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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260606T100000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260606T160000
DTSTAMP:20260310T123022Z
CREATED:20260310T123021Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260310T123022Z
UID:1583-1780740000-1780761600@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Ann Radcliffe\, St Albans Abbey and the Gothic
DESCRIPTION:Follow in the footsteps of Romantic-era poet and Gothic novelist Ann Radcliffe (1764–1823)\, whose St Alban’s [sic] Abbey; A Metrical Romance (1826) brings to life the opening battle of the Wars of the Roses at  St Albans in 1455. Join Dr Elizabeth Bobbitt\, Professor Dale Townshend and award-winning writer Rosie Garland (Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature) for a special study day marking the 200th anniversary of the poem and looking ahead to its forthcoming Cambridge University Press scholarly edition. The programme features short talks and readings\, a literary tour of the cathedral\, and a creative writing workshop led by Rosie Garland.   \n\n\n\nStudy Day Itinerary \n\n\n\n10 – 10.30am:  Registration over tea and coffee \n\n\n\n10.30am: Welcome and Introduction to Ann Radcliffe and St Alban’s Abbey: A Poetical Romance. \n\n\n\n11.30am – 12.30pm: Mapping Radcliffe’s St Alban’s Abbey: A Guided Tour of St Alban’s Cathedral and Surrounding Abbey Ruins \n\n\n\n12.30 – 1.30pm: Lunch break \n\n\n\n1.30 – 3.30pm: ‘Locating the Spirit of Ancient Days:’ Radcliffe as Literary Tourist – Creative Writing Workshop \n\n\n\n3.30-4pm: Share your poetry! \n\n\n\n4pm: Closing Remarks \n\n\n\nPlease note that this event will be held in-person only and will not be livestreamed or recorded.  \n\n\n\nAbout Dr Elizabeth Bobbit |  Elizabeth is a research associate at the University of York. She is currently co-editing Radcliffe’s posthumous works with Professor Dale Townshend for the Cambridge edition of Radcliffe’s complete works.  \n\n\n\nAbout Professor Dale Townsend |  Dale Townsend is Professor of Gothic Literature in the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies\, Manchester Metropolitan University. He has published widely on Gothic fiction of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.  \n\n\n\nAbout Rosie Garland | Rosie is a writing mentor and tutor for The Arvon Foundation\, Literature Works\, Nine Arches Press\, The Ruppin Agency and National Centre for Writing. Val McDermid named her one of the UK’s most compelling LGBT+ writers\, & in 2023 she was made Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature. 
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/ann-radcliffe-st-albans-abbey-and-the-gothic/
LOCATION:St Albans Cathedral\, Sumpter Yard St Albans\, Hertfordshire\, AL1 1BY
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260430T183000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260430T200000
DTSTAMP:20260223T080857Z
CREATED:20260223T080856Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260223T080857Z
UID:1578-1777573800-1777579200@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Night Babies - Lucie McKnight Hardy in conversation with Andrew Michael Hurley
DESCRIPTION:Dark\, disturbing and quieltly devastating\, Night Babies is the haunting new novel from Lucie McKnight Hardy –  a pitch perfect slice of folk-horror that sees a troubled artist haunted by her past in rural Wales. Lucie will be in conversation with Andrew Michael Hurley (Starve Acre\, Barrowbeck) and the talk will be followed by an audience Q&A and book signing.Tickets are £5.00 each or £18.99 including a copy of Night Babies.  Light refreshments are included in the ticket price.Event starts at 6:30pm (doors at 6pm) \n\n\n\nAbout the author: \n\n\n\nLucie McKnight Hardy is the author of Water Shall Refuse Them\, which was shortlisted for the Mslexia Novel Competition and longlisted for the Caledonia Novel Award and the short story collection Dead Relatives. Lucie grew up in West Wales and is a Welsh speaker. She has also lived in Liverpool\, Cardiff\, Zurich and Bradford\, and now lives in Hay-on-Wye.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/night-babies-lucie-mcknight-hardy-in-conversation-with-andrew-michael-hurley/
LOCATION:Serenity Booksellers\, Stockport\, SK1 1UD\, United Kingdom
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2026/02/night-babies.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260321T000000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260322T235959
DTSTAMP:20260120T180329Z
CREATED:20260120T180328Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260120T180329Z
UID:1556-1774051200-1774223999@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Folk Horror and the Urban Wyrd
DESCRIPTION:York Festival of Hauntology \n\n\n\n\n\nYork Literature Festival and the Hauntology & Spectrality Research Group have partnered to launch York’s first-ever festival of Hauntology. \n\n\n\nFrom Saturday 21st -Sunday 22nd March\, authors from across the country will gather to celebrate Folk Horror & the Urban Wyrd. Including appearances from Ramsey Campbell\, Dan Coxon\, Lucie McKnight Hardy\, Andrew Michael Hurley and Lucy Rose\, the festival is to comprise at least 8 events with more to be announced. \n\n\n\nWeekend passes are sold out\, but do not worry! Single tickets for all of the author events\, their prices\, and event timings will be available on the festival website from 1pm on Fri 23 January. \n\n\n\nFor information and tickets visit: EVENTS – York Literature Festival and scroll down.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/folk-horror-and-the-urban-wyrd/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260313T163000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260313T183000
DTSTAMP:20260310T125350Z
CREATED:20260310T125349Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260310T125350Z
UID:1587-1773419400-1773426600@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Gothic Film Club Presents ... The Ritual
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/gothic-film-club-presents-the-ritual/
LOCATION:Soda Cinema\, Room G.05\, 14 Higher Chatham St\, Manchester\, M15 6ED
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260310T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260310T170000
DTSTAMP:20260310T125836Z
CREATED:20260310T125835Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260310T125836Z
UID:1593-1773129600-1773162000@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Creative Gothic Workshop: The Reality of Speculative Horror
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/creative-gothic-workshop-the-reality-of-speculative-horror/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260305T183000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260305T200000
DTSTAMP:20251113T174821Z
CREATED:20251008T113347Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251113T174821Z
UID:1409-1772735400-1772740800@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Michael Stewart & Yvonne Battle-Felton in conversation
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Blackwell’s presents an eerie evening of gothic fiction with Michael Stewart and Yvonne Battle-Felton
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/michael-stewart-yvonne-battle-felton-in-conversation/
LOCATION:Blackwell’s Bookshop\, 146 Oxford Road\, Manchester\, M13 9GP
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260225T183000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260225T203000
DTSTAMP:20260120T181019Z
CREATED:20260120T181018Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260120T181019Z
UID:1559-1772044200-1772051400@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:An Evening with Liam Higginson & Andrew Michael Hurley – Authors in Conversation
DESCRIPTION:Join ebb & flo bookshop in The Studio at Chorley Theatre for an evening of conversation with two outstanding storytellers of dark folklore and modern gothic. \n\n\n\nLiam Higginson ‘The Hill in the Dark Grove’   \n\n\n\nWelsh author Liam’s debut novel set deep in the mountains of North Wales\, is a story about a lost way of life and the terrifying lengths we go to in order to protect what we know.     \n\n\n\nCarwyn and Rhian – the last in a long line of sheep farmers – are living out a brutal year on their hillside farm\, deep in the mountains of North Wales. When Carwyn discovers a buried prehistoric ruin in one of the fields on their land\, his curiosity quickly descends into obsession. His wife\, Rhian\, meanwhile\, is confronted with the growing realization that the man with whom she shares her life and home is becoming a frightening stranger. As the harsh winter closes in\, Rhian finds herself alone with her increasingly unrecognizable husband\, and the mountains\, and the looming megalithic stones. \n\n\n\nAndrew Michael Hurley ‘Saltwash’   \n\n\n\nLancashire-based author Andrew’s latest novel is a sinister seaside tale of regret\, remorse and grief. Set in a decaying hotel and with a cast of uncanny characters\, this is Hurley at his dark\, folkloric best.  His previous books include The Loney\, Starve Acre and Barrowbeck. \n\n\n\nThe dilapidated seaside town of Saltwash isn’t a place that Tom Shift would have chosen to come to at all\, let alone on such a bleak November afternoon. But his new friend\, Oliver Keele\, has insisted on meeting for dinner at the Castle Hotel\, where the owners\, the Paleys\, try their best to cling on to the glory days.  Both terminally ill\, Tom and Oliver have been bound by the saddest of circumstances\, though they have found some solace in writing to one another via a pen-pal scheme set up by their respective cancer clinics. So far\, their friendship has been conducted solely through letters\, with Oliver proving himself to be a treasury of literary quips and quotes. Yet\, for all his flamboyance and verbosity\, he is guarded\, and Tom suspects that he is lonely and nomadic.  And Oliver sees Tom for what he is too: a man haunted by guilt and desperate to try and atone in some way before it’s too late. Regret is what brings others to the Castle. Much to Tom’s surprise\, dozens more guests appear\, dressed in their finest to take part in a prize draw that offers one person the chance of deliverance from their remorse.  But does everyone deserve the opportunity?
