CFP Fright Nights: Live Halloween Horror Events Collection (7/24/2023)

Fright Nights: Live Halloween Horror Events

deadline for submissions:
July 24, 2023

full name / name of organization:
Kieran Foster/Cassie Brummitt

contact email:
kieran.foster@nottingham.ac.uk

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2023/05/04/fright-nights-live-halloween-horror-events

Fright Nights: Live Halloween Horror Events

CALL FOR CHAPTERS: EDITED COLLECTION



Editors: Kieran Foster, University of Nottingham (UK), and Cassie Brummitt, University of Nottingham (UK)



Horror’s origins - with its roots in folklore, mythology and the oral tradition - stretch much further back in time than screen media, and beyond even ‘canonical’ literature such as Frankenstein and Dracula. However, in the 20th century and beyond, horror as a media genre has become big business, especially in the screen industries where horror film and television franchises have become globally-exploited intellectual properties ripe for spin-offs, sequels, remakes, transmedia world-building and merchandising (Fleury and Mamber 2019, Harris 2010, Mee 2022).



What remains less explored in extant scholarly literature, which this edited collection intends to address, is the phenomenon of space and place within horror’s commercial logics. Importantly, the past few decades have seen a rise in immersive, interactive environments that draw on horror imagery as an indelible part of the attraction. Events such as escape rooms, immersive experiences and fan-led celebratory events enable horror intellectual property to escape the confines of the big and small screen to pervade cultural spaces globally (Kennedy 2018, Ndalianis 2010). These physical, participatory, often visceral environments have implications for the ways in which horror properties are materialised, remediated, and engaged with.



These kinds of immersive attractions are no more popular than at Halloween, where it has become increasingly common to see both branded and non-branded horror events take place across the globe. For example, in the UK, pop-up ‘scream parks’ such as York Maze’s ‘HallowScream’, or theme park events such as ‘Fright Nights’ at Thorpe Park, draw on non-branded horror, folklore and supernatural imagery. Meanwhile, internationally, events such as ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ (at Universal Studio sites in Orlando, Hollywood, Singapore and Japan) and ‘Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party’ (at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando and Disneyland Paris) exploit branded iconography, IP, and franchises.



Horror’s preoccupation with the abject and the visceral offers arguably unique opportunities to translate cultural fears into a physically inhabitable and interactable experience. Seeking to address this important phenomenon, this edited collection will examine Halloween-focused horror events as an under-explored but sizable part of horror media’s global creative and commercial logics, both historically and contemporarily.



We are seeking abstracts of up to 250 words in response to this theme (plus author biography up to 100 words). The form of contributions can be flexible, whether a standard chapter, an interview (for example, with a practitioner, an industry professional, or fans), an autoethnographic piece, or another creative means of exploring the topic.



Topics may include but are not limited to:

• Issues of labour in Halloween horror events
• Marketing and promotional discourses of Halloween horror events
• Franchising and intellectual property in Halloween horror events
• Immersion and interactivity
• Halloween horror events as film, media or literary tourism
• Notions of play and lusory attitudes to Halloween horror events
• Performance and emotion in Halloween horror events
• Audience engagement and experience
• Fan studies of horror events
• Narratives and storytelling
• Industrial relationships, logics and practices

Please send your abstract and bio to Dr. Kieran Foster (kieran.foster@nottingham.ac.uk) and Dr. Cassie Brummitt (cassie.brummitt@nottingham.ac.uk). The deadline for abstracts is July 24th 2023.



Last updated May 9, 2023

CFP Medieval Monstrosities Online Symposium (9/15/2023; online 10/27/2023)

Medieval Monstrosities

deadline for submissions:
September 15, 2023

full name / name of organization:
Illinois Medieval Association

contact email:
mwgeorge.51@gmail.com

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2023/05/10/medieval-monstrosities

Illinois Medieval Association Annual Symposium: Medieval Monstrosities

October 27, 2023, 3:00 pm via Zoom

The Illinois Medieval Association is now accepting proposals for our annual Halloween session: Medieval Monstrosities. This session is part of our annual Symposium, which runs online throughout the year. Topics are open to any work on the Middle Ages involving the monstrous, supernatural, strange, and/or bizarre. The Symposium aims to engage all disciplines and geographical areas of medieval studies. The session will be free and online, and papers presented at the session are eligible for submission to Essays in Medieval Studies, IMA's annual, peer-reviewed proceedings volume, published annually by the West Virginia University Press and available via Project Muse. The session is online via Zoom and completely free.

To submit, please send a proposal by August 20 of no more than 300 words to mwgeorge.51@gmail.com. Include your name, institutional affiliation (if any), the title of the proposed paper, and your proposal narrative.



