Joseph Howsin

Affiliation: Manchester Metropolitan University

Research Areas:
Period: 20th Century Gothic, 21st Century Gothic
Gender: Gothic Gender
Interdisciplinary Approaches: Folklore and Myth, Technology, Medicine and Science
Genres and Media: Fiction
Regions and Cultures: Asian Gothic, English Gothic, European Gothic, Scottish Gothic, Welsh Gothic
Creatures: Ghosts

Joe Howsin (he/him) is a PhD researcher with Manchester Metropolitan University studying the psychologised Gothic, trauma literature, and depictions of mental illness and suicide. His main research areas are 20th century Modernism and contemporary literature.

Email: JOSEPH.HOWSIN@stu.mmu.ac.uk
Website: https://joehowsin.com/

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Sofia Macchi Watts

Affiliation: Monash University

Research Areas:
Period: 18th Century Gothic, 19th Century Gothic, 20th Century Gothic, 21st Century Gothic
Gender: Female Gothic, Gothic Gender
Interdisciplinary Approaches: Spirituality and Religion
Genres and Media: Fiction, Film and TV
Regions and Cultures: American Gothic, English Gothic, European Gothic

Sofia Macchi Watts is a PhD candidate researching the Gothic Erotic and contemporary Gothic romance.

Email: sofia.macchiwatts@monash.edu

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Bart Mulderij

Research Areas:
Period: 20th Century Gothic, 21st Century Gothic
Gender: Female Gothic, Gothic Masculinity
Interdisciplinary Approaches: Folklore and Myth, Spirituality and Religion
Genres and Media: Animation, Fiction, Film and TV, Games
Regions and Cultures: American Gothic, English Gothic, European Gothic, Irish Gothic
Creatures: Aliens, Animals, Ghosts, Monsters, Vampires, Zombies

Bart Mulderij holds master’s degrees in English Literature and Culture and in Arts, Media, and Literary Studies (Research Master) from the University of Groningen. His research focuses on Gothic, Weird, and speculative fiction, with particular attention to Arthur Machen and the exploration of transgression and forbidden knowledge. He has presented at international conferences, including Gothic Crossroads (Manchester, 2025) and the VPFA Annual Conference (Birmingham, 2025), and has organised OSL symposia on contemporary Gothic and supernatural literature. He is currently exploring PhD opportunities to further develop his research.

Email: mulderij.b@gmail.com

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Owain Talfryn

Affiliation: Uppsala University

Research Areas:
Period: 19th Century Gothic, 20th Century Gothic
Interdisciplinary Approaches: Eco-Gothic, Folklore and Myth
Genres and Media: Fiction, Film and TV, Children and YA, Games, Poetry, Tourism and Travel
Regions and Cultures: Postcolonial Gothic, English Gothic, European Gothic, Irish Gothic, Nordic Gothic, Scottish Gothic, Welsh Gothic
Creatures: Animals

Owain Talfryn is a Welsh PhD student in English Literature with a special interest in folklore and the Gothic.

Email: owain.talfryn@engelska.uu.se

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Buke Saglam

Affiliation: University of Vigo

Research Areas:
Period: Early Modern Gothic, 18th Century Gothic, 19th Century Gothic, 20th Century Gothic, 21st Century Gothic
Gender: Female Gothic, Gothic Gender
Interdisciplinary Approaches: Eco-Gothic, Folklore and Myth, Technology, Medicine and Science, Spirituality and Religion
Genres and Media: Animation, Arts, Fiction, Film and TV, Games, Comics and Graphic Novels, Poetry, Theatre and Performance
Regions and Cultures: American Gothic, Arctic Gothic, Canadian Gothic, English Gothic, European Gothic, Irish Gothic, Nordic Gothic, Scottish Gothic
Creatures: Aliens, Animals, Ghosts, Monsters, Vampires

Researcher focusing on the entanglements of weird fiction, posthumanism, and the medical/health humanities across languages.

Email: buke.saglam@rai.usc.es

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Penny Senanarong

Affiliation: University of Bath

Research Areas:
Period: 20th Century Gothic, 21st Century Gothic
Interdisciplinary Approaches: Eco-Gothic, Folklore and Myth, Spirituality and Religion
Genres and Media: Animation, Fiction, Film and TV, Games, Poetry
Regions and Cultures: Postcolonial Gothic, Asian Gothic, English Gothic, European Gothic
Creatures: Animals, Ghosts, Monsters, Vampires

Penny Senanarong is a PhD researcher at the University of Bath, whose research focuses on climate change, with an interest in folklore and the eco-gothic.

Email: senanarong@yahoo.com

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Kate Foster

Affiliation: University of Reading

Research Areas:
Period: 19th Century Gothic, 20th Century Gothic
Interdisciplinary Approaches: Folklore and Myth, Technology, Medicine and Science, Spirituality and Religion
Genres and Media: Arts, Fiction, Film and TV
Regions and Cultures: English Gothic, European Gothic, Irish Gothic, Scottish Gothic, Welsh Gothic
Creatures: Ghosts, Monsters, Vampires, Zombies

Kate Foster is a lecturer in French and ECR in French Studies and Comparative Literature. Interests: artificial bodies; human-technology interfaces; contagion; automation; text-image relations; cultural history.

Email: katelouisefoster@gmail.com

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Shabnam Ahsan

Affiliation: University of Hertfordshire

Research Areas:
Period: 19th Century Gothic, 20th Century Gothic, 21st Century Gothic
Gender: Female Gothic
Interdisciplinary Approaches: Folklore and Myth
Genres and Media: Fiction, Children and YA
Regions and Cultures: Postcolonial Gothic, Asian Gothic, English Gothic
Creatures: Animals, Ghosts, Monsters, Vampires

Shabnam Ahsan researches the Gothic in British and South Asian fairy tales, specialising in nineteenth-century Indian tales and contemporary retellings by British South Asian authors.

Email: shabnamahsan1@gmail.com
Website: https://www.opengravesopenminds.com/about-2/ogom-people

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Andrew Smith

Affiliation: University of Sheffield

Research Areas:
Period: 19th Century Gothic, 20th Century Gothic
Gender: Female Gothic, Gothic Masculinity, Queer Gothic
Interdisciplinary Approaches: Eco-Gothic
Genres and Media: Fiction, Film and TV
Regions and Cultures: Postcolonial Gothic, English Gothic, Irish Gothic
Creatures: Ghosts, Vampires

Andrew Smith is Emeritus Professor of Nineteenth-Century English Literature, University of Sheffield.

Email: smtandy8@aol.com

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Phillip Royce Johnson

Affiliation: Tokyo International University

Research Areas:
Period: 20th Century Gothic
Interdisciplinary Approaches: Folklore and Myth, Technology, Medicine and Science, Spirituality and Religion
Genres and Media: Animation, Arts, Fiction, Film and TV, Games, Poetry, Tourism and Travel, Virtual Gothic

Phillip Johnson is a professor at Tokyo International University specialised in writing courses. His passion for literature, creative writing, design, and emergent technology have opened new vistas in his research.

Email: phillipteacher@gmail.com

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