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/an-evening-with-liam-higginson-andrew-michael-hurley-authors-in-conversation/
LOCATION:Chorley Theatre Studio\, PR7 2RL\, United Kingdom
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260221T100000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260221T110000
DTSTAMP:20260109T125155Z
CREATED:20260109T125154Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260109T125155Z
UID:1543-1771668000-1771671600@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Online Talk: “Laughed out of life and replaced by nothing”:​ Robert Aickman and the art of the artifice ghost story w. Brontë Schiltz
DESCRIPTION:Comma Press define the artifice story as a ‘type of short story [that] doesn’t derive its power from a “surprise” revelation\, or from the slow development of a central image\, but from the unlikely insertion of a seemingly incompatible ingredient right at the start.’ This format\, which diverges from the more traditional epical story (which culminates in a moment of revelation) and lyrical story (which centres on a repeated image) is typical of Robert Aickman’s formula. Aickman’s ‘strange stories’\, as he termed them\, written between 1951 and his death in 1981\, situate their protagonists in recognisable post-industrial landscapes populated by civil servants\, travelling salesmen and ‘huge hydroelectric installations’. But into these familiar(usually British) settings\, he introduced an often-indefinable element of strangeness: a hotel in which refusal of food results in extreme distress; lichen that grows on human skin. In so doing\, he troubled the very idea of normality\, drawing attention to the intentional construction of every aspect of our everyday lives – and the inequity reinforced or produced therein.This talk introduces Aickman’s unconventional ghostly tales\, in which ghosts only rarely appear in their traditional guise\, yet which frequently explore themes of haunting and spectrality. It then explores what we can learn from them – either as creatives or critics –about the construction of artifice ghost stories\, through which writers expose the unnatural and even monstrous nature of the quotidian\, from the unequal division of labour in marriage to the necessity of stifling passion to meet the practical demands of capitalism. \n\n\n\nBrontë Schiltz is a PHD candidate in Gothic and Televisual Studies at MMU’s Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. \n\n\n\nRomancing the Gothic host free online talks on ‘All the Gothic\, All the Romance\, All the Time’. See: Class Schedules – Romancing the Gothic
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/online-talk-laughed-out-of-life-and-replaced-by-nothing-robert-aickman-and-the-art-of-the-artifice-ghost-story-w-bronte-schiltz/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2024/10/PG-Bronte-Schiltz.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260217T183000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260217T200000
DTSTAMP:20260107T164236Z
CREATED:20260107T164235Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260107T164236Z
UID:1537-1771353000-1771358400@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:ELIZABETH & RUTH: Livi Michael in conversation
DESCRIPTION:Overview \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin us for the launch of Livi Michael’s second novel! \n\n\n\nWe are thrilled to welcome Livi Michael back to Blackwell’s on the 17th of February to discuss her latest novel Elizabeth & Ruth. Livi will be in conversation with Emma Liggins\, co-director of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. There will also be a special themed quiz! \n\n\n\nDoors: 6.30pm\, starts: 6.45pm \n\n\n\nTickets are £4. Admission is free when purchasing a copy the book in advance. \n\n\n\nAbout the book: \n\n\n\nManchester\, 1849. Elizabeth Gaskell\, newly famous author of Mary Barton\, visits a young Irish prostitute in Manchester’s New Bailey prison. The girl is about to be discharged onto the Manchester streets\, where her old life of poverty and violence await her. Elizabeth is determined to help her\, but few people will employ an ex-prostitute from prison. \n\n\n\nIn desperation\, Elizabeth writes to Charles Dickens for advice.Based on the real correspondence between Elizabeth Gaskell and Charles Dickens\, Elizabeth and Ruth tells a story of hypocrisy and suppression\, and how Elizabeth navigates the censorship and prejudice of the day to help the young girl and to write the novel about her that will ultimately be banned and burned after publication. \n\n\n\nAbout the author: \n\n\n\nLivi Michael has written novels for adults\, young adults and children. Her twentieth novel\, Reservoir\, was published in March 2023 by Salt\, and her 21st novel\, Elizabeth and Ruth will be published by Salt in 2026. Her short stories have been published in various places including Granta\, The Lonely Crowd and the Manchester Review\, and have been long listed for the BBC National Short Story Award. Her play\, Singers Not Sinners about the first three women who were allowed to sing in a choir ( Oldham 1701 was performed in Oldham in 2022. \n\n\n\nLivi has taught creative writing in various universities and for the Arvon foundation\, and was Programme Leader of the MA in Publishing at Manchester Metropolitan University. She currently runs a podcast about short stories with the writer and translator Sonya Moor. \n\n\n\nIf you cannot make the event but would like a dedicated copy of the book\, please email events.manchester@blackwell.co.uk or call us on 0161 274 3331. \n\n\n\nOur event format is usually a 45 minute discussion between the author and interviewer\, followed by a chance for audience members to ask questions. There will be the opportunity to get your book signed/dedicated after the event. Events are a brilliant opportunity to discover new books\, meet authors and likeminded readers and learn something new.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/elizabeth-ruth-livi-michael-in-conversation/
LOCATION:Blackwell’s Bookshop\, 146 Oxford Road\, Manchester\, M13 9GP\, United Kingdom
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260208T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260208T210000
DTSTAMP:20260109T130659Z
CREATED:20260109T130658Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260109T130659Z
UID:1549-1770577200-1770584400@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Gothic Fiction & The Female Writer
DESCRIPTION:What do Gothic novels and the supernatural have to do with feminism? A surprising amount. \n\n\n\nBack in the 18th century\, Gothic novels and ghost stories – many written by and for women – began to gain serious popularity. Behind the eerie castles and haunted houses\, many of these stories explored big questions about women’s roles in society: their work\, education\, independence\, and sexuality. \n\n\n\nThis talk looks at how women writers used horror and the supernatural to push back against the expectations of their time. By turning everyday anxieties into eerie\, unsettling fiction\, they revealed the darker sides of patriarchy and colonialism. From Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre\, and the ghost stories of Elizabeth Gaskell\, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and E. Nesbit\, women have long used Gothic fiction to explore what it really costs to be independent. And as the popularity of horror films and series like The Haunting of Hill House show\, the ghosts of lost female histories don’t stay buried for long. \n\n\n\nDoors open at 7pm\, talk starts at 7.30pm – come down early to grab a good seat! \n\n\n\nFollow us on IG @seedtalks \n\n\n\nDr Emma Liggins is a Reader in English Literature in the Department of English at Manchester Metropolitan University and Co-Director of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. She has published widely on the short story\, Victorian women’s writing and the supernatural. \n\n\n\nThis is a 16+ event
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/gothic-fiction-the-female-writer-2/
LOCATION:Temple Hall (York)\, 34 John Street\, York\, YO31 7TG
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/09/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_1114244593_2618052688991_1_original.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260203T173000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260203T190000
DTSTAMP:20251215T180704Z
CREATED:20251215T180703Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251215T180704Z
UID:1527-1770139800-1770145200@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Bunker Talk #160: Kelly Jones x Adam Z. Robinson
