Longlisted for the 2022 International Gothic Association's Allan Lloyd Smith Prize Surpassing scholarly discourse surrounding the emergent secularism of the 19th century, Theology, Horror and Fiction argues that the Victorian Gothic is a genre fascinated with the immaterial. Through close readings of popular Gothic novels across the 19th century – Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, Dracula and The Picture of Dorian Gray, among others – Jonathan Greenaway demonstrates that to understand and read Gothic novels is to be drawn into the discourses of theology. Despite the differences in time, place and context that informed the writers of these stories, the Gothic novel is irreducibly fascinated with religious and theological ideas, and this angle has been often overlooked in broader scholarly investigations into the intersections between literature and religion. Combining historical theological awareness with interventions into contemporary theology, particularly around imaginative apologetics and theology and the arts, Jonathan Greenaway offers the beginnings of a modern theology of the Gothic.

Horror and Religion provides new readings of contemporary horror fiction in conjuncture with debates in religious studies and theology. It gives a broad analysis of a wide range of contemporary and historical horror texts in a new interdisciplinary way. This study establishes the importance of discussing theology and contemporary horror fiction in present scholarship.

Explores the sublime in Christian theology and science fiction.

Christianity has had a powerful influence on every sphere of Western art, even art which on the surface might seem antithetical to the faith. This book argues that point with an analysis of the horror film genre, examining nine classics which illustrate the evolution of horror and reveal a culture haunted by fear of the unspeakable. The history and literary roots of the horror genre are also discussed. The author concludes that our innate dread of evil and the imperative of warding it off are the key mechanics of the horror experience. Films covered include Vampyr (1932), The Mummy (1932), The Thing (1951), Night of the Demon (1957), The Wicker Man (1973), The Exorcist (1973), Halloween (1978), Ringu (1998) and Pan's Labyrinth (2006).

The academy and pop culture alike recognize the great symbolic and teaching value of the undead, whether vampires, zombies, or other undead or living-dead creatures. This has been explored variously from critiques of consumerism and racism, through explorations of gender and sexuality, to consideration of the breakdown of the nuclear family. Most academic examinations of the undead have been undertaken from the perspectives of philosophy and political theory, but another important avenue of exploration comes through theology. Through the vampire, the zombie, the Golem, and Cenobites, contributors address a variety of theological issues by way of critical reflection on the divine and the sacred in popular culture through film, television, graphic novels, and literature.

Since the early years of the twenty-first century, Matt Cardin has distinguished himself by writing weird fiction with a distinctively cosmic and spiritual focus, publishing two short story collections that have now become rare collector's items. In this substantial volume, Cardin gathers the totality of his short fiction, including the complete fiction contents of Divinations of the Deep (2002) and Dark Awakenings (2010). Several of the tales have been substantially revised from their original appearances. Inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, Thomas Ligotti, and other masters of cosmic horror, Cardin's fiction explores the convergence of religion, horror, and art in a cosmos that may be actively hostile to our species. In tales long and short (including a new novella co-written with Mark McLaughlin), Cardin rings a succession of changes on those fateful words from the Book of Job: "Let those sorcerers who place a curse on days curse that day, those who are skilled to rouse Leviathan." Aside from his short story collections, Matt Cardin is the editor of Born to Fear: Interviews with Thomas Ligotti (2014) and Horror Literature through History (2017). He is also co-editor of the journal Vastarien.

America's dark theologian: reading Stephen King religiously -- Thin spots: what peeks through the cracks in the world -- Deadfall: ghost stories as God-talk -- A jumble of blacks and whites: becoming religious -- Return to Ackerman's field: ritual and the unseen order -- Forty years in Maine: Stephen King and the varieties of religious experience -- If it be your will: theodicy, morality, and the nature of God -- The land beyond: cosmology and the never-ending questions