Full Description
This book constitutes a timely and necessary intervention in the academic study of Satanism. At the same time, the book also constitutes a vital addition to the field of Gothic and Horror Studies. Although recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in figures such as the witch, the zombie and the vampire, Satan and his acolytes have been largely ignored (aside from where they overlap with the witch). This volume seeks to address this lacuna in Gothic Studies by examining how Satanism—particularly as it relates to issues of gender and sexuality—has shaped both the aesthetic and thematic content of horror media over the past half century.
Contents
List of illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
SATANIC HISTORIES
Satanic Feminism...Someday
"Save our children from Satanists": Women, Motherhood, and Satanic Moral Panic
God Bless the Satanists: Reproductive Rights and the Satanic Temple
THE SATANIC CENTURY
"You will have tiger teeth, for you will be a Breaker in Pieces:" Visions of Satanic Feminine Power in the Work of Dion Fortune and Aleister Crowley
"Conversations with Satan": Shirley Jackson's Feminist and Feminised Satanisms
Satanic Feminism and Motherhood in Rosemary's Baby
George A. Romero's Season of the Witch and the Commodification of Satanism and the Suburban Witch
"Mommy is Bleeding Too Much": Hauntological Time in BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas: Stigma
"They're no longer little girls!": Liberation and negotiations of sexuality in Alucarda (1977)
The Satanic Yuppie and the Glamorous witch: Negotiating Postfeminist Empowerment in The Witches of Eastwick
LIVING DELICIOUSLY: THE DEVIL IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM
The Symbolic Devil v. the Literal Devil: Gender and Evil in The Scarlet Letter and in The VVitch
"You're a dangerous Girl": The Fashioning of Satanic Liberation in The VVitch (2015), The Neon Demon (2016), and Midsommar (2019)
"Better to Reign in Hell, Than Serve in Heaven": Satanic Transformation and Female Agency in Starry Eyes, The VVitch and Ready or Not
Spellbound: Postfeminism and the Feminisation of Fascism in Anna Biller's The Love Witch (2016)
Reborn as a Witch: Gender and Exploited Labour in Contemporary Witchcraft Films
Ghouls, Girls, and Ghosts: The Satanic Feminism of the Swedish Metal Band Ghost
"The Refeeding Monstrous: Witches, Cannibalism, and the Power of Traditions in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020)"
"Hell is a Teenage Girl": Young Women and Satanic Power in Point Pleasant (2005), Jennifer's Body (2009), and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018 - 2020)
Index
