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Poetry Month 2024: Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market”

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Reading the Weird

Each week, authors Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth dig into weird fiction, cosmic horror, and Lovecraftiana — from its historical roots through its most recent branches.

For more deep dives into weird fiction check out The Lovecraft Reread, also hosted by Ruthanna and Anne.

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Detail of the frontispiece to "Goblin Market and other Poems" by Christina Rossetti, 1862. (Art by Dante Gabriel Rossetti)

Poetry Month 2024: Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market”

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The Path to the Dark Side: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 17)

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To Catch a Monster: Rebecca Roanhorse’s “Eye and Tooth”

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Question Authority But Not Your Cowboy: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 16)

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The Shortest Swamp Thing Saga: Sara Omer’s “Marshman”

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Stand-Alone Essays

79 Posts

(Re)Introduction to Reading the Weird

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Maybe Just Don’t Rob Graves: Louisa May Alcott’s “Lost in a Pyramid, or the Mummy’s Curse”

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Something in the Water, Something in the Air: Kaaron Warren’s “The Diesel Pool”

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“All Houses Have a Place Like This”: Robert Aickman’s “The Stains”

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Sometimes the Sea, Sometimes Bones: Sonya Taaffe’s “Tea With the Earl of Twilight”

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An Inexhaustible Research Subject: Elizabeth Bear’s “On Safari in R’lyeh and Carcosa With Gun and Camera”

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Pinkerton’s Detergent Vs. the Eternal Bloodstain: Oscar Wilde’s “The Canterville Ghost”

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The Hazards of a Cat Shortage: Garry Kilworth’s “Hogfoot Right and Bird Hands”

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Monsters Trying to Dance: Gillian Daniels’ “Bobbie and Her Father”

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Lonely Hunter: Aimee Ogden’s “His Heart Is the Haunted House”

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More Hungry Houses: Oliver Onions’ “The Beckoning Fair One”

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A Terrible Time for Birdwatching: Daphne Du Maurier’s “The Birds”

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Advertising for Burglars: Lord Dunsany’s “How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art Upon the Gnoles”

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Always Be Closing: Margaret St. Clair’s “The Man Who Sold Rope to the Gnoles”

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Change Your Clocks, Change the World: Robert Levy’s “DST (Fall Back)”

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Floral Hazards: Wendy N. Wagner’s “The Black Azalea”

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No Drivel About Mysteries: Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Horror of the Heights”

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The Party at the Beginning of the End of the World: Livia Llewellyn’s “Bright Crown of Glory”

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Stepford Pets: Lisa Tuttle’s “Replacements”

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Problems at the Lodge: Brian Evenson’s “No Matter Which Way We Turned”

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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House

11 Posts

Good Ghost-Hunters are Hard to Find: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House (Part 1)

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Following the Directions Too Far: The Haunting of Hill House (Part 2)

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My Bedroom Used to Be the Embalming Room: The Haunting of Hill House (Part 3)

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Tales to Tell at a Marshmallow Roast: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House (Part 4)

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Foolishness and Wickedness Mixed Up: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House (Part 5)

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The Center of Attention: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House (Part 6)

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Never a Mother: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House (Part 7)

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Her Suitcase Full of Ectoplasm: The Haunting of Hill House (Part 8)

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Go Forth and Face Your Lover: The Haunting of Hill House (Part 9)

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Journeys End: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House (Part 10)

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What Walks Alone: Final Thoughts on The Haunting of Hill House

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T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places

11 Posts

Bigfoot, Therefore Evolution: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 1)

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More Wondrous on the Inside: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 2)

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Down the Rabbit Hole, With Tape Measure: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 3)

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I Don’t Think We’re in Narnia Any More: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 4)

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Sleep Tight: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 5)

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The Power of Earworms and Petty Anger: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 6)

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Hugging the Taxidermy: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 7)

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Could Be Worse… We Guess: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 8)

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Extradimensional Rubber Bands: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 9)

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One Person’s Hell Dimension: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 10)

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Coyote Paints a Rock: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 11)

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John Connolly’s “The Fractured Atlas”

