Uncanny Archaeologies
Unearthing Ancient Horrors in Film, Media, Literature and Culture
Will be published approx. on 4. March 2027
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-1-350-60278-6 (ISBN)
Description
An exploration of works that sit at the nexus of archaeology and horror, this collection brings together critical reflections on these 'uncanny archaeologies' as they appear across film, media, literature and 'real' spooky archaeology. With a global selection of authors drawing upon a wide variety of analytical concepts from posthumanism and 'weirding' to elements of mad studies, and the notion of 'archaeophobia', the collection promotes novel theoretical and conceptual frameworks for studying the works explored.
A treasure trove of themes from across archaeological horror, the essays in this volume include mainstays of the genre such as ancient curses, empty tombs, and ambulant mummies, as well as broader themes such as the underground, deep time, folk horror, time-slips, and the return of the dead. Interdisciplinary and multi modal, the essays cover a huge range of works: fiction by M.R. James, Algernon Blackwood and Arthur Conan Doyle; films and franchises including Tomb Raider and the Blair Witch Project; cultural phenomena such as Weird Tales, black metal, and Victorian occult sex magic; and 'real life' archaeological horrors from cursed objects to uncanny bodies, and magical treasure hunting. Lifting the lid on a popular new horror sub-genre, Uncanny Archaeology uncovers a field that is open, inclusive, and playful.
A treasure trove of themes from across archaeological horror, the essays in this volume include mainstays of the genre such as ancient curses, empty tombs, and ambulant mummies, as well as broader themes such as the underground, deep time, folk horror, time-slips, and the return of the dead. Interdisciplinary and multi modal, the essays cover a huge range of works: fiction by M.R. James, Algernon Blackwood and Arthur Conan Doyle; films and franchises including Tomb Raider and the Blair Witch Project; cultural phenomena such as Weird Tales, black metal, and Victorian occult sex magic; and 'real life' archaeological horrors from cursed objects to uncanny bodies, and magical treasure hunting. Lifting the lid on a popular new horror sub-genre, Uncanny Archaeology uncovers a field that is open, inclusive, and playful.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Laminated cover
Illustrations
30 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
387 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-60278-6 (9781350602786)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Gabriel Moshenska is an Associate Professor in Public Archaeology at the UCL Institute of Archaeology, University College London, UK. He is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Public Archaeology, and author or editor of eight books and 100+ papers. He has published extensively on archaeological themes in horror fiction.
Content
1. Introduction: Ancient Horrors and Archaeological Receptions (Gabriel Moshenska, UCL Institute of Archaeology, UK)
2. Vicarious Ethnicity and Transgressive Knowledge in Lot No. 249 and The Horror at Red Hook (Daniel Renshaw, University of Reading, UK)
3. Prehistory Unleashed! The Evocation of Horror through Archaeology in the Works of Nigel Kneale (Kenneth Brophy, University of Glasgow, UK and Katy Soar, University of Winchester, UK)
4. 'Why have you disturbed our sleep; awakened us from our ancient slumber?' Archaeological Objects and Body Horror (Jessica O'Neill, themuseumguide.com, UK)
5. Antiquarianism, Ontography, and the Uncanny in Two Ghost Stories by M.R. James (Tom Sparrow, Slippery Rock University, USA)
6. Buried in Darkness: Black Metal's Archaeology of Horror (Joao Sequeira, Minho University, Portugal and Tania Casimiro, University of Stirling, UK)
7. Becoming-Ruin: An EcoGothic Theory of Apocalypse and Phantasm (Mia X. Perez, The Graduate Center, CUNY, USA)
8. Raiding the Dead: Archaeological Horrors within the Tomb Raider Franchise (Freya Fenton, Independent researcher, UK)
9. An Archaeology of Sex Magic: The British Museum's Secretum in the British Occult Revival (Helen Wickstead, Kingston University, UK)
10. Pulp Archaeology: Western Raiders and Ancient Curses in the pages of Weird Tales (Emilio Rodriguez-Alvarez, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain)