DESCRIPTION:Stage Fright: Staging the Ghost Story \n\n\n\nThis event is presented by the Performance Research Group x Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. \n\n\n\nGhost stories have long been associated with performance. Many of us have enjoyed the thrill of sharing the telling of spooky tales around the winter fireside\, or the thrill of dressing up as a ghoul for Halloween. But what happens to the tales of the dead when they are brought to life in the theatre? Join host Brontë Schiltz (writer and academic)\, Adam Z. Robinson (writer\, actor and theatre-maker)\, Dr Kelly Jones (academic and author of Staging the Ghost Story: Shadows in the Limelight) as they discuss the thrills and challenges of staging the ghost story. \n\n\n\nDr Kelly Jones is Senior Lecturer in Drama at the University of Lincoln where she specialises in theatrical realisations of the supernatural and stage Gothic. Her most recent publication is Staging the Ghost Story: Shadows in the Limelight (Palgrave\, 2025).Adam Z. Robinson is a writer\, theatre-maker and award-winning author of flash fiction. His theatre work includes: Upon the Stair (“Everyone needs to see this show” – ✭✭✭✭½ The Reviews Hub) and Smile Club (✭✭✭✭ – The Guardian) co-written with Andrea Heaton. His plays The Book of Darkness & Light and Shivers toured nationally between 2016-2019. As well as his original plays\, Adam has adapted classic works for the stage: Nightmares (national tour 2024)\, Haunted (two national tours\, 2023) and A Christmas Carol (national tours 2019-25; residencies London 2022\, New Brunswick\, Canada\, 2023). Adam’s other writing includes: Conscientious (national tour 2014)\, Belle & Mary (a true crime play commissioned by The Dukes Lancaster) and Seaside Terror (national tours 2017-20) with OddDoll Theatre. His play\, Unhomely\, premiered at Leeds Playhouse in 2024 and is published\, along with his other playtexts\, with Playdead Press. Adam is the host of The Ghost Story Book Club podcast. www.adamzrobinson.com \n\n\n\nBunker Talks \n\n\n\nThis event is part of Bunker Talks. Bunker Talks invite artists and researchers to talk about who they are and what they do. Curated by the Performance Research Group at Manchester School of Art and the School of English\, Bunker Talks explore geopolitical\, ecological or economic concerns. The talks create space for critical encounters\, presentations\, provocation and dialogue as part of a civic conversation. \n\n\n\nOriginally conceived in the pandemic to explore how artists\, writers\, curators and researchers continued to make and share their work\, live Bunker Talks now take place at The Salutation every month. Since 2020\, over 150 talks have been hosted by Performance Researchers and colleagues from across the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. All talks are recorded\, edited\, captioned and then archived to create an online catalogue\, capturing how artists\, makers and curators think about the world today. Find previous talks here: https://www.art.mmu.ac.uk/bunkertalks/
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/bunker-talk-160-kelly-jones-x-adam-z-robinson/
LOCATION:SODA (School of Digital Arts) Manchester Metropolitan University\, 14 Higher Chatham Street\, Manchester\, M15 6ED
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260128T123000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260128T153000
DTSTAMP:20251215T162245Z
CREATED:20251215T162244Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251215T162245Z
UID:1521-1769603400-1769614200@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Gothic Music and the Lucy Hale archive: An Exhibition and Live Performance
DESCRIPTION:View instruments and manuscripts of Gothic-themed compositions from the RNCM archives\, accompanied by music written by composer Lucy Hale \n\n\n\nYou are invited to the first of a series of collaborative events between the Royal Northern College of Music Archives and the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies (Manchester Metropolitan University). This is a free event open to all. You can drop in any time between 12.30 and 15.30 or stay for the duration to enjoy the music\, talks and discussions. \n\n\n\nPlease join us in the Carole Nash Recital Room (First Floor to the right of the main entrance) to find out more about the Gothic history of musical instruments and opera and to celebrate a composer who made a significant contribution to inclusive music. \n\n\n\nThe exhibition \n\n\n\nThe exhibition is intended to publicise some of the materials hidden in the RNCM archives and museum of historial instruments\, particularly those relating to disabled composer and former RNCM student\, Lucy Hale (1994-2021). It explores the intersections between music\, the Gothic and disability. See other gothic treasures from the RNCM’s archive and museum\, including death masks and mourning jewellery\, on display to further inspire your imagination. \n\n\n\nThe exhibition has been co-curated by Heather Roberts\, archive and museum manager at RNCM\, Dr Emma Liggins and Dr Eleanor Beal\, Co-Directors of Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies\, and Rebecca Alaise (a postgraduate researcher in Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies working on a project on Gothic music in the long nineteenth century). \n\n\n\nLucy Hale was born with a life-limiting and terminal neuromuscular condition. With decreasing ability to play\, she turned her musical talents to composition. She is remembered as a campaigner\, composer\, and lover of the fictional and music aesthetics of fantasy\, the gothic and mystery. \n\n\n\nLive performance\, introductory talks and long-table discussions \n\n\n\nBrowse the exhibition and explore the Lucy Hale archive\, listen to live performance of Lucy’s work\, and join in the (optional) long table discussions hosted throughout the event to be a part of the growing understanding of this incredible resource. \n\n\n\n1300-1305: live performance 1/4 of Lucy’s work On A Winter’s Night On a Winter’s Night — LucyRHale.Composer \n\n\n\n1305-10: 5 min intro to Topic A “Music in Gothic Literature” led by Emma \n\n\n\n1310-1330: long table discussion on Topic A \n\n\n\n1330-1335: performance 2/4 of Lucy’s work On A Winter’s Night \n\n\n\n1335-1340: 5 min intro to Topic B “Gothic Literature in Music” led by Heather \n\n\n\n1340-1400: long table discussion on Topic B \n\n\n\n1400-1405: performance 3/4 of Lucy’s work On A Winter’s Night \n\n\n\n1405-1410: 5 min intro to Topic C “Lucy Hale – disability\, music and gothic” led by Heather \n\n\n\n1410-1430: long table discussion on Topic C \n\n\n\n1430-1435: performance 4/4 of Lucy’s work On A Winter’s Night \n\n\n\n1435-1440: 5 min intro to Topic D “The Music Museum – entombed histories” led by Heather \n\n\n\n1440-1500: long table discussion on Topic D \n\n\n\n1500-15.30 final time for browsing \n\n\n\nThe Gothic\, Music and Disability narratives in culture\, anthropology and the Arts have often been woven together to create conscious and unconscious narratives. The fascinating reframing of disability tropes in gothic forms is captured in the archives of its creators. From literature’s Victor Hugo’s Quasimodo to Charlotte Bronte’s Mrs Rochester\, from music’s Beethoven to the legends of crossroads in Blues\, it is lived experience\, the “othering” of disability and the evocative yet liminal aesthetic of music that combine to create some of the most absorbing\, Gothic and inspiring archives. \n\n\n\nWe are grateful to vocal students from RNCM for the live performances of Lucy’s work. \n\n\n\nWe are grateful to Elizabeth Gaskell’s House for loaning an early edition of Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel Mary Barton to accompany the manuscript of a rarely performed opera of Mary Barton\, a tale of industrial Manchester in the Victorian era.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/gothic-music-and-the-lucy-hale-archive-an-exhibition-and-live-performance/
LOCATION:RNCM (Royal Northern College of Music)\, 124 Oxford Road\, Manchester\, M13 9RD
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/12/image.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260122T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260122T213000
DTSTAMP:20260109T130023Z
CREATED:20260109T130022Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260109T130023Z
UID:1545-1769108400-1769117400@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Gothic Fiction & The Female Writer: Women who shaped gothic horror
