Written By Jared Lynch In the introduction to her book Gothic Hauntings: Melancholy Crypts and Textual Ghosts, Christine Berthin discusses the findings of French psychoanalysts Nicolas Abraham and Maria Torok. They explain that when haunting is transgenerational, it “takes the shape of a secret transmitted within a family or a community without being stated because […]

Written By Elizabeth Palmer Sigmund Freud writes that the uncanny is a distinct “class of…frightening which leads back to what is known of old and long familiar.” He goes on to rhetorically ask how it is “possible…[for] the familiar [to] become uncanny and frightening.” What frightens us most are the things which we can almost […]

Written by Brittany Means Spook (2005) by Mary Roach is a detailed investigation into cultural attitudes toward the idea of the afterlife. In her other books, such as Bonk (2008) and Stiff (2003), Roach takes a scientific approach to the subjects of sex and the life of cadavers, respectively. Spook is no different, which Roach […]

Written by Lauren Lutz Ghosts in recent movies and television shows are increasingly autonomous and empowered. In 2012’s The Woman in Black, the ghost of a woman made vengeful after the unjustified death of her child seeks to kill other children by influencing them to commit suicide. In 2013’s The Conjuring, Bathsheba, the ghost of […]

Written by Dr. Adam R. Beach “I feel like something bad is going to happen to me. I feel like something bad has happened. It hasn’t reached me yet, but it’s on its way. And it’s getting closer. And I don’t feel ready. I feel like I can’t do anything.” Alice Palmer in Lake Mungo. […]

Written by Morgan Aprill A woman’s ability to foster new life for nine months within her womb is seen by many as beautiful and empowering. However, there is a part of our cultural dynamic that seems to be threatened or even terrified by this ability. One need only consider the amount of horror movies and […]

As written by Ruth Weller-Passman What is the difference between a ghost and a soul that is no longer attached to a human body? Is there a difference? One fascinating answer to this question comes from Shane Acker’s film 9. Set in a post-apocalyptic world in which humanity has gone extinct and the only remaining […]

Tok Thompson is an associate professor of Anthropology at the University of Southern California. His research and teaching has focused on folklore, and he’s the author of the book Ireland’s Pre-Celtic Archaeological and Anthropological Heritage and of numerous articles and book chapters on folklore and popular culture. He developed and teaches a class at USC […]

Written by Jordan Meyer In many ways, the culture of 21st-century America echoes that of the Renaissance. New and amazing scientific advancements are being made every day, and logic and reason are valued very highly. Liberal educations provide students with a well-rounded base of knowledge ranging from anthropology to zoology, and more than half of […]