Island Witch sees pacts and communication with the supernatural as a gateway to knowledge but ultimately leading to self-annihilation. It’s a bleak read but a great one. Both book and talk offered different ways of encountering the supernatural in rich and complex ways.
Antlered Goddesses: A Challenge to Tradition? with Anna Milon
Anna’s always a great speaker (you can check out an earlier talk here on horned things in modern horror). The talk explored not only the statuettes of the an ‘antlered goddess’ but the different myths, believes and ideas that have grown up around such a figure. The talk advocates for a different way of looking at these beliefs and ideas beyond a simple denial or assertion of ‘authenticity’. I’ve got the weeks slightly turned around but as this week also didn’t have a tie in book, I’ll mention our reading of The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson. It’s a short novella (part of a short series) and it imagines immortality in ways other than godhood. I’m not sure if immortality is quite the word, but what do you call it when every drop of blood you spill turns into a homicidal double ad nauseum ad infinitum. It’s a great read and I highly recommend it.
Women Writers of the Egyptianised Gothic with Dr Jay Sullivan
This week the talk and the book group reads were completely in sync as I cunningly took the names of stories from the talk description! We read a few of the stories that Jay discussed, giving a direct in sight into the writing of Egypt and the start of the mummy story in England. I’m not sure I’d put any of these stories on the ‘best tales’ list, they are also rife with exactly what you’d expect in terms of contemporary British (and American) colonialist attitudes. Anyone who works in archaeology or archives should brace for trauma as well. The best practice in these stories includes blowing up tombs and stealing everything they can get their hands on. Jay’s talk was an incredibly informative tour of women writing on and about Egypt. If you want to read the stories, you can find there below.
The anonymously authored ‘The Mummy’s Curse’. Read it here (1862)
Louisa May Alcott’s ‘Lost in the Pyramid’. Read it here (1869)
Eva Henry’s ‘Curse of Vasartas’. Read it here (1889)
Horrific Gender Dysphoria: Identity and Body in Fear and Hunger: Termina with Dylan Maroney
This week both the talk and the book group read focused on trans body horror. We read The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo which included some very delightful transformations. I won’t spoil it for you, but if you enjoy small town and wild woods, you might enjoy this read. The talk focused on the horrifying transformations of Fear and Hunger: Termina which explore ideas of dysphoria, forced transformation and all sorts of other horrors. Not a game for the faint-hearted, I’d say! A fascinating talk.
I hope you enjoyed this summary and enjoy exploring the talks! We love comments, so do tell us what you enjoyed this month! Also, let me know if you read any of the books and what your thoughts are!
Romancing the Gothic 