Victorian Gothic, the psychology of fear and a ghost called Pipes
Gathering around a fire to share ghost stories was a beloved tradition in the late 1880s into the early 1900s. Ghost stories and gothic literature still remain such a prominent and popular part of society, which asks the question; Why do we like being scared?
In this talk Gemma Graham explores the psychological, emotional, and cognitive responses to fear, horror films and ghost stories, ending with a look at the most controversial ghost haunting hoax in the UK: Ghostwatch. Vicky Margree investigates a supernatural story, ‘The Portrait’, by Margaret Oliphant, to ask the questions: do men and women write ghost stories differently? Do women write in coded ways about the constraints they face in Victorian society? And are they really as subversive as they appear?
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