Welcome to Monstrous Folklore…
A personal research website dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of Folklore, Monstrosity and Gothic Fiction.
This website is run by Craig Thomson MA, BA (Hons), a current PhD Candidate at Birkbeck College, University of London. His current research is focused on Folklore, Popular Culture and the Werewolf in British Gothic Fiction (1846-1914).
Latest from the Blog
Midlands Network of Popular Culture – Annual Forum – 19th August 2021 (12:30-19:15)
Hi all, on the 19th August 2021, my colleagues at the Midlands Network of Popular Culture are going to be hosting their annual forum – a free one day online event showcasing the latest research within the field of popular culture. With some great talks including an keynote from the distinguished professor Ken Gelder onContinue reading “Midlands Network of Popular Culture – Annual Forum – 19th August 2021 (12:30-19:15)”
Dark Economies: Anxious Futures, Fearful Pasts – 21st-23rd 2021
Phew, I did it. Somehow. The last few months have been, shall we say, a tad hectic here at the monstrous folklore HQ (or should it be, wolf’s den – I dunno). Not only did I get married last month (Thank you, thank you!) and go on our honeymoon to Whitby, we also discovered thatContinue reading “Dark Economies: Anxious Futures, Fearful Pasts – 21st-23rd 2021”
Gothica: Myths and Monsters – 17th June 2021 (5-7pm)
On Thursday 17th June 2021, the Gothica reading group at the University of Birmingham will be hosting an online session entitled Myths and Monsters, which will include two short papers by Rhys James Jenkins (University of Birmingham) and myself. For anyone interested in joining, feel free to tweet or email the following links: Twitter: @GOTHICA_UOBContinue reading “Gothica: Myths and Monsters – 17th June 2021 (5-7pm)”
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“English folk-lore is singularly barren of were-wolf stories, the reason being that wolves had been extirpated from England under the Anglo-Saxon kings, and therefore ceased to be objects of dread to the people. The traditional belief in were-wolfism must, however, have remained long in the popular mind, though at present it has disappeared, for the word occurs in old ballads and romances.“
The Book of Werewolves by Sabine Baring Gould (1865)
Monstrous Folklore - Werewolves and the 19th Century 