11. When archaeological Sites Become Horror: the Narrative of Gunung Padang in Gerbang Neraka (Hasrianti, Directorate of Scientific Collection Management, Indonesia, Laila Abdul Jalil, Directorate of Scientific Collection Management, Indonesia and Syahruddin Mansyur, Research Center for Environmental Archaeology, Maritime Archaeology, and Cultural Sustainability, Indonesia)
12. Native American Tropes and the Real Horrors of Archaeology (Solene Mallet Gauthier, University of Alberta, Canada)
13. Cosmic Horror and Archaeology: Monsters, UFOs and Encounters with the Past (Vesa-Pekka Herva, University of Oulu, Finland and Antti Lahelma, University of Helsinki, Finland)
14. Ghost-hunting with Semtex: the Materiality of the Supernatural in the Works of Robert Westall (Gabriel Moshenska, UCL Institute of Archaeology, UK)
15. Burkittsville, Maryland and the Curse of the Blair Witch (Rebecca Stone Gordon, Independent researcher, USA)
16. 'Inspired by a true story': the Archaeology Behind the Franklin Expedition and AMC's The Terror (Stephanie Halmhofer and Solene Mallet Gauthier, University of Alberta, Canada)
17. M.R. James and his Warnings to the Archaeologically Curious (Martyn Barber, Independent researcher, UK)
18. From the Further Side of Experience: Ancient Egypt and the Numinous in the work of Algernon Blackwood (Lawrence Webb, University of Southampton, UK)
19. 'Cursed' Objects of Pompeii (Christine A. Downton, Leicester University, UK)
20. Occult archaeology and the Landscape: Tales from Insular Greece (Stelios Lekakis, Newcastle University, UK)
21. The Weird World of Ancient Curse Tablets (Stuart McKie, Exeter University, UK)
Bibliography
Index
2. Vicarious Ethnicity and Transgressive Knowledge in Lot No. 249 and The Horror at Red Hook (Daniel Renshaw, University of Reading, UK)
3. Prehistory Unleashed! The Evocation of Horror through Archaeology in the Works of Nigel Kneale (Kenneth Brophy, University of Glasgow, UK and Katy Soar, University of Winchester, UK)
4. 'Why have you disturbed our sleep; awakened us from our ancient slumber?' Archaeological Objects and Body Horror (Jessica O'Neill, themuseumguide.com, UK)
5. Antiquarianism, Ontography, and the Uncanny in Two Ghost Stories by M.R. James (Tom Sparrow, Slippery Rock University, USA)
6. Buried in Darkness: Black Metal's Archaeology of Horror (Joao Sequeira, Minho University, Portugal and Tania Casimiro, University of Stirling, UK)
7. Becoming-Ruin: An EcoGothic Theory of Apocalypse and Phantasm (Mia X. Perez, The Graduate Center, CUNY, USA)
8. Raiding the Dead: Archaeological Horrors within the Tomb Raider Franchise (Freya Fenton, Independent researcher, UK)
9. An Archaeology of Sex Magic: The British Museum's Secretum in the British Occult Revival (Helen Wickstead, Kingston University, UK)
10. Pulp Archaeology: Western Raiders and Ancient Curses in the pages of Weird Tales (Emilio Rodriguez-Alvarez, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain)
11. When archaeological Sites Become Horror: the Narrative of Gunung Padang in Gerbang Neraka (Hasrianti, Directorate of Scientific Collection Management, Indonesia, Laila Abdul Jalil, Directorate of Scientific Collection Management, Indonesia and Syahruddin Mansyur, Research Center for Environmental Archaeology, Maritime Archaeology, and Cultural Sustainability, Indonesia)
12. Native American Tropes and the Real Horrors of Archaeology (Solene Mallet Gauthier, University of Alberta, Canada)
13. Cosmic Horror and Archaeology: Monsters, UFOs and Encounters with the Past (Vesa-Pekka Herva, University of Oulu, Finland and Antti Lahelma, University of Helsinki, Finland)
14. Ghost-hunting with Semtex: the Materiality of the Supernatural in the Works of Robert Westall (Gabriel Moshenska, UCL Institute of Archaeology, UK)
15. Burkittsville, Maryland and the Curse of the Blair Witch (Rebecca Stone Gordon, Independent researcher, USA)
16. 'Inspired by a true story': the Archaeology Behind the Franklin Expedition and AMC's The Terror (Stephanie Halmhofer and Solene Mallet Gauthier, University of Alberta, Canada)
17. M.R. James and his Warnings to the Archaeologically Curious (Martyn Barber, Independent researcher, UK)
18. From the Further Side of Experience: Ancient Egypt and the Numinous in the work of Algernon Blackwood (Lawrence Webb, University of Southampton, UK)
19. 'Cursed' Objects of Pompeii (Christine A. Downton, Leicester University, UK)
20. Occult archaeology and the Landscape: Tales from Insular Greece (Stelios Lekakis, Newcastle University, UK)
21. The Weird World of Ancient Curse Tablets (Stuart McKie, Exeter University, UK)
Bibliography
Index