Introduction The Sin-Eater was a Welsh export to America, now so forgotten in Wales and so connected with Appalachia, that most Welsh might now consider it to be an American phenomenon, rather than a part of their own history. The Sin-Eater has their* own chapter in Jane Aaron's Welsh Gothic (Chapter 6) and this is… Continue reading Welsh Gothic Tropes V: The Sin-Eater
Introduction CW// incest and infant death discussed in one short story. The Druid has had a negative press, or, to quote Aaron, 'enjoyed a demonic reputation', since Julius Caesar's account in De Bello Gallico (c.58-49 BC). Caesar claimed that Druids officiated at human sacrifices and mentions the infamous 'wicker man', powerfully re-imagined by Folk Horror… Continue reading Welsh Gothic Tropes III: The Druid
IntroductionOne element that recurs throughout Welsh Gothic fiction is ... the death omen. Whether it's a raven being shot and showering the bride-to-be in blood as it plummets down a well ('The Prediction', 1827), or a cow biting off its own teats on a failing farm (Martha, Jac a Sianco, 2004, I kid you not),… Continue reading Welsh Gothic Tropes I: Death Omens
Introduction This post looks at the novels that Aaron discusses in Chapter 4 of Welsh Gothic which features zombies, and the themes that the novels use. In the next post, I'll look at the vampire stories of the Welsh borders that Aaron picks out. Again, this is not meant to be exhaustive, and there are probably many… Continue reading #AmReading: Wales, Land of the Living Dead II: Zombies and Zombification (1940s-1997)
Introduction Chapter 3 of Jane Aaron's Welsh Gothic, (UWP, 2013), focuses on the shift in themes that characterised Welsh Gothic Fiction in the first part of the twentieth century. This post looks at the historical religious background in brief in the first section, and in the second part highlights some of the fiction that Aaron discusses.… Continue reading #AmReading: Haunted Communities I: Gothic Dissent (1900s-1940s)