DESCRIPTION:How have horror and ghost stories challenged gender norms? Explore the feminist side of Gothic literature. With Q&A. \n\n\n\nHave you heard the uproar over the new Wuthering Heights adaptation?  \n\n\n\nDespite over 40 films\, television and radio adaptations\, Wuthering Heights is still often remembered as an “obsessive romance.” In reality\, it is a Gothic Romance – and more specifically\, a story that engages deeply with themes of domestic abuse. Similarly\, many beloved Female Gothic adaptations tend to highlight romance over the darker\, more unsettling aspects of these narratives. From Wuthering Heights to Jane Eyre to Rebecca\, the central figures are not simply swoon-worthy lovers – they often reflect the complex and sometimes abusive dynamics at the heart of these stories. \n\n\n\nJoin Dr Maisha Wester as she explores the intimate connections between the Gothic and First-wave Feminism. Tracing back to the French Revolution\, Dr Wester will examine how these moments shaped both Gothic literature and early reflections on women’s rights. We will also look at how early Female Gothic writers like Anne Radcliffe wove these societal changes into stories that framed women’s disenfranchisement as a source of true horror. Finally\, turning to the present\, we will consider the impact of modern adaptations that sometimes downplay the Gothic and how these romanticised portrayals continue to shape the imaginations of audiences today.  \n\n\n\nDoors open at 7pm\, talk starts at 7.30pm – come down early to grab a good seat! \n\n\n\nTickets: £13.50 – £32 \n\n\n\nSpeaker Bio \n\n\n\nDr. Maisha Wester is an Associate Professor and a recent British Academy Global Professor. Her interests focus on social oppression in Gothic Literature and Horror Film. Her books and numerous essays include “Torture Porn and Uneasy Feminisms: Re-thinking (Wo)men in Eli Roth’s Hostel Films” and African American Gothic in the Era of Black Lives Matter. Most recently\, she has created and released a narrative-driven\, social justice video game for PC titled Coded Black. Her teaching includes courses on Black Feminist literature\, racial representations in Gothic Literature and Horror film\, and Gender in contemporary Horror film. \n\n\n\nThis talk is 16+  \n\n\n\nTestimonials from our guests \n\n\n\n⭐ Super Interesting talks! Fun and Informative – Ally S. \n\n\n\n⭐ Expertly run\, talks are always super informative and a lot of fun! Couldn’t recommend these enough! 5 star. – Owen S \n\n\n\n⭐ Been to a few talks and all have been super interesting. An enjoyable evening to go to either alone or with friends. The talks make for stimulating conversation. Highly recommend! – Daisy J  
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/gothic-fiction-the-female-writer-women-who-shaped-gothic-horror/
LOCATION:Dorothy Fleming Lecture Theatre\, Charles Street Building\, Sheffield\, S1 2LQ
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/06/Maisha-Wester.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251211T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251211T193000
DTSTAMP:20251127T122326Z
CREATED:20251127T122325Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251127T122326Z
UID:1505-1765476000-1765481400@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Gothic Presents 1980s Popular Gothic 2
DESCRIPTION:Gothica is an informal\, online monthly reading group exploring all areas of the Gothic in literature and popular culture. Gothica was founded in 2019 at the University of Birmingham by doctoral researchers Katrina Jan and Dr Emily Vincent\, then joined by Ross Conway\, and you can find out more about us here. Each session is two hours long\, hosted by a special guest speaker with academic expertise in the Gothic\, followed by relaxed breakout room discussions related to the monthly theme. \n\n\n\n1980s Popular Gothic Guest Speaker: Dr Sorcha Ní Fhlainn (Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies\, MMU) \n\n\n\nSorcha Ní Fhlainn is a Reader in film studies with a specialism in American film at Manchester Metropolitan University and leads the Popular Screen Cultures Network. Her work is largely rooted in socio-cultural and historical approaches to film studies\, cultural studies\, popular and contemporary American literature and popular cinema. She also specialises in Gothic studies and horror cinema\, with a focus on vampires (fiction\, culture\, and film)\, postmodern subjectivity\, serial killing\, and monster studies. She is Reviews Editor for the International Gothic Association. \n\n\n\nThis event is free. Please email UOBGOTHICA@GMAIL.COM or Tweet @Gothica_UoB to sign up and receive the Zoom link.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/gothic-presents-1980s-popular-gothic-2/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/11/1980s-popular-Gothic-2.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251204T170000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251204T183000
DTSTAMP:20250919T172922Z
CREATED:20250919T172921Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250919T172922Z
UID:1357-1764867600-1764873000@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Bone Music talk @ Manchester Met and online
DESCRIPTION:Join us for this hybrid research event on Gothic music and underground subculture. This is a free public talk\, open to all\, which will be hosted by the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. \n\n\n\nFor those joining in person\, refreshments will be available from 5 pm and the talk will begin at 5.15\, with Q and A at 6 pm. \n\n\n\nFor those joining online\, you will be emailed the Teams link 3 days ahead of the event and earlier on the day of the event. Please join at 5 pm to check your connection\, and the talk will begin at 5.15. \n\n\n\nBONE MUSIC \n\n\n\nThey are images of pain and damage impressed with ghostly sounds of pleasure\, fragile photographs of the inside of citizens engraved with the music they secretly loved\, skin-thin slivers of DIY punk protest illegally traded in dark alleyways and hidden corners. \n\n\n\nStephen Coates tells the story of Bone Music. During the Cold War era\, the songs that Soviet citizens could listen to were ruthlessly controlled by the state. But a secret underground subculture of music lovers and bootleggers defied the censors\, building recording machines and making their own records of forbidden jazz\, rock ‘n’ roll\, and Russian music\, cut onto used hospital x-ray film. \n\n\n\nWho were they? Why did they do it and how was it even possible? Based on years of interviews and oral testimonies\, Stephen presents the stories of the original Bone bootleggers\, their customers and persecutors\, evoking their spirit of resistance to a repressive culture of prohibition and punishment. \n\n\n\nSTEPHEN COATES is a music producer\, curator and broadcaster. He came across the subject of the X-Ray recordings in 2013 when travelling to Russia to perform. \n\n\n\nHe has written two books on the subject: ‘ X-Ray Audio’ and ‘Bone Music’. A graduate of the Royal College of Art\, he is particularly interested in the interaction between counterculture and culture. He is also the organiser of the arts festival\, the London Month of the Dead.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/bone-music-talk-manchester-met-and-online/
LOCATION:Geoffrey Manton Lecture Theatre 5 ground floor\, Oxford Road\, Manchester\, M15 6LL\, United Kingdom
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/09/Stephen-Coates-2.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251130T110000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251130T170000
DTSTAMP:20250924T124843Z
CREATED:20250924T124842Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250924T124843Z
UID:1373-1764500400-1764522000@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:The Gothic\, Women & Horror Summit: Exploring history\, power & mystery
DESCRIPTION:A one-day series of online talks and workshops from world-leading experts. \n\n\n\nFeaturing Manchester Gothic Centre’s Maisha Wester. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr Maisha Wester has been previously awarded a Fullbright Scholarship and has been British Academy-sponsored Global Professor in the School of English at Sheffield University. Her research investigates racial representation in Gothic Literature and Horror Film\, and socio-political appropriations of Gothic and Horror tropes in racial discourses. \n\n\n\nTickets cost £24
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/the-gothic-women-horror-summit-exploring-history-power-mystery/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/09/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_1128037593_2360733451323_1_original.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251119T160000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251119T170000
DTSTAMP:20251103T110731Z
CREATED:20251103T110729Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251103T110731Z
UID:1466-1763568000-1763571600@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Gothic Approaches PGR Autumn Research Seminar
