Monstrous Media/Spectral Subjects

Monstrous media/spectral subjects explores the intersection of monsters, ghosts and technology in gothic texts from the nineteenth century to the present. The contributors discuss a range of material, including print, still photography, cinema, audio recordings and stage performance, positing that the gothic has always been connected to, and demands, new technologies.The book argues that emerging media technologies from the phantasmagoria and magic lantern to the hand-held video camera and the personal computer both shape gothic subjects and in turn become gothicised. In a collection of essays that ranges from the Victorian fiction of Wilkie Collins, Bram Stoker and Richard Marsh to the music of Tom Waits, world horror cinema and the TV series Doctor Who, the book finds fresh and innovative contexts for the study of gothic. In exploring disturbances in text, image, performance and musical form, it reveals the important relationship between gothic and progress and demonstrates that, ultimately, the medium is the monster.Combining essays by well-established and emerging scholars, this volume will appeal to academics and students researching both gothic literature and culture, and the cultural impact of new technologies.