The word Gothic conjures associations with the dark and melancholy, the weird and feared, and haunted places and people. In a pre-Halloween program to enthrall anyone yearning to lift the veil on our fascination with the eerie, morbid, and supernatural, author and professor Roger Luckhurst introduces the world of Gothic fiction, film, and fine art by taking a spin around the compass rose: north, south, east and west.
The Gothic was first named for its relation to barbarous northern tribes, but it has now bloomed across the map, becoming a form of culture responsive to the geopolitics of the modern world. Expect vampires, werewolves, zombies, and other modern wonders to flicker into existence on the edges of the map as you follow this shadow topography of the world.
Luckhurst is a professor of modern literature at Birkbeck, University of London. His many books include Zombies: A Cultural History and an examination of the film The Shining.
His newest, Gothic: An Illustrated History (Princeton University Press), is available for purchase.
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