DESCRIPTION:Join us on Wednesday November 19th in Grosvenor East. Room 3.12 for this seminar by Gothic Centre PhD candidates as part of the MMU Gothic Approaches ‘Work in Progress’ series. Speaker titles and abstracts are below and refreshments are provided. \n\n\n\nMCGS-PGR-Research-Night-Poster-Graphic Nov 2025(1)Download
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/gothic-approaches-pgr-autumn-research-seminar/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2024/11/MMU-Gothic-Approaches-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251118T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251118T210000
DTSTAMP:20251112T182506Z
CREATED:20251112T182505Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251112T182506Z
UID:1483-1763492400-1763499600@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Many Souls as Stars - An evening with Natasha Siegel
DESCRIPTION:Join us at the Refuge Coffee House for an evening with Natasha Siegel as Emma Hinds interviews her about her new sapphic Gothic romance novel\, As Many Souls As Stars. We’ll be diving into the world of her spellbinding novel\, exploring the themes\, characters\, and inspirations that have captured readers’ hearts\, before opening into a live Q&A and a chance to have your book personally signed by Natasha herself. \n\n\n\nAS MANY SOULS AS STARS is the Sapphic retelling of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus we’ve all been waiting for: beautifully gothic\, richly lyrical\, and aching with queer longing. \n\n\n\nSet in 16th-century Suffolk\, the novel follows a young woman who makes a deal with the devil\, a shadowy\, seductive figure she accidentally summons through a spell rooted in her father’s arrogance. What follows is a centuries-spanning pursuit of obsession and reincarnation: a star-crossed love story and a cat-and-mouse chase through history\, as these two women meet again and again\, forever changed by one another. \n\n\n\nIt’s a story threaded with legacy\, curses\, desire\, and power\, an exploration of what we owe the people we love\, and what we inherit from those who came before us.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/many-souls-as-stars-an-evening-with-natasha-siegel/
LOCATION:Refuge Coffee House\, 27 Great Ancoats Street\, Manchester\, M4 5AJ
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/11/image001-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251112T160000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251112T170000
DTSTAMP:20251020T113154Z
CREATED:20251020T113153Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251020T113154Z
UID:1446-1762963200-1762966800@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Storm-Cloud: Observations of the Sky workshop with Tom Payne
DESCRIPTION:This is a follow-up workshop to Tom Payne’s performance of John Ruskin’s Storm-Cloud\, giving you a chance to contribute to the live brief. \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nYou can find out more about Tom’s work with Ruskin here: Live Brief | Storm-Cloud \n\n\n\nThis event has been brought to you by MMU’s Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies and The Nineteenth Century Network.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/storm-cloud-observations-of-the-sky-workshop-with-tom-payne/
LOCATION:Grosvenor East Theatre\, Grosvenor East Building\, Cavendish Street\, Manchester\, M15 6BG
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/10/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_1155880713_897211129163_1_original.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251112T140000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251112T153000
DTSTAMP:20251020T112722Z
CREATED:20251020T112721Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251020T112722Z
UID:1439-1762956000-1762961400@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Storm-Cloud: A Multimedia Performance of John Ruskin's 1884 lecture
DESCRIPTION:Please join us on November 12th for artist Tom Payne performs Ruskin’s 1884 lecture ‘The Storm-Cloud of the Nineteenth Century’ with visuals inspired by Ruskin’s art. \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYou can find out more about Tom’s work with Ruskin here: Live Brief | Storm-Cloud \n\n\n\nThis event has been brought to you by MMU’s Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies and The Nineteenth Century Network.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/storm-cloud-a-multimedia-performance-of-john-ruskins-1884-lecture/
LOCATION:Grosvenor East Theatre\, Grosvenor East Building\, Cavendish Street\, Manchester\, M15 6BG
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/avif:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/10/eb4adf_4edfcd37493d407d959db22ecc62e1edmv2.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251110T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251110T213000
DTSTAMP:20250926T092604Z
CREATED:20250926T092603Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250926T092604Z
UID:1389-1762801200-1762810200@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Gothic Fiction and the Female Writer with Maisha Wester
DESCRIPTION:Have you heard the uproar over the new Wuthering Heights adaptation? \n\n\n\nDespite over 40 films\, television and radio adaptations\, Wuthering Heights is still often remembered as an “obsessive romance.” In reality\, it is a Gothic Romance – and more specifically\, a story that engages deeply with themes of domestic abuse. Similarly\, many beloved Female Gothic adaptations tend to highlight romance over the darker\, more unsettling aspects of these narratives. From Wuthering Heights to Jane Eyre to Rebecca\, the central figures are not simply swoon-worthy lovers – they often reflect the complex and sometimes abusive dynamics at the heart of these stories. \n\n\n\nJoin Dr Maisha Wester as she explores the intimate connections between the Gothic and First-wave Feminism. Tracing back to the French Revolution\, Dr Wester will examine how these moments shaped both Gothic literature and early reflections on women’s rights. We will also look at how early Female Gothic writers like Anne Radcliffe wove these societal changes into stories that framed women’s disenfranchisement as a source of true horror. Finally\, turning to the present\, we will consider the impact of modern adaptations that sometimes downplay the Gothic and how these romanticised portrayals continue to shape the imaginations of audiences today. \n\n\n\nDoors open at 7pm\, talk starts at 7.30pm – come down early to grab a good seat! \n\n\n\nFollow us on IG @seedtalks \n\n\n\nDr. Maisha Wester is an Associate Professor and a recent British Academy Global Professor. Her interests focus on social oppression in Gothic Literature and Horror Film. Her books and numerous essays include “Torture Porn and Uneasy Feminisms: Re-thinking (Wo)men in Eli Roth’s Hostel Films” and African American Gothic in the Era of Black Lives Matter. Most recently\, she has created and released a narrative-driven\, social justice video game for PC titled Coded Black. Her teaching includes courses on Black Feminist literature\, racial representations in Gothic Literature and Horror film\, and Gender in contemporary Horror film. \n\n\n\nThis talk is 16+ \n\n\n\nTestimonials from our guests \n\n\n\n⭐ Super Interesting talks! Fun and Informative – Ally S. \n\n\n\n⭐ Expertly run\, talks are always super informative and a lot of fun! Couldn’t recommend these enough! 5 star. – Owen S \n\n\n\n⭐ Been to a few talks and all have been super interesting. An enjoyable evening to go to either alone or with friends. The talks make for stimulating conversation. Highly recommend! – Daisy J
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/gothic-fiction-and-the-female-writer-with-maisha-wester/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/09/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_1114244593_2618052688991_1_original.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251107T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251109T170000
DTSTAMP:20250919T110040Z
CREATED:20250919T110039Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250919T110040Z
UID:1354-1762502400-1762707600@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Children of the Night International Dracula Congress online conference CFP
