Ever wondered why Gothic fiction and nineteenth-century ghost stories were often set in old-fashioned country houses? This special event combines a short talk on Gothic architecture by researcher Dr Emma Liggins with a spine-chilling ghost story performance by award-winner writer and theatre maker Adam Z Robinson.

Emma’s talk, ‘Gothic architecture and the development of the ghost story’, asks why tales of haunting dwelt on the ancestral home with its many rooms and corridors from the 1790s to the late nineteenth century. Why was the haunted country house, castle or abbey so popular with readers? Why were servants key characters? How did this link to travel and tourism? This talk begins with Ann Radcliffe’s popular Gothic novel The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) and considers its influence on Victorian ghost stories such as Mary Braddon’s ‘The Shadow in the Corner’, Elizabeth Gaskell’s ‘The Old Nurse’s Story’ and Henry James’ ‘The Turn of the Screw’. 

Adam Z. Robinson will perform adaptations of Algernon Blackwood’s ‘The Kit Bag’ (1908) and Bram Stoker’s ‘The Judge’s House’ (1891) from his stage show Nightmares.

Dr Emma Liggins is Reader in English Literature in the Department of English at Manchester Metropolitan University and Co-Director of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. She is the author of The Haunted House in Women’s Ghost Stories, 1850-1945: Gender, Space and Modernity (2020).
https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/

Adam Z. Robinson has just finished touring his show Nightmares which includes the performance of 3 classic Victorian and Edwardian ghost stories: Algernon Blackwood’s ‘The Kit Bag’ (1908), E. Nesbit’s ‘John Charrington’s Wedding’ (1891) and Bram Stoker’s ‘The Judge’s House’ (1891). 
https://adamzrobinson.com/

Tickets are £25 per person. Please note that limited tickets are available. 
Refreshments will be available on the night.