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Black Hat, White Hat: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 5)

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Reading the Weird

Each week, authors Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth dig into weird fiction, cosmic horror, and Lovecraftiana — from its historical roots through its most recent branches.

For more deep dives into weird fiction check out The Lovecraft Reread, also hosted by Ruthanna and Anne.

Latest

Cover of Uncanny magazine issue 39, showing a woman with a colorful headdress containing flowers, feathers and other decorations, against a yellow-orange background.

Forensic Folklore: Sarah Pinsker’s “Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather”

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Cover of Pet Sematary by Stephen King,

Everything an Omen: Stephen King’s Pet Sematary (Part 1)

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Cover of Rivers in Your Skin, Sirens in Your Hair, a poetry collection

Poetry Month 2024: Marisca Pichette’s Rivers in Your Skin, Sirens in Your Hair

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The Kiddie Pool of Forever: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 18)

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Detail of the frontispiece to "Goblin Market and other Poems" by Christina Rossetti, 1862. (Art by Dante Gabriel Rossetti)

Poetry Month 2024: Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market”

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Stand-Alone Essays

81 Posts

(Re)Introduction to Reading the Weird

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Maybe Just Don’t Rob Graves: Louisa May Alcott’s “Lost in a Pyramid, or the Mummy’s Curse”

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Something in the Water, Something in the Air: Kaaron Warren’s “The Diesel Pool”

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“All Houses Have a Place Like This”: Robert Aickman’s “The Stains”

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Sometimes the Sea, Sometimes Bones: Sonya Taaffe’s “Tea With the Earl of Twilight”

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An Inexhaustible Research Subject: Elizabeth Bear’s “On Safari in R’lyeh and Carcosa With Gun and Camera”

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Pinkerton’s Detergent Vs. the Eternal Bloodstain: Oscar Wilde’s “The Canterville Ghost”

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The Hazards of a Cat Shortage: Garry Kilworth’s “Hogfoot Right and Bird Hands”

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Monsters Trying to Dance: Gillian Daniels’ “Bobbie and Her Father”

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Lonely Hunter: Aimee Ogden’s “His Heart Is the Haunted House”

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More Hungry Houses: Oliver Onions’ “The Beckoning Fair One”

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A Terrible Time for Birdwatching: Daphne Du Maurier’s “The Birds”

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Advertising for Burglars: Lord Dunsany’s “How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art Upon the Gnoles”

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Always Be Closing: Margaret St. Clair’s “The Man Who Sold Rope to the Gnoles”

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Change Your Clocks, Change the World: Robert Levy’s “DST (Fall Back)”

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Floral Hazards: Wendy N. Wagner’s “The Black Azalea”

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No Drivel About Mysteries: Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Horror of the Heights”

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The Party at the Beginning of the End of the World: Livia Llewellyn’s “Bright Crown of Glory”

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Stepford Pets: Lisa Tuttle’s “Replacements”

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Problems at the Lodge: Brian Evenson’s “No Matter Which Way We Turned”

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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House

11 Posts

Good Ghost-Hunters are Hard to Find: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House (Part 1)

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Following the Directions Too Far: The Haunting of Hill House (Part 2)

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My Bedroom Used to Be the Embalming Room: The Haunting of Hill House (Part 3)

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Tales to Tell at a Marshmallow Roast: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House (Part 4)

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Foolishness and Wickedness Mixed Up: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House (Part 5)

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The Center of Attention: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House (Part 6)

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Never a Mother: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House (Part 7)

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Her Suitcase Full of Ectoplasm: The Haunting of Hill House (Part 8)

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Go Forth and Face Your Lover: The Haunting of Hill House (Part 9)

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Journeys End: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House (Part 10)

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What Walks Alone: Final Thoughts on The Haunting of Hill House

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T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places

11 Posts

Bigfoot, Therefore Evolution: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 1)

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More Wondrous on the Inside: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 2)

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Down the Rabbit Hole, With Tape Measure: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 3)

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I Don’t Think We’re in Narnia Any More: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 4)

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Sleep Tight: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 5)

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The Power of Earworms and Petty Anger: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 6)

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Hugging the Taxidermy: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 7)

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Could Be Worse… We Guess: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 8)

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Extradimensional Rubber Bands: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 9)

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One Person’s Hell Dimension: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 10)

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Coyote Paints a Rock: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places (Part 11)

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John Connolly’s “The Fractured Atlas”