DESCRIPTION:A conference series organised by the foremost scholars in the field of Gothic and Vampire Studies. \n\n\n\n“Children of the Night International Dracula Congress” series is a non-profit academic initiative founded by international scholars and supported by worldwide renowned Dracula experts. \n\n\n\nOur aim is to present ground-breaking research on Bram Stoker\, his novel Dracula\, Gothic and Horror Studies and related topics on an annual basis. \n\n\n\nParticipation is open to everyone who has a truly interesting presentation to make. Moreover\, the conferences feature artistic contests and are accompanied by a cultural program.It is our great pleasure to invite you to the 2025 edition of “Children of the Night International Dracula Congress”. This year\, participants are invited to join the ONLINE on November 7th – 9th\, 2025 via Zoom. \n\n\n\nWe  invite  everyone  who  is  interested  in speaking at the 2025 conference  to  submit  an  abstract  of  150  –  max. 250 words plus a meaningful title indicating the planned content of your presentation to  dracongress@gmail.com. The official language of the conference is English. The abstracts must be submitted by email and fit the conference main topics (please\, have a look at the slider with 8 workshops). Deadline for abstract’s submissions: September 20th\, 2025. \n\n\n\nAlso\, remember to dust your Vampire/Dracula/Gothic costume for our annual Costume Contest (Yes\, we can do it online too!). \n\n\n\nConference is free of charge. \n\n\n\nThe 2025 COTN International Dracula Congress is organised by: \n\n\n\nMaria Curie-Skłodowska University Lublin\, Poland (Magdalena Grabias)\, \n\n\n\nState University of Rio de Janeiro in Brasil (Yuri Garcia). \n\n\n\nTransilvania University of Brașov\, Romania (Florin Nechita)\, \n\n\n\nIn collaboration with Dracula Legacy\, Mexico (Enrique A. Palafox). \n\n\n\nLink: https://dracongress.jimdofree.com/call-for-papers-2025/. Online and free conference.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/children-of-the-night-international-dracula-congress-online-conference-cfp/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/09/1753775912.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251031T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251031T190000
DTSTAMP:20251020T113627Z
CREATED:20250924T130314Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251020T113627Z
UID:1379-1761937200-1761937200@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Authors in Conversation: Saltwash & Old Soul
DESCRIPTION:Celebrate spooky season with a chilling new novel about guilt and redemption from the ‘master of menace’ and the addictively unsettling tale of a frightening\, compelling anti-hero who moves across time and space. \n\n\n\nJoin us with Andrew Michael Hurley and Susan Barker to discuss their latest novels Saltwash and Old Soul. \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAndrew Michael Hurley is based in Lancashire. His first novel\, The Loney\, won the Costa Best First Novel Award and the Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. Devil’s Day\, his second novel\, was picked as a Book of the Year in five newspapers\, and won the Encore Award. Starve Acre was made into a film starring Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark in 2024 and Barrowbeck\, a collection of interlinked stories set in the same fictional village was published the same year. \n\n\n\nSusan Barker is the author of four books. Her third novel\, The Incarnations\, was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and Notable Book\, a Kirkus Reviews’ Top Ten Book of the Year and shortlisted for the Kirkus Prize for Fiction. An excerpt from her fourth novel\, Old Soul\, won a Northern Writers’ Award for Fiction in 2020. Susan currently lives in Manchester\, where she is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/authors-in-conversation-saltwash-old-soul/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-10-20-123520.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251031T160000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251031T170000
DTSTAMP:20250922T085655Z
CREATED:20250902T163006Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250922T085655Z
UID:1295-1761926400-1761930000@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Slow Reading Club\, The Vampyre @ Portico Library
DESCRIPTION:£5\, includes refreshments and printouts of the passages. Book here. \n\n\n\nSlow down\, read closely\, think and discuss – that’s what we are asking you to do in this club. Dr Emma Liggins (Centre for Gothic MMU) has chosen some passages from Polidori’s ( or is it Byron’s?) The Vampire. Turn off your smart phones\, step away from the hectic pace of life\, and discuss words. \n\n\n\nDr Debbie Challis is Creative Producer of the Portico Library and a cultural historian with an expertise on
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/slow-reading-club-the-vampyre-portico-library/
LOCATION:Portico Library\, M2 3HY
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/09/81EY0WsCZCL._UF10001000_QL80_.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251029T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251029T200000
DTSTAMP:20250922T085500Z
CREATED:20250902T164230Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250922T085500Z
UID:1306-1761760800-1761768000@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Ghost Stories for Halloween: Haunted Places @ Raby Castle
DESCRIPTION:This spine-chilling Halloween event brings together ghost story expert Dr Emma Liggins with theatrical performer and writer Adam Z. Robinson. It promises spooky stories\, haunted histories and the terror of the unknown. \n\n\n\nThe evening begins with an illustrated talk on the development of the ghost story in the nineteenth century. The popularity of Gothic fiction made haunted places fashionable for both readers and tourists\, from labyrinthine castles and medieval churches to remote country houses. Discussing writers such as Ann Radcliffe\, Mary Elizabeth Braddon\, E. Nesbit and Margaret Oliphant\, Emma will consider the ways in which women’s ghost stories addressed concerns about property ownership\, past secrets\, gender inequalities and superstitious servants. She’ll also look at some of the myths and legends of Raby Castle\, from white ladies and lost children to Lady Vane’s tale of a housekeeper returning from the dead. \n\n\n\nThen\, join master of the macabre Adam Z. Robinson for a lamp-lit ghost story performance. In The Bonehouse\, historian Archie Witt takes a research trip to investigate the fabled roundhouse lock-up in the village of Abbot’s Knock\, a place marred by witch trials\, a wicked 17th-century magistrate and an ancient evil that may haunt the place still. A thrilling tale sure to chill the blood. \n\n\n\nDr Emma Liggins is a Reader in English Literature in the School of English at Manchester Metropolitan University\, UK\, and Co-Director of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. She has published widely on the short story\, Victorian women’s writing and the supernatural. Publications include (with Andrew Maunder and Ruth Robbins)\, The British Short Story (Palgrave\, 2010)\, The Haunted House in Women’s Ghost Stories\, 1850-1945: Gender\, Space and Modernity (Palgrave\, 2020) and a chapter on ‘The Edwardian Supernatural’ in The Edinburgh Companion to Twentieth-Century Gothic (Edinburgh University Press\, 2022). She is currently working on a monograph on Victorian and Edwardian Death Spaces: Gender and Memorialisation for Manchester University Press.    e.liggins@mmu.ac.uk \n\n\n\nAdam Z. Robinson is a writer\, theatre-maker and prize-winning author of flash fiction. His theatre work includes: Upon the Stair (“Everyone needs to see this show” – ✭✭✭✭½ The Reviews Hub) and Smile Club (✭✭✭✭ The Guardian) co-written with Andrea Heaton. His plays The Book of Darkness & Light and Shivers toured nationally between 2016-2019. As well as his original plays\, Adam has adapted classic works for the stage: Haunted (two national tours\, 2023) and A Christmas Carol (national tours\, 2019-21; residency London\, 2022; residency Saint John\, Canada\, 2023) and Nightmares (national tour to 22 theatres\, 2024). His latest show\, Darkness & Light\, is touring autumn 2025. He is the host of The Ghost Story Book Club podcast. www.adamzrobinson.com \n\n\n\nBuy Tickets
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/ghost-stories-for-halloween-haunted-places-raby-castle/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251028T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251028T193000
DTSTAMP:20250922T085154Z
CREATED:20250902T163851Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250922T085154Z
UID:1304-1761674400-1761679800@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Leon Craig and Andrew Michael Hurley in conversation @ Blackwells\, Manchester