Last updated May 12, 2023

Minnie Mouse Witch?

Continuing from the previous post, here are the details on Hallmark's witchy Minnie Mouse.

As with Count Mickey, Minnie the Witch is depicted in 2 plush versions (in addition to her role, with Mickey, on the water globe). "Halloween Minnie Mouse" is up first. She is part of the itty bittys line (selling in stores, only, for $6.95) and is described as " the sweetest treat this Halloween". Clearly, we're not supposed to be afraid of this mouse.

Next, is the "Minnie Mouse the Witch" plush. She sells for $19.95 (though is now sold out online). As with her male counterpart, the artificiality of her costume is the highlight of her product description: "Everyone's favorite glamour mouse is all dressed up for Halloween as a beguiling and lovable witch. Minnie will cast a spell of fun over your holiday and help you get in the spirit of fun."

Given the descriptions that accompany these products, it is no surprise that the "Mickey and Minnie Mouse Water Globe" is so tame. Obviously for Disney, brand identity trumps Halloween.

Playing Dress-Up with Hallmark for Halloween 2014

I've been working intermittently on my NEPCA paper on the re-castings of Frankenstein, and I'm trying to categorize some of the appropriations I see. One common type is when familiar characterize (like Garfield and crew, the Smurfs, the Peanuts gang, the Archie gang, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) take upon the appearance of one of the characters of the Frankenstein story (usually inspired by Universal's versions rather than Shelley's original) for humorous or whimsical  purposes. I'm calling this "playing dress-up" and thought I'd share some of the other monster-related examples I've come across this season.

Vampires continue to be popular, and Hallmark has a number of examples of fan-favorite characters in Bela Lugosi-inspired costumes.

The cheapest this season is a Winnie the Pooh card for $3.75 with a vampire Piglet wearing fangs and a cape.

There are also a series of items featuring a vampiric Mickey Mouse. The cutest is part of Hallmarks's itty bittys line sold (in stores only) for $6.95. The product page details that this "Count Mickey" just " 'vants' to be yours this Halloween," in a play on Lugosi's famous accent. He is presented as the most "real", but his deformed appearance lessens the impact of Mickey's transformation and the cuteness of its humor greatly reduces his scariness.

A larger version (at 7" W x 9.25" H x 7" D) of this undead incarnation of Mickey is labelled "Count Mickey Mouse". He sells for $19.95 and is now sold out online. In an attempt to further separate appearance from potential action, his description focuses on the artificiality of his costume, explaining, "Fresh from Transylvania, this elegant vampire is none other than our friend Mickey! But never fear—this plush pushover won't really bite."

Vampire Mickey reappears as part of the Mickey and Minnie Mouse Water Globe collectible, which includes Minnie dressed as a witch (more of this to follow). The water globe (retailing at $39.95) is also now sold out online; like the plush Count Mickey Mouse, it, too, highlights the fake-ness of Mickey and Minnie's monstrous appearances, rather than the potentially more sinister connotations of two creatures of the night gazing at two small, innocent chipmunks.

Notice that this Mickey has been de-fanged, a detail that de-emphasizes any possibility of horror (or even delight) here. The description is likewise brightened, noting "This decoration will add a fun and festive touch to your mantel or party table. Dressed for trick-or-treating, Mickey and Minnie peer into a jack-o'-lantern water globe at a fall scene where two furry friends are frolicking" (and not, we should note, being spied upon as a potential meal).

My final example here presents vampiric versions of Charles Schulz's Snoopy and Woodstock. Titled "Hangin' With Count Snoopy," the item is part of the ongoing Peanuts series of Keepsake Ornaments and sells for $24.95 (though it is now, also, sold out online). The product and its description offers a better blend of horror and play than the larger Mickeys. First, the description reads, "Snoopy's doghouse is all decked out for the season of screams. Press the button on the ornament to hear spooky Halloween music play. Trick or treat—if you dare!" The item presents Snoopy (dressed partly as a vampire and partly as a witch) with arms outstretched and a group of vampiric Woodstocks (bird wings replaced with bat wings) in attendance apparently guarding their vampiric overlord.

Playing the accompanying music clip creates a chilling effect. The sample begins with a excerpt from Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, a theme closely associated with Halloween ever since its use in the opening credits for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) (thanks Wikipedia!). Interspersed with the music track is the sound of Snoopy's voice, but it is anything but familiar. Instead, Snoopy seems to relish his new role as the undead and utters a series of menacing laughs better pronounced by megalomaniacal monsters (like Victor Frankenstein or Count Dracula) than lovable old Snoopy. Here is a triumph of Halloween over brand identity.