6 Posts

The Man in the Inn With the Book: John Connolly’s “The Fractured Atlas” (Part 1)

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The Moving Finger Writes: John Connolly’s “The Fractured Atlas” (Part 2)

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Messy Revisions: John Connolly’s “The Fractured Atlas” (Part 3)

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Souls for Sale, Bargain Prices: John Connolly’s “The Fractured Atlas” (Part 4)

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The Universe as Unreliable Narrator: John Connolly’s “The Fractured Atlas” (Part 5)

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The Low Standards of the Legal Profession: John Connolly’s “The Fractured Atlas” (Part 6)

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P. Djèlí Clark’s Ring Shout

5 Posts

This Monster-Hunting Business Don’t Pay for Itself: P. Djèlí Clark’s Ring Shout (Part 1)

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Free Meat: P. Djèlí Clark’s Ring Shout (Part 2)

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Bait for Chosen Ones: P. Djèlí Clark’s Ring Shout (Part 3)

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Feeding the Drama-Eaters: P. Djèlí Clark’s Ring Shout (Part 4)

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Read ’em: P. Djèlí Clark’s Ring Shout (Part 5)

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J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla

8 Posts

Gothic Social Distancing: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 1)

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But I’m So Cute: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 2)

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Drunk Texts From a Vampire: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 3)

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Completely Natural Explanations: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 4)

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Men Don’t Explain Things to Me: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 5)

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The Ol’ “Just Invite Me In” Con: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 6)

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The V-Word At Last: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 7)

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Amphibious Vampires: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (Part 8)

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N. K. Jemisin’s The City We Became

15 Posts

Fellowship of the Big Apple: N. K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 1)

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Tentacle Monster TV: N. K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 2)

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Steel-Toed Boots of the Soul: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 3)

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New York State of Mind: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 4)

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Understatement of the Space-Time Continuum: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 5)

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Non-Euclidean Geometry Saves the Day: N. K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 6)

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Interdimensional Rap Battle: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 7)

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Eldritch Angel Investors From Hell: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 8)

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The Avatar of the NIMBYs: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 9)

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No “I” in Team, No “We” Either: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 10)

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Defying, or at Least Neglecting, Gravity: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 11)

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Things We Wish Were Metaphors: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 12)

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Why Villains Monologue: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 13)

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Charging Into Battle: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 14)

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Joy Is Joy, Even at the End of the World: N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (Part 15)

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Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black

12 Posts

Mind-Reading Doesn’t Always Help: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 1)

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The Mortifying Ordeal of Being (Telepathically) Known: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 2)

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An Evil Thing You Wouldn’t Want to See: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 3)

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Celebrity Deathmatch, Awkward Psychic Version: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 4)

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Alison Hart, Slightly Famous Along The A4: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 5)

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Enhancing the Diversity of the Community: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 6)

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Beware the White Worm? — Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 7)

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What We Do for Wraithlike Bodies: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 8)

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A Plague of Psychic Shows: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 9)

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“That means a man for me”: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 10)

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Body-less Modification: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 11)

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It Made the Children Laugh and Play, To See an Eye at School: Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (Part 12)

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Max Gladstone's Last Exit

18 Posts

The Rot Beneath the Great American Road Trip: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 1)

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The Hero Riding Off Alone Into the Sunset, Like an Idiot: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 2)

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Gnawing at the Roots of Our Myths: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 3)

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One Piece at a Time: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 4)

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Black Hat, White Hat: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 5)

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What We Learn From Demon Books: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 6)

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The Politics of Transdimensional Travel: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 7)

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I Am No Jedi: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 8)

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On a Horse With No Name: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 9)

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Wheels Within Wheels: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 10)

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Into the Creepy Clown Mouth: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 11)

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Into This World We’re Thrown: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 12)

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Though This Be Madness, Yet There Is Method In’t: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 13)

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Follow the Yellow Brick Road off a Cliff: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 14)

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These Songs Are True: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 15)

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Question Authority But Not Your Cowboy: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 16)

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The Path to the Dark Side: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 17)

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The Kiddie Pool of Forever: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 18)

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Book cover of Pet Semetary by Stephen King

Stephen King’s Pet Sematary

1 Post

Everything an Omen: Stephen King’s Pet Sematary (Part 1)

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"It is shocking to find how many people do not believe they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult.”

Frank Herbert, Dune

TPG 2024 • Site Credit