2013 Autumn Semester Schedule Announced

It's taken some cross-referencing of faded manuscripts, forgotten tomes and other academic commitments, but we now have a schedule prepared for the Gothic Reading Group. So, if you're a new or returning student... here are the most important dates for your diary this semester.







All of our meetings will take place on Wednesday afternoons in the Richard Roberts Building, room B79. The Richard Roberts Building is actually the east wing of the Dainton Building, though sadly it isn't disused or dilapidated and is actually rather nice. It is quite near the University Arms Pub though, should any GRG discussions run past our allotted time...

We'll be meeting four times this semester, but will be doing our best to organise a few additional activities if people are interested. Our texts have been selected in advance by the organisers, with an aim to cover a variety of material from different periods. If you've any suggestions for future material, please do let us know. See our information on selecting texts for the Gothic Reading Group.

2013 Autumn Semester Schedule:

16th October, 2-4pm - Watching Fede Alvarez, The Evil Dead (2013)

We'll be kicking off with something right up to date and looking at this reboot of a classic horror franchise. Knowledge of the original Sam Raimi film (and perhaps its sequels) isn't necessary, but it certainly won't hurt your horror film credentials. Plus, everyone should watch Army of Darkness at least once as part of their university experience. You should be able to watch all three original Evil Dead films online (legally and for free) using the University Library's excellent Box of Broadcasts resource. 


30th October, 2-4pm - Reading Edgar Allen Poe's "Berenice" (1835)  and Charles Dickens "A Madman's Manuscript" (1836)

Some classic nineteenth-century fictionalisations of madness for our second session. Dickens's story was originally published as part of The Pickwick Papers: the serial novel that made him famous. Poe's "Berenice" is one of his earlier short stories (and an interesting precursor of famous stories like "The Fall of the House of Usher"). Both are widely anthologised and available online.


20th November, 1-3pm - Reading H.P. Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu" (1926)

A cornerstone of early twentieth-century 'weird fiction' and a founding text for the multi-authored 'Cthullu mythos' makes up our third text. "Cthullu" compares well with Lovecraft's other stories (as well as work by near-contemporary writers like Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood and others) so suggestions for other texts to bring into discussion are welcome. "The Call of Cthulhu" is widely anthologised and available online. 

*Please note the slightly earlier time-slot for this session


11th December, 2-4pm - Reading Jeanette Winterson's The Daylight Gate (2013)

For our last session of the semester we're going to take a look at a contemporary novella. The Daylight Gate is bestselling author Jeanette Winterson's harrowing fictionalisation of the Lancashire Witch Trials. The paperback is relatively inexpensive to purchase from online retailers and cheaper second-hand copies are also readily available on sites like Amazon - let us know if you have any problems getting hold of it.