DESCRIPTION:We are thrilled to welcome Leon Craig and Andrew Michael Hurley to the shop to discuss their latest novels\, THE DECADENCE and SALTWASH. \n\n\n\nDoors: 6.30pm\, starts: 6.45pm \n\n\n\nTickets are £4. Admission is free when purchasing a copy of either book. \n\n\n\nAbout The Decadence: \n\n\n\nAt the height of lockdown\, a group of flailing twenty-something friends makes an illicit break for freedom. \n\n\n\nA grand country house stands empty. Once the home of Theo’s great uncle\, it seems like the perfect place to get high and hang out in the spring sunshine\, as they eschew adult responsibilities.Since meeting as teenagers\, rifts have grown amongst the group. Even as they are determined to enjoy themselves\, tensions cast shadows between them – politics\, sex and lies. The house\, too\, has its own dark history and exudes a palpable sense of menace.Where do the drugs end and the supernatural begin? Will anger and jealousy tear the friends apart\, or will it be more ominous forces? Their stay at Holt House will change them all… \n\n\n\n‘An exquisitely claustrophobic exploration of the places we do and don’t belong… This is a triumph of the queer gothic’ – Jane Flett\, author of Freakslaw \n\n\n\nAbout Saltwash: \n\n\n\nTom Shift and Oliver Keele are pen-pals. They were introduced through their respective cancer clinics. From reading Oliver’s letters\, Tom has deduced that Oliver is lonely and somewhat nomadic. He appears to live hand to mouth at a series of cheap B&Bs.When Oliver suggests they meet up\, Tom agrees. Neither of them have long left. And\, while Saltwash seems an unlikely kind of place for a holiday\, he goes with it. The Castle Hotel is one of the few places still open in an off-season seaside town that has definitely seen better days but it’s surprisingly busy. It becomes clear that the guests are all there for some kind of reunion\, and that they know Oliver.Little by little it becomes clear that all the guests have dark and troubled histories. They are drawn to the hotel not just for the company and nostalgia but for the opportunity to win the lottery. Which for them\, is the chance to have the memoires of their wrongs to be eradicated. Before they die\, they all want redemption. But if we can’t remember what we’ve done\, do we become someone else? And why does Oliver want Tom at Saltwash? \n\n\n\nAbout the authors: \n\n\n\nLeon Craig is a writer from North London. She studied English at UCL\, Medieval Literature at Oxford and Creative Writing at Birkbeck. Her writing has been published by the White Review\, the TLS\, Another Gaze and the London Magazine\, among others. She is the author of the short story collection Parallel Hells. \n\n\n\nAndrew Michael Hurley is based in Lancashire. His first novel\, The Loney\, won the Costa Best First Novel Award and the Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. Devil’s Day\, his second novel\, was picked as a Book of the Year in five newspapers\, and won the Encore Award. Starve Acre was made into a film starring Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark. \n\n\n\nIf you cannot make the event but would like a dedicated copy of the book\, please email events.manchester@blackwell.co.uk or call us on 0161 274 3331. \n\n\n\nOur event format is usually a 45 minute discussion between the author and interviewer\, followed by a chance for audience members to ask questions. There will be the opportunity to get your book signed/dedicated after the event. Events are a brilliant opportunity to discover new books\, meet authors and likeminded readers and learn something new. \n\n\n\nSupport your local bookshop and help us keep the Manchester literary scene vibrant and exciting. You can follow us on Eventbrite and social media (@BlackwellsMCR) to keep up to date on upcoming events. \n\n\n\nTags
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/leon-craig-and-andrew-michael-hurley-in-conversation-blackwells-manchester/
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DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251022T173000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251022T190000
DTSTAMP:20250922T085927Z
CREATED:20250902T163520Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250922T085927Z
UID:1301-1761154200-1761159600@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Gothic Historical Fiction: Essie Fox and Kate Griffin in conversation @ Portico Library
DESCRIPTION:£3. Book here. \n\n\n\nJoin award-winning novelists Essie Fox and Kate Griffin to find out more about the process of writing historical fiction and how to create a Gothic atmosphere. They will be talking about their recent novels\, Essie Fox’s Dangerous (2024) and Kate Griffin’s Fyneshade (2023). Hosted by Sarah Dutson\, from the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/ \n\n\n\n Subsdised by the Manchester Centre for Gotic Studies. \n\n\n\nDANGEROUS (2024) BY ESSIE FOX \n\n\n\nLiving in exile in Venice\, the disgraced Lord Byron revels in the freedoms of the city. But when associated with the deaths of local women found with wounds to their throats\, and when a novel called The Vampyre is published in his name\, rumours begin to spread that he is the murderer. Haunted by whispering campaigns and the scandals of his past\, Byron is forced to play detective and solve the puzzle of the crimes. \n\n\n\nRich in gothic atmosphere and drawing on real events and characters from Byron’s life\, Dangerous is a riveting historical thriller ~ as decadent and seductive as the poet himself. \n\n\n\nEssie Fox was born and raised in Herefordshire. After studying English Literature at Sheffield University\, she moved to London and began a career in publishing – from there becoming self-employed in commercial art design. Always an avid reader\, she now writes historical novels. Her debut\, The Somnambulist\, was shortlisted for the National Book Awards\, and featured on Channel 4’s TV Book Club. The Last Days of Leda Grey\, set in the earliest years of the silent film industry\, was selected as The Times Historical Book of the Month. The Fascination\, a Sunday Times Top Ten Bestselling book\, features Victorian fairgrounds\, the glamour of the London theatres\, and an Oxford Street museum of morbid curiosities. And now\, Dangerous\, a Regency crime thriller\, relates adventures of Lord Byron during the time he spent in Venice and has again been selected as a Times Book of the Month. \n\n\n\nEssie has appeared at many literary events\, has lectured at the V&A\, and National Gallery in London. Recently she has become the host of a new podcast\, Talking The Gothic. \n\n\n\nFyneshade (2023) by Kate Griffin \n\n\n\nMany would find much to fear in Fyneshade’s dark corridors. But not I. For it has more to fear from me… \n\n\n\nOn the day of her beloved grandmother’s funeral Marta discovers that she is to become governess to the daughter of Sir William Pritchard.  \n\n\n\nSeparated from her lover and discarded by her family\, Marta has no choice but to journey to Pritchard’s ancient and crumbling house\, Fyneshade\, in the wilds of Derbyshire. \n\n\n\nAll is not well at Fyneshade. Marta’s pupil\, little Grace\, can be taught nothing and Marta takes no comfort from the silent servants who will not meet her eye. More intriguing is that Sir William is mysteriously absent\, and his son and heir Vaughan is forbidden to enter the house. \n\n\n\nMarta finds herself drawn to Vaughan despite warnings from the housekeeper that he is a danger to all around him. But Marta is no innocent to be preyed upon. Guided by the dark gift taught to her by her grandmother\, she has made her own plans. And it will take more than a family riven by murderous secrets to stop her… \n\n\n\nFyneshade\, Kate Griffin’s homage to a genre she playfully dubs ‘Governess Gothic\, was published by Viper and was a Sunday Times Historical Fiction Book of 2023. \n\n\n\nWith co-writer Marcia Hutchinson\, she wrote The Blackbirds of St Giles\, published by Simon and Schuster in January 2025. Taking a fresh look at the black community who were part of Georgian London’s most notorious slum – The St Giles Rookery – the novel was The Sunday Times historical fiction pick as February’s ‘book of the month’. \n\n\n\nKate was the winner of the 2012 Faber /Stylist Magazine competition to find a distinctive new voice and character in crime. The resulting gothic-influenced ‘Kitty Peck’ series navigates the back streets of Victorian Limehouse\, the aristocratic corridors of power and the transgressive world of music hall – all viewed through the eyes of a young whip-smart aerial artiste (Kitty Peck) and her ‘family’ of outsiders. The first in the series was shortlisted for a CWA Historical Dagger. \n\n\n\nKate has worked in journalism and communications. Until 2019 she was Head of Press for Britain’s oldest conservation charity SPAB (Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings). Her love of old buildings and the stories they tell continues to inspire her writing. She lives in a Victorian house in St Albans with her husband\, Stephen. \n\n\n\nNb. She’s very good on a quiz team. (She survived University Challenge\, The Professionals.)
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/gothic-historical-fiction-essie-fox-and-kate-griffin-in-conversation-portico-library/
LOCATION:Portico Library\, M2 3HY
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251021T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251021T203000
DTSTAMP:20250924T125624Z
CREATED:20250924T125623Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250924T125624Z
UID:1376-1761073200-1761078600@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Literature Festival\, Waterstones Deansgate. Susan Barker with Korean horror writer Bora Chung. 
DESCRIPTION:A chilling evening of ghost stories and haunted pasts with internationally acclaimed Korean author Bora Chung (Cursed Bunny) and British novelist Susan Barker (The Incarnations)\, as they discuss their gripping new novels\, The Midnight Timetable and Old Soul. Both tales explore the uncanny ways the past refuses to stay buried and the mysterious forces that connect us across time and continents. \n\n\n\nIn Bora Chung’s The Midnight Timetable (translated by Anton Hur)\, a novel told in ghost stories\, an unnamed narrator begins to uncover the secrets of a bizarre research centre\, guided by a night guard with stories to tell. In Susan Barker’s immersive Old Soul\, two strangers meet in Osaka airport and discover their friends died in identical\, gruesome ways\, on opposite sides of the world but both linked by a mysterious dark-haired woman who appears before each death. \n\n\n\nHosted by podcaster and critic Naomi Frisby. \n\n\n\nPresented in partnership with Waterstones Deansgate and supported by LTI Korea. \n\n\n\nWheelchair Users and those with other access needs requiring a free Essential Carer ticket should contact the Quaytickets Box Office on 0161 876 2015 to purchase tickets. \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nBook tickets
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/manchester-literature-festival-waterstones-deansgate-susan-barker-with-korean-horror-writer-bora-chung/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251020T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251026T170000
DTSTAMP:20250929T141118Z
CREATED:20250919T104006Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250929T141118Z
UID:1341-1760947200-1761498000@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Reanimated! Reviving Cult Film’s Dead Objects\, 17th Cine-Excess conference\, University of Birmingham\, UK (25-26 October 2025)
DESCRIPTION:“It’s alive\,” manically proclaims the mad scientist in James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931)\, the source material which not only nuanced the Gothic but also gave birth to science fiction. And across the plentiful variations and imitations of this classic text and its themes\, of course\, body horror has given rise to affect our most primal fears and social conventions\, setting the scene for 2025’s iteration of the Cine-Excess International Film Festival and Conference. \n\n\n\nThe entire festival runs from 20th – 26th October online\, in cinemas\, and venues across Birmingham.This year\, we celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator (1985)\, a quintessential cult classic that blends dark comedy and body horror to push the very boundaries of generic acceptability. The film was created in tandem with producer Brian Yuzna\, and Re-Animator’s success would inspire later Stuart Gordon horror films such as From Beyond (1986)\, whilst paving the way for Yuzna’s own directorial career\, including Society (1989)\, Bride of Re-Animator (1990)\, and Return of the Living Dead III (1993). As part of this year’s festival\, we are delighted that Re-Animator’s legendary producer Brian Yuzna is scheduled to be joining in person to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on the film\, whilst also receiving a posthumous award on behalf of the late Stuart Gordon.*The conference component Reanimated! Reviving Cult Film’s Dead Objects\, 17th Cine-Excess conference is held at University of Birmingham\, UK and runs 25-26 October 2025. Dr Xavier Aldana Reyes as our keynote speaker. Dr Aldana Reyes is a founding member of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies\, co-president of the International Gothic Association\, and the author of such monographs as Contemporary Body Horror (Cambridge University Press\, 2024)\, Gothic Cinema (Routledge\, 2020)\, and Body Gothic: Corporeal Transgression in Contemporary Literature and Horror Film (University of Wales Press\, 2014). \n\n\n\nFor more information and the Call for Papers see: https://www.cine-excess.co.uk/call-for-papers.html.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/reanimated-reviving-cult-films-dead-objects-17th-cine-excess-conference-university-of-birmingham-uk-25-26-october-2025/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251016T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251016T213000
DTSTAMP:20250902T163618Z
CREATED:20250902T161417Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250902T163618Z
UID:1288-1760641200-1760650200@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Gothic Angels of Death @ Highgate Cemetery
DESCRIPTION:GOTHIC ANGELS OF DEATHMourning\, Memory and the Feminine Gothic in the CemeteryWith Emma Liggins on Thursday the 16th October 2025 at 7 pm \n\n\n\nHow were women remembered in Victorian cemeteries? Were they always cast as ‘beloved wives’ or ‘devoted daughters’ beneath grand\, angel-topped headstones — or do we find more nuanced tributes etched in stone?This talk explores the language of epitaphs and the symbolism of angel monuments and grave design in Highgate Cemetery (London) and Southern Cemetery (Manchester). It considers how the commemoration of women both echoed and complicated the Victorian ‘celebration of death’.By comparing family headstones with memorial cards shared before and after funerals\, the talk uncovers how the image of the grieving woman — draped in sorrow over a tomb — became an enduring motif of 19th-century mourning culture.The session concludes with a discussion of Tracy Chevalier’s Falling Angels (2001)\, a neo-Edwardian cemetery novel set in Highgate from 1901 to 1910\, exploring how cremation is framed as a compelling choice for women within the Gothic imagination.Tickets £12.50 including a delightful gin cocktail and a 20% donation to Brompton Cemetery. Please click here to purchase. \n\n\n\nEmma LigginsEmma Liggins is a Reader in English Literature at Manchester Metropolitan University and Co-Director of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. An expert on women’s writing\, ghost stories\, and Victorian mourning culture\, she has published extensively on the New Woman\, sensation fiction\, and Gothic literature\, including The Haunted House in Women’s Ghost Stories and 
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/gothic-angels-of-death/
LOCATION:The Chapel\, Highgate Cemetery
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