Rob Vanston
Affiliation: University of Brighton
Research Areas:
Period: 19th Century Gothic, 20th Century Gothic, 21st Century Gothic
Interdisciplinary Approaches: Folklore and Myth, Gothic Music, Gothic Fashion, Spirituality and Religion
Genres and Media: Fiction, Film and TV, Comics and Graphic Novels, Poetry
Regions and Cultures: Postcolonial Gothic, American Gothic, Black Gothic, European Gothic, Irish Gothic
Creatures: Aliens, Animals, Ghosts, Monsters, Vampires, Zombies
Rob Vanston is a PhD student whose thesis is about how evil operates within fiction, and what we can learn from the villain’s story. Rob’s PhD encompasses the villains from the Hellraiser and Alien franchises, as well as the Joker, Dr Hannibal Lecter, the Wicked Witch of the West and Pazuzu from The Exorcist. The main aim of the PhD is to try to understand why we gravitate towards such villains, what can we learn from them, and why they keep coming back. Goodness cannot operate with evil.
Email: r.vanston1@uni.brighton.ac.uk