Okamoto Kidō (1872-1939), inspired by both domestic and foreign trends of writing uncanny and weird fiction based on various legends, wrote a series of about fifty stories