Tag: Frankenstein

Frankenstein’s Berry Bites—A Gothic Cookbook Recipe Test

As you may remember, a few weeks ago I hosted a guest post by Ella Buchan, one of the co-authors of A Gothic Cookbook, on the role of food in Gothic literature. A Gothic Cookbook, by Ella Buchan and Alessandra Pino, with illustrations by Lee Henry, is currently in development and being crowdfunded on Unbound (read to the end of this post for a discount code you can use on your pledge!). The book will feature dozens of illustrated recipes inspired by thirteen different works of classic and contemporary Gothic literature. Recently, the creators were kind enough to give me a sneak-peek at one of their recipes to try it out for myself and share with all of you!

Illustration of Berry Bite Squares from A Gothic Cookbook

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Gothic Vocab: The Grotesque

Perhaps more so than the other vocabulary words we’ve discussed thus far (the sublime and the uncanny), “grotesque” is a term you’re just as likely to hear thrown about in casual conversation as in academic discourse on Gothic literature. We might use it to describe anything that’s bizarre, incongruous, unnatural, or gross. But where does it come from, and what does it mean in a literary context? Much like the word “Gothic” itself, grotesque has a convoluted and roundabout history that covers a wide range of meanings and takes us back to ancient times. Continue reading Gothic Vocab: The Grotesque

Gothic Vocab: The Sublime

The “sublime” is a word you’ll hear tossed around a lot as you study Gothic literature, and even sometimes within the texts themselves. But what exactly does it mean? I’ll do my best to give a simple introduction to this rather complex term in this post, which will be the first in a series on important vocabulary words that will enhance your understanding of the Gothic.

Photo of mountain landscape
Photo of the Swiss Alps by Oliver Schweizer on Unsplash

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Back to School Reading List, Part 2

“Back to School” doesn’t look quite the same this year. Whether you’re attending virtually, in person, hybrid, or still waiting on your school administrators to figure that out, things are sure to be rather chaotic as we try to navigate this new reality of educating during a pandemic. I figured I would try to reintroduce a little normalcy to this fall season by bringing back my old tradition of putting together a mini-syllabus of classic Gothic works for the start of the school year. In my initial Back to School Reading List, I highlighted a few Gothic novels you’re most likely to come across in class. I followed that post up with a Short Story Edition, Drama Edition, and Poetry Edition of the reading list. Today, I’m returning to novels to spotlight a few more classics that didn’t make it into the initial post: Continue reading Back to School Reading List, Part 2

Gothic Tropes: The Mad Scientist

A lab coat, wild hair, thick glasses, and a savage glint in their eye as they watch their ill-considered experiment come to fruition—the mad scientist is a particularly recognizable trope in media and pop culture today. Mad scientists are mainly associated with science fiction and are also popular as stock villains in superhero comics, but what many don’t know is that this character trope has its roots in the Gothic. In fact, the villainization of science makes sense when you consider that the Gothic genre emerged as a reaction against the Enlightenment. While proponents of rationalism encouraged the pursuit of pure reason, many authors of the Gothic feared what such intellectualism might become when divorced from ethics and emotion. The character of the mad scientist is the embodiment of such anxieties, as we can see in several prominent works of Gothic literature.

Black and white film Frankenstein scene
Frankenstein brings his creature to life in the 1931 film adaptation

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Valentine Wolfe: The Haunting of Mary Shelley Album Review

I usually stick to reviewing literature on this blog rather than music, but I’ll make an exception for especially literary music. This categorization can be used to describe much of the music by gothic metal band Valentine Wolfe, whom I had the honor of interviewing about their relationship with literature last year. Their newest album takes that love of books even further. The Haunting of Mary Shelley, which released earlier this month, is a concept album revolving around the author Mary Shelley and her celebrated novel, Frankenstein. The band describes their genre as “Victorian chamber metal,” which is exactly the sort of sound that pairs perfectly with anguished monsters, regretful scientists, and desperate chases across arctic landscapes.

The Haunting of Mary Shelley album art Continue reading Valentine Wolfe: The Haunting of Mary Shelley Album Review

The Overlap of Sci-fi and Horror

Gothic literature—and thus the more modern horror genre that grew out of it—was initially created as a reaction against the Age of Reason. Over the course of the 18th century, an intellectual and philosophical movement swept across Europe that emphasized logic, rationality, and scientific advancement. Enlightened thinkers sought to banish outdated superstition and believed that all of life’s great questions could be answered through the use of experimentation, observation, and reason. You can see how this philosophy would give rise to science fiction—a genre of literature which predicts scientific advances not yet achieved and imagines how they might change or shape society. But first something else was born: a genre that would look back to a time before the Enlightenment and revel in unexplained mysteries, heightened emotions, and a disconcerting dearth of logic or reason. These two genres at first seem fundamentally incompatible, and yet they are not so separate as you might think. To understand why, we’ll need to take a look at the history of how they overlap.  Continue reading The Overlap of Sci-fi and Horror

Anonymity and Pseudonyms in Gothic Literature

Castle of Otranto title page
Title page of the first edition of The Castle of Otranto

Publishing works either anonymously or under a pseudonym has been a tradition in the Gothic literary genre since its very creation. Such deception might be done for a variety of reasons. Early works of Gothic literature often tried to pass themselves off as something older—long-buried ancient manuscripts newly discovered and translated by an enterprising soul—to both increase their mystique and shield the author’s reputation from critiques of this untested new style. As Gothic novels became increasingly popular with female authors, many of them adopted male pen names or left their name off entirely to avoid the stigma of their gender. Today, pseudonyms give authors the opportunity to depart from their usual genres, to step away from their existing fame, or simply to add to the fun.  Continue reading Anonymity and Pseudonyms in Gothic Literature

10 Literary Horror Films to Watch This Halloween

Halloween is looming closer and closer, which mean it’s time to start prepping your Netflix queue for a spooky movie marathon! Of course there are the fun classics like Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown, and The Nightmare Before Christmas (which has a few literary references of its own). But if you really want to get in the mood, you might want to opt for something a bit darker. Grab some popcorn, a buddy, and nightlight because I’ve compiled a list of book-based horror films that will make you scared to close your eyes at night! Continue reading 10 Literary Horror Films to Watch This Halloween

This Monstrous Thing Review–Steampunk Frankenstein

Also, just look at this gorgeous cover art...
Also, just look at this gorgeous cover art…

When I was at the Brooklyn Book Festival a few months ago, I heard someone say the words “steampunk Frankenstein retelling” and my ears perked up. It turns out that person was Mackenzi Lee, author of This Monstrous Thing, her debut novel. As you may have noticed by now, I’m a huge fan of Frankenstein. So, intrigued by this description, I picked up a signed copy of Lee’s book then and there. Alas, it took me quite a while to get around to reading it, but I’m glad I finally did.

This Monstrous Thing is set in an alternate history, in which early 19th century Europe is hyper-industrialized and clockwork is the basis of new technology, from new modes of transportation to artificial limbs. Surgeon/mechanics called Shadow Boys fashion clockwork parts for wounded citizens. But while this technology gives crippled men and women mobility and hope, the majority of the population considers it an abomination. Clockwork men and women are treated as second class citizens, and the Shadow Boys who build their parts are in constant danger of arrest.  Continue reading This Monstrous Thing Review–Steampunk Frankenstein