Emma Frederick bolts upright in bed, pulse racing. It must be a bad dream. Except it’s not. Crrrrrreeeeeeeeaaaaaaakkkkkkk. The sound of the loose step sends her body into overdrive, and she rushes for the secret room behind the wall. The screech of old hinges echoes through the house as he enters her bedroom. He starts whistling. Three blind mice. Three blind mice. She slaps a hand over her mouth, stifling her scream. He’s coming for her, but that can’t be. She killed him last month.
After decades of imperfect secularism, presided over by an often corrupt Congress establishment, Nehru's diverse republic has yielded to Hindu nationalism. India is collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions. Since 2014, the ruling BJP has unleashed forces that are irreversibly transforming the country. Indian democracy, honed over decades, is now the chief enabler of Hindu extremism. Bigotry has been ennobled as a healthy form of self-assertion, and anti-Muslim vitriol has deluged the mainstream, with religious minorities living in terror of a vengeful majority. Congress now mimics Modi; other parties pray for a miracle. In this blistering critique of India from Indira Gandhi to the present, Komireddi lays bare the cowardly concessions to the Hindu right, convenient distortions of India's past and demeaning bribes to minorities that led to Modi's decisive electoral victory. If secularists fail to reclaim the republic from Hindu nationalists, Komireddi argues, India will become Pakistan by another name.
Subverting celebrated classics of poetry and mythology and examining horrors from contemporary film and cultural fact, National Book Award winner Justin Phillip Reed engages darkness as an aesthetic to conjure the revenant animus that lurks beneath the exploited civilities of marginalized people. In these poems, Reed finds agency in the other-than-human identities assigned to those assaulted by savageries of the state. In doing so, he summons a retaliatory, counterviolent Black spirit to revolt and to inhabit the revolting.
In Malevolent Nurture, Deborah Willis explores the dynamics of witchcraft accusation through legal documents, pamphlet literature, religious tracts, and the plays of Shakespeare.
In this unique volume, a number of scholars spanning diverse areas and backgrounds offer fresh insight into how perceived concepts of horror and dark subject matter influence cultures and societies around the world. The contributions here explore how topics considered disturbing, mysterious, or fascinating are found not only in works of fiction and entertainment, but also in the cultural fabrics, belief systems, artistic creations, and even governmental structures of societies. Topics discussed in this book include witchcraft, voodoo, zombies, spiritualism, serial killers, monsters, cemeteries, pop culture entertainment, and the sublime in transcendental experiences. As the academic study of horror becomes more mainstream, collections such as this are instrumental in realizing just how much it impacts our lives—past, present, future, and imaginary. Thus, this volume of intriguing and profound topics offers scholars, students, and lovers of learning a much-needed fresh and innovative intellectual exploration of the horror genre and the cultural fascination with the mysterious unknown.
"A demon hellbent on chaos and pain throws a young man across a room again and again, without mercy or remorse, attempting to break his spirit and mutilate his soul. The evil spirits at the site of an old sanitarium destroy an innocent family, driving them into an unfathomable hole of addiction and madness. Ghostly shrieks of pain drive a researcher to the point of insanity, pushing her toward the infinite blackness of total annihilation."--Publisher.
In a realm where darkness and malevolence lurk in the shadows, a tale unfolds that transcends time and space—a timeless saga of compassion, redemption, and the enduring power of the human spirit. In the quaint town of Ravensbrook, a malevolent force awakens within the walls of an ancient mansion, threatening to engulf the town in darkness. Amidst the eerie silence that settles over Ravensbrook, four enigmatic figures appear, known only as the Harbingers of Light. Each harbinger possesses unique abilities—a wielder of wisdom, a bearer of courage, a guardian of unity, and a bearer of compassion. Drawn together by a shared purpose, the Harbingers' journey begins as they venture into the foreboding Blackwood Manor, seeking to unravel the sinister mysteries hidden within its walls. As the haunting presence within the mansion intensifies, the Harbingers find themselves confronted by an ethereal entity—the Eternal Watcher. Beneath the enigmatic gaze of this being, they discover a deeper truth—that their quest is not merely about defeating malevolence, but about embracing the power of compassion and unity to vanquish darkness from within. As the Harbingers navigate the treacherous twists of fate and confront their own inner demons, they forge an unbreakable bond with the town of Ravensbrook. The once fearful and skeptical townsfolk soon find solace and hope in the presence of these enigmatic figures. And so, Ravensbrook becomes a sanctuary—a place where compassion and unity thrive, shining a beacon of hope in a world grappling with darkness. But the malevolence they face is not easily subdued. As the Harbingers' journey unfolds, they encounter sinister rituals, vengeful spirits, and the ghostly remnants of a tragic past. As they delve deeper into the ethereal realm and face the Eternal Watcher, they come to understand that their actions have far-reaching consequences—consequences that extend beyond the physical realm. Through trials that test their resolve, the Harbingers learn the true nature of their legacy. It is not a quest that can be measured in victories or losses, but in the hearts they touch and the spirits they inspire. As their journey progresses, more than just the fate of Ravensbrook hangs in the balance—it is the balance between light and darkness, compassion and malevolence, that will determine the future of both realms. In a world where darkness and despair threaten to consume all, the Harbingers of Light rise to confront the malevolence that seeks to shroud the realm in eternal gloom. With compassion in their hearts, unity in their purpose, wisdom guiding their actions, and courage in their every step, they stand as beacons of hope in a world gripped by fear. Join the Harbingers of Light on their timeless quest as they navigate the ethereal realm, challenge malevolence's malevolent forces, and uncover the secrets of Blackwood Manor. Their journey will remind us all of the enduring power of compassion and unity, and how these virtues can vanquish even the most formidable darkness. Step into the world of the Harbingers and discover the tale that transcends time and space—a story of redemption, resilience, and the eternal watch of the compassionate and unified spirits.
Margaret Atwood's witty and informative book focuses on the imaginative mystique of the wilderness of the Canadian North. She discusses the 'Grey Owl Syndrome' of white writers going native; the folklore arising from the mysterious-- and disastrous -- Franklin expedition of the nineteenth century; the myth of the dreaded snow monster, the Wendigo; the relations between nature writing and new forms of Gothic; and how a fresh generation of women writers in Canada have adapted the imagery of the Canadian North for the exploration of contemporary themes of gender, the family and sexuality. Writers discussed include Robert Service, Robertson Davies, Alice Munro, E.J. Pratt, Marian Engel, Margaret Laurence, and Gwendolyn MacEwan. This superbly written and compelling portrait of the mysterious North is at once a fascinating insight into the Canadian imagination, and an exciting new work from an outstanding literary presence.