6 Posts

The Man in the Inn With the Book: John Connolly’s “The Fractured Atlas” (Part 1)

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The Moving Finger Writes: John Connolly’s “The Fractured Atlas” (Part 2)

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Messy Revisions: John Connolly’s “The Fractured Atlas” (Part 3)

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Souls for Sale, Bargain Prices: John Connolly’s “The Fractured Atlas” (Part 4)

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The Universe as Unreliable Narrator: John Connolly’s “The Fractured Atlas” (Part 5)

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The Low Standards of the Legal Profession: John Connolly’s “The Fractured Atlas” (Part 6)

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P. Djèlí Clark’s Ring Shout

5 Posts

This Monster-Hunting Business Don’t Pay for Itself: P. Djèlí Clark’s Ring Shout (Part 1)

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Free Meat: P. Djèlí Clark’s Ring Shout (Part 2)

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Bait for Chosen Ones: P. Djèlí Clark’s Ring Shout (Part 3)

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Feeding the Drama-Eaters: P. Djèlí Clark’s Ring Shout (Part 4)

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Read ’em: P. Djèlí Clark’s Ring Shout (Part 5)

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J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla

8 Posts

Gothic Social Distancing: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 1)

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But I’m So Cute: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 2)

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Drunk Texts From a Vampire: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 3)

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Completely Natural Explanations: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 4)

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Men Don’t Explain Things to Me: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 5)

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The Ol’ “Just Invite Me In” Con: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 6)

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The V-Word At Last: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 7)

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Amphibious Vampires: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 8)

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N. K. Jemisin’s The City We Became

15 Posts

Fellowship of the Big Apple: N. K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 1)

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Tentacle Monster TV: N. K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 2)

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Steel-Toed Boots of the Soul: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 3)

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New York State of Mind: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 4)

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Understatement of the Space-Time Continuum: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 5)

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Non-Euclidean Geometry Saves the Day: N. K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 6)

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Interdimensional Rap Battle: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 7)

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Eldritch Angel Investors From Hell: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 8)

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The Avatar of the NIMBYs: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 9)

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No “I” in Team, No “We” Either: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 10)

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Defying, or at Least Neglecting, Gravity: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 11)

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Things We Wish Were Metaphors: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 12)

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Why Villains Monologue: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 13)

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Charging Into Battle: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 14)

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Joy Is Joy, Even at the End of the World: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 15)

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Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black

12 Posts

Mind-Reading Doesn’t Always Help: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 1)

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The Mortifying Ordeal of Being (Telepathically) Known: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 2)

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An Evil Thing You Wouldn’t Want to See: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 3)

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Celebrity Deathmatch, Awkward Psychic Version: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 4)

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Alison Hart, Slightly Famous Along The A4: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 5)

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Enhancing the Diversity of the Community: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 6)

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Beware the White Worm? — Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 7)

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What We Do for Wraithlike Bodies: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 8)

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A Plague of Psychic Shows: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 9)

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“That means a man for me”: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 10)

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Body-less Modification: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 11)

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It Made the Children Laugh and Play, To See an Eye at School: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 12)

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Max Gladstone's Last Exit

17 Posts

The Rot Beneath the Great American Road Trip: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 1)

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The Hero Riding Off Alone Into the Sunset, Like an Idiot: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 2)

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Gnawing at the Roots of Our Myths: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 3)

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One Piece at a Time: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 4)

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Black Hat, White Hat: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 5)

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What We Learn From Demon Books: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 6)

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The Politics of Transdimensional Travel: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 7)

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I Am No Jedi: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 8)

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On a Horse With No Name: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 9)

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Wheels Within Wheels: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 10)

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Into the Creepy Clown Mouth: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 11)

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Into This World We’re Thrown: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 12)

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Though This Be Madness, Yet There Is Method In’t: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 13)

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Follow the Yellow Brick Road off a Cliff: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 14)

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These Songs Are True: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 15)

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Question Authority But Not Your Cowboy: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 16)

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The Path to the Dark Side: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 17)

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“Writing is the closest thing we have to real magic.”

R.F. Kuang, Yellowface

TPG 2024 • Site Credit