Projects
Revenants and Remains 2023 – present
Experiencing Britain’s Ruins: Revenants and Remains at Five Northern English Religious Houses is an exciting programme of public events, tours, workshops and other activities that has been generously funded by an Arts and Humanities Research Council Follow-On Funding for Impact and Engagement Award.
As the Oxford English Dictionary defines it, a revenant is ‘A person who returns from the dead; a reanimated corpse; a ghost’. These meanings of the term ‘revenant’ lie at the heart of Experiencing Britain’s Ruins, for, from the medieval period onwards, each of our chosen sites has been associated with tales of ghosts, spectres, visions and other forms of supernatural activity.
Haunt Manchester, 2018-2022
Involving multiple partners from across Manchester and comprising the centre’s impact case study for REF 2020, Haunt delves into the dark histories and spooky secrets of the area whilst also exploring all things alternative, Gothic and goth from across Greater Manchester. From Gothic buildings, to ghostly walking tours and Halloween fun, this is your one-stop shop for everything atmospheric, weird and wonderful in the region.
“Manchester is Gothic physically – in its Gothic buildings such as the Town Hall and Cheetham’s and John Ryland’s libraries – but also in a deeper, philosophical, undercurrent. Manchester was the famously dark and smoky ‘shock city’ of the industrial age, and it persists in having a Gothic philosophical identity as a place that is brooding, wild and moody” – Jonathan Schofield (Manchester Confidential).
Encountering Corpses, 2018 – 2022
Encountering Corpses is a project led by Professor Craig Young and supported by Research in Arts and Humanities (RAH!) at Manchester Metropolitan University, with 2018 marking its fourth instance. It is also a key part of HAUNT Manchester; with Encountering Corpses research regularly informing the site and network.
Manchester Gothic Festival 2013-2019
To date, Manchester Gothic Centre has run eight Gothic Manchester festivals, collaborating with businesses, artists, performers, museums, heritage sites, pubs, clubs, libraries, scholars and enthusiasts from across the area with a vested interest in all things Gothic and horror.
Since Covid, Gothic Manchester Festival has been on hiatus, but may return in the future. In the meantime, you can view and read some of the activities about the 7th Gothic Manchester Festival ‘Gothic Times’ that brought an array of dark delights, interactive events and creative opportunities to venues across the region – focusing on the theme of ‘Gothic Times’ for 2019 and taking place for a whole month (1 October – 1 November) for the first time ever.
MMU Gothic Approaches 2022
The MMU Gothic Approaches PGR/ECR Seminar Series is a monthly event that offers post-graduate students the opportunity to showcase their research topics and the innovative approaches being developed. Each event focuses on a particular theme or field of enquiry and aims to foster discussion and collaboration through expanding PGR/ECR networks.
To see some of our PGRs in action and showcasing their incredible early scholarship, watch the Gothic Approaches series: