VINTAGE Fear Lit: “Queerness and Race in Gothic and Horror” with Maisha Wester

Get the garlic, sprinkle the holy water, but please, leave the antiqueer racism out of my Gothic romance! Dr Maisha Wester (Sheffield/Indiana University) explains why Horror films are so interesting to study, what Brexit has to do with Zombies, why King Kong film posters reveal blatant racism, and why ghosts are not always gay but most definitely queer. Lusty lesbian vampires, Cat People (are those the same?), spiders, sharks, and Supernatural fan fiction: this episode has everything the tell-tale heart could want.Texts, Films and Stories mentioned:DraculaKing KongLe Fanu’s CarmillaJulia Kristeva’s Powers of Horror: An Essay on AbjectionFamily GuyThe PerfectionRoderick Ferguson’s The Nightmares of the HeteronormativeThe Hottentot VenusRawCat PeopleI walked with a ZombieGanja & HessArachnophobiaJawsTendai Huchu’s The Library of the DeadThe Amityville HorrorTeju Cole’s Open CityOctavia Butler’s “Bloodchild”SupernaturalThe Haunting of Bly ManorNot scared enough? Follow Maisha (@maishawester) and me (@queerlitpodcast) on Instagram.Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:1. In what ways are horror narratives and motifs political?2. Why are queerness and race frequently negotiated in Gothic and horror stories?3. Why are vampires often coded as queer? Which example for this does Maisha give? Do you have a favourite vampire?4. What is the abject? What is Other(ing) in literary studies?5. Open question: What do you think about the role of fear in the representation of queerness and race?