Faculty of Horror | Podcasting from the Horrored Halls of Academia

Apr 21 2022

Episode 106. Home Sweet Home: The Haunting (1963)

Time to walk the halls of the terrifying Hill House with Andrea and Alex as they explore what it means to be haunted, gender dynamics in times of duress and why it’s hard to remake a classic.

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REQUIRED READING

The Haunting. Dir. Robert Wise, 1963.

EXTRA CREDIT

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life. Ruth Franklin’s wonderful biography that explores Jackson’s life through her work.

Rue Morgue #170 – September 2016. Featuring a cover story and roundtable interview on Shirley Jackson’s life and influence.

The Haunting and the Power of Suggestion. An article by Pam Keesey in Monsterzine #6.

Haunting Experiences: Ghosts in Contemporary Folklore. An in-depth look at why our past continues to return to us through ghosts and the supernatural.

American Nightmares: The Haunted House Formula in American Popular Fiction. Dale Bailey’s examination of how the haunted house narrative has served and subverted the American Dream.

House Mothers and Haunted Daughters: Shirley Jackson and Female Gothic by Roberta Rubenstein.

Ghostly Matters: Haunting and the Sociological Imagination by Avery Gordon.

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Tagged Robert Wise, Shirley Jackson, The Haunting, The Haunting of Hill House

Mar 24 2022

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Episode 105. Doom Scroll: Pulse (2001) and Suicide Club (2001)

In this episode, Andrea and Alex explore two different yet eerily similar films that came out of Japan in 2001. The conversation covers where history, humanity and community end, exploring what is left in its wake and the new limitations of imagining the future.

CW: Suicide. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones: 1-800-273-8255.

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REQUIRED READING

Pulse. Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2001.

Suicide Club. Dir. Sion Sono, 2001.

EXTRA CREDIT

Haunted by Leo Braudy. A wide ranging examination of horror and its tropes.

Apocalyptic Dead by Kirsten Moana Thompson. A deep dive into films at the turn of the 21st century and our fear of the future.

Too Lonely to Die Alone: Internet Suicide Pacts and Existential Suffering in Japan. Chikako Ozawa-de Silva looks at the troubling phenomenon in Japan in the early 2000s.

The plight of Japan’s modern hermits. Hikikomori, discussed.

What You’re Feeling Isn’t a Vibe Shift. It’s Permanent Change. Elamin Abdelmahmoud’s piece for Buzzfeed on our shifting reality.

The End of History by Francis Fukuyama. The much cited piece about humanity’s (possible) end of ideology.

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Tagged Kairo, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Pulse, Sion Sono, Suicide Club

Feb 24 2022

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Episode 104. Dark Ages: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and Relic (2020)

Whether you call them Hagsploitation, Psycho-Biddy or just plain Elder Horror, growing old is a scary prospect and horror has mined those depths to great effect. Andrea and Alex dive into the murky waters of gender and aging, the burden of care and whether the cycle can be broken.

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REQUIRED READING

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Dir. Robert Aldrich, 1962.

Relic. Dir. Natalie Erika James, 2020.

EXTRA CREDIT

Grande Dame Guignol Cinema: a History of Hag Horror from Baby Jane to Mother, by Peter Shelley (1962).|

You Must Remember This, Episode 91. Karina Longworth’s deep-dive into the production and reception history of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

A Framework for Understanding Old-Age Vulnerabilities. A paper that lays out the multiple challenges facing families and an aging population.

The Costly, Painful, Lonely Burden of Care. From the New York Times: a look at the cost of invisible care.

The Double Standard of Aging, by Susan Sontag. “Aging means a humiliating process of gradual sexual disqualification.”

“Must the Players Keep Young?”: Early Hollywood’s Cult of Youth by Heather Addison. The origin story of Hollywood’s obsession with youth.

“Facing the horror – becoming an old maid,” from the book A Table for One: a Critical Reading of Singlehood, Gender and Time, by Kinneret Lahad.

Bitch media: Aging as the ultimate cinematic horror by Alana Prochuk.

The Alzheimer’s Society: an informative resource – consider donating!