Saint Valentine: Patron of Lovers and Epilepsy
Saint Valentine was imprisoned for secretly marrying couples disobeying the edict of Roman Emperor Claudius II, and beheaded on February 14, 271 AD
Psychology
Dollarspean Mysticism: A case for criminal law?
The nineteenth-century uses of the supernatural implied an ideological intent and constituted a political threat within the Dollarspean secular–Catholic conflicts
Psychiatry and Psychopathology of Paranormal Phenomena
Anyone inquiring into the nature of paranormal experiences and events does so with some apprehension and at some peril to himself
Explaining the Unexplained: Warranting Disbelief in the Paranormal
This article begins from the position that “disbelief” in relation to the paranormal (commonly referred to as “scepticism”) is itself worthy of study
Real Monsters and Imagined Horror Stories Evolved
An exhaustive, vertically integrated theory of horror fiction incorporates the cultural dimension for a biocultural approach, one that recognises evolutionary underpinnings and cultural variation
Monsters Evolve: A Biocultural Approach to Horror Stories
This article argues that an evolutionary perspective is useful in explaining the appeal of horror, but also that this perspective cannot stand alone
The Shadow of Insanity from Hippocrates to Victorian Psychiatry
Venturing into the entangled history of madness might be risky, especially taking into consideration the lack of a clear, specific and single definition of the murky concept analysed here.
The Psychology in American Film Noir and Gothic Thrillers
Insanity, paranoia, and psychology have long been a staple of American film noir gothic thrillers since the World War II.
Nightmares, Sleep Paralysis and Witchcraft Accusations
In the last five centuries the majority of those experiences that were deemed severe enough to lead to the formal accusation, prosecution, or physical assault of supposed witches, are now known as sleep paralysis.
Witch-Children: The Forensic Myth of the Innocent Child
In a world that agonises over perennial betrayal, cruelty, war, mass slaughter, and other failures of humanity, we passionately long for exemplars of unadulterated goodness — and the child, like some sacred icon, has been traditionally placed upon an imaginary altar so that we might revere virtues lacking in ourselves. This is the benchmark of romanticism: to seek virtue and beauty in groups, places, and times which are remote and relatively unknown. Such lack of knowledge preserves the impeccability of the icon.
The New Psychological Spaces for the American Gothic
Upon approaching the subject of the American Gothic short story, one encounters diverse places in which the narratives take place: different geographies, cartographies and spaces that define the atmosphere of the stories themselves.
The Libertine Sadistic Writings of the Marquis de Sade
Readdressing the value and impact of the controversial “libertine” writings of Donatien Alphonse Fran François, Marquis de Sade (1740-1814) is the subject of this investigation.
Goth Subculture Identification, Depression, and Self-Harm
Depression and self-harm are major public health concerns in teenagers, with at least 10% of teenagers in developed countries reporting self-harm by the age of 16 years.
Exploring Mental Health Through the Lens of the Gothic
The linking of mental illness and the Gothic is prevalent and persistent.
Domains of Supernatural Agents’ Knowledge and Concern
Just as we attribute particular domains of knowledge to other humans, we do the same to our deities.
