One Spooked Professor

Take a look into the origin, themes, tropes, and forms of the pop culture zombie!

Take a dive into murder and mayhem in horror as this episode takes a look at how horror stories characterize heroes and villains through violence. Actions demonstrate who we are as people. The same can be said for characters in stories, the more dramatic and meaningful ones even more so. Thus, killers are defined by why they kill, who they kill, and how they kill. Stories that focus on murder and violence live and die by a proper understanding of the narrative functions of character and bloodshed.

Familiarity doesn't just breed contempt. Sometimes what we're most used to, what fills out lives, and what we consider normal is a source for terror that strikes deeper than ghosts, aliens, or some other brand of monster. Let's take a look at how the ordinary can become utterly terrifying.

There exists in virtually all cultures and storytelling traditions a notion of monsters. They serve many different roles and have taken myriad forms over the generations. In this episode, we look at what those roles and forms are and what they can tell us about the nature of monsters and exactly where they come from.

This episode covers the origins, details, and legacy of the Gothic horror movement, which remains probably the most influential literary movement that shaped the modern horror genre.