Our researchers work on the social context, rituals and customs of death and disposal. We are interested in ethnographic approaches to burial and disposal, theological and non-theistic perspectives on death and the dead body, radical approaches to death studies including the decolonisation of death, the ethics of dark tourism and displaying human remains, Victorian mourning, the relationship between readers/audiences and fictional death, evolving myths and imaginings of purgatory and the afterlife, and the significance of memorialisation and sacred place in Gothic texts and Manchester cemeteries.

Our partnerships include the collective for Radical Death Studies, the Long Nineteenth Century Network, the Encountering Corpses research group and The Association for the Study of Death and Society, Visit Manchester, the Chorlton Death Café, Manchester Centre for Public History and Heritage and numerous Manchester churches and cemeteries.

You can find the culmination of some of our research in our impact and public engagement page, showcasing our impact case studies on HAUNT Manchester and Encountering Corpses.

You can see a video of our collaboration with the Encountering Corpses Project here:

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Related Publications

Parisot, E., McAllister, D., Aldana Reyes, X. (2024) Graveyard Gothic. Manchester: Manchester University Press.