- School of Histories, Languages and Cultures
University of Hull
Hull
HU6 7RX
Kevin Corstorphine
University of Hull, American Studies, Faculty Member
- Lecturer in American Literature, School Director of Student Experienceedit
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This handbook examines the use of horror in storytelling, from oral traditions through folklore and fairy tales to contemporary horror fiction. Divided into sections that explore the origins and evolution of horror fiction, the recurrent... more
This handbook examines the use of horror in storytelling, from oral traditions through folklore and fairy tales to contemporary horror fiction. Divided into sections that explore the origins and evolution of horror fiction, the recurrent themes that can be seen in horror, and ways of understanding horror through literary and cultural theory, the text analyses why horror is so compelling, and how we should interpret its presence in literature. Chapters explore historical horror aspects including ancient mythology, medieval writing, drama, chapbooks, the Gothic novel, and literary Modernism and trace themes such as vampires, children and animals in horror, deep dark forests, labyrinths, disability, and imperialism. Considering horror via postmodern theory, evolutionary psychology, postcolonial theory, and New Materialism, this handbook investigates issues of gender and sexuality, race, censorship and morality, environmental studies, and literary versus popular fiction.
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Robert Bloch’s writing of the 1950s shows an attitude to women that subverts received notions of female submissiveness and male dominance, and does so within the confines of the pulp fiction magazine: a form of literature that is often... more
Robert Bloch’s writing of the 1950s shows an attitude to women that subverts received notions of female submissiveness and male dominance, and does so within the confines of the pulp fiction magazine: a form of literature that is often perceived to be at best adolescent fantasy and at worst misogynist exploitation. Bloch does not always avoid the outrageous sensationalism of his contemporaries, but uses his own tastes, developed as a young reader devouring Lovecraft and Poe, to convey a unique view of the world. This perspective is shaped by and yet resistant to 1950s norms of masculinity and conformity. Bloch’s own anxieties are revealed in startling ways, yet are overshadowed by a knowing and ironic sensibility, particularly in relation to these two writers, who take on the metaphorical aspect of father figures. Here I intend to focus on several short stories of the 1950s, viewing this decade as a transitional period, in Bloch’s work, between his earlier fantasy stories written in the shadow of Lovecraft and his later psychological crime fiction, overshadowed, of course by a novel that appears in 1959: Psycho.
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Edgar Allan Poe claims in the preface to his 1840 collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque that ‘terror is not of Germany, but of the soul’ (Poe, GA: xxiv). Bram Stoker’s 1893 short story ‘The Squaw’ illustrates this point... more
Edgar Allan Poe claims in the preface to his 1840 collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque that ‘terror is not of Germany, but of the soul’ (Poe, GA: xxiv). Bram Stoker’s 1893 short story ‘The Squaw’ illustrates this point perfectly. Written by an Irishman living in England, it is set in Europe’s Gothic heart of Germany and concerns a (presumably) English couple and their meeting with an American frontiersman, demonstrating the ‘cross-cultural exchange’ (Elbert and Marshall, 2013: 1) that critics have recently identified in Gothic fiction. Stoker had a special admiration for the United States, and, as aspects of the story would suggest, for Poe. This is an aspect of Stoker’s fiction that has not been widely discussed, but provides a revealing lens through which to read his earlier fiction, which demonstrates this influence strongly.
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H. P. Lovecraft, personally unassuming, hostile to modernity and pessimistic to the last, is perhaps an unlikely author to have inspired a cult global following, yet as Stephen Jones points out, “his relatively small body of work has... more
H. P. Lovecraft, personally unassuming, hostile to modernity and pessimistic to the last, is perhaps an unlikely author to have inspired a cult global following, yet as Stephen Jones points out, “his relatively small body of work has influenced countless imitators, and formed the basis of a world-wide industry of books, games and movies based on his concepts and imagination” (494). The cultural currency of his work is such that Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows’s comic series Neonomicon can be advertised as “a chilling tale of Lovecraftian horror!” (back cover). The idea that a work can be “Lovecraftian,” and marketed as such, is indicative of how much the work has taken on a life independent of its creator, thanks largely to the influence of his literary executor August Derleth and, later, fan culture. As Jones notes, “given their continued popularity and influence on modern horror fiction, it is perhaps surprising to discover that, of all Lovecraft’s stories, only around a dozen or so can actually be considered to form the core of the Cthulhu Mythos” (848). Despite this, the cult of Cthulhu has expanded through the years, especially in comics, and has become iconic in the age of the Internet. In many ways this is appropriate given Lovecraft’s history of publishing in pulp magazines, from which a clear line can be drawn to comics in terms of thematic content and readership.
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This paper has as main objective to explore, adopting a historical and critical perspective, the release of film and anime TV in UK. This would be a first step towards the studio of the peculiar implementation of manganime Culture in... more
This paper has as main objective to explore, adopting a historical and critical perspective, the release of film and anime TV in UK. This would be a first step towards the studio of the peculiar implementation of manganime Culture in Britain. Compared with other European countries, UK has shown to be slower and even reluctant in importing Japanese television products. Thus, while major markets of anime such as France, Italy or Spain expanded considerably during 1975-1995 period, in a recurrent synergy of television markets, and technological publishing, the implantation of the principal channel (televised anime) in UK has been irregular and unstable. Even today, the catalogue of broadcasting anime is limited to some high success movies, late night television on thematic channels and quite recently, video-on-demand services (Netflix). The offer cannot be compare in importance and diversity to other European countries. This fact, far from being anecdotal, has had an impact on the subs...
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This article examines the waysin which the Gothic imagination has been used to convey the message of environmentalism, looking specifically at attempts to curb population growth, such as the video ‘Zombie Overpopulation’, produced by... more
This article examines the waysin which the Gothic imagination has been used to convey the message of environmentalism, looking specifically at attempts to curb population growth, such as the video ‘Zombie Overpopulation’, produced by Population Matters, and the history of such thought, from Thomas Malthus onwards. Through an analysis of horror fiction, including the writing of the notoriously misanthropic H. P. Lovecraft, it questions if it is possible to develop an aesthetics and attitude of environmental conservation that does not have to resort to a Gothic vision of fear and loathing of humankind. It draws on the ideas of Timothy Morton, particularly Dark Ecology (2016), to contend with the very real possibility of falling into nihilism and hopelessness in the face of the destruction of the natural world, and the liability of the human race, despite individual efforts towards co-existence. It examines cases of such despair, such as the diaries of Columbine shooter Eric Harris, wh...
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This paper examines Stoker's short story 'The Squaw' in its historical and cultural contexts, exploring Stoker's relationship with American literature, particularly Edgar Allan Poe.
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This paper has as main objective to explore, adopting a historical and critical perspective, the release of film and anime TV in UK. This would be a first step towards the studio of the peculiar implementation of manganime Culture in... more
This paper has as main objective to explore, adopting a historical and critical perspective, the release of film and anime TV in UK. This would be a first step towards the studio of the peculiar implementation of manganime Culture in Britain.
Compared with other European countries, UK has shown to be slower and even reluctant in importing Japanese television products. Thus, while major markets of anime such as France, Italy or Spain expanded considerably during 1975-1995 period, in a recurrent synergy of television markets, and technological publishing, the implantation of the principal channel (televised anime) in UK has been irregular and unstable. Even today, the catalogue of broadcasting anime is limited to some high success movies, late night television on thematic channels and quite recently, video-on-demand services (Netflix). The offer cannot be compare in importance and diversity to other European countries. This fact, far from being anecdotal, has had an impact on the subsequent implantation of media Japanese cultures such as manga, anime, video games and cosplay.
What can be the reason of this irregular development of Japanese visual culture in United Kingdom? Characteristic having the television market and / or the UK audience? Main hypothesis in relation to these issues can be considered to be of sociological character, but are reflected in the idiosyncrasies of British television culture and production system.
Thus, compared to other Western markets (including the US) which saw the opportunity to purchase economic products for children's television audiences in the late 70s and early 80s, the British 'telly' already offered a broad catalog (Roobarb, Super Ted, Danger Mouse, etc. ..). The only exception to this children's ‘made in Britain’ programming was the co-production model. This caused a leak of few products that were not even considered as "Japanese" (Seven Cities of Gold, Godzilla,) but mere ‘cartoons’. This competition with the British children production as well as the wide catalogue of other forms of British Popular Culture would explain why the film, domestic video and later adults programming would be the marginal routes of entry for manganime.
Compared with other European countries, UK has shown to be slower and even reluctant in importing Japanese television products. Thus, while major markets of anime such as France, Italy or Spain expanded considerably during 1975-1995 period, in a recurrent synergy of television markets, and technological publishing, the implantation of the principal channel (televised anime) in UK has been irregular and unstable. Even today, the catalogue of broadcasting anime is limited to some high success movies, late night television on thematic channels and quite recently, video-on-demand services (Netflix). The offer cannot be compare in importance and diversity to other European countries. This fact, far from being anecdotal, has had an impact on the subsequent implantation of media Japanese cultures such as manga, anime, video games and cosplay.
What can be the reason of this irregular development of Japanese visual culture in United Kingdom? Characteristic having the television market and / or the UK audience? Main hypothesis in relation to these issues can be considered to be of sociological character, but are reflected in the idiosyncrasies of British television culture and production system.
Thus, compared to other Western markets (including the US) which saw the opportunity to purchase economic products for children's television audiences in the late 70s and early 80s, the British 'telly' already offered a broad catalog (Roobarb, Super Ted, Danger Mouse, etc. ..). The only exception to this children's ‘made in Britain’ programming was the co-production model. This caused a leak of few products that were not even considered as "Japanese" (Seven Cities of Gold, Godzilla,) but mere ‘cartoons’. This competition with the British children production as well as the wide catalogue of other forms of British Popular Culture would explain why the film, domestic video and later adults programming would be the marginal routes of entry for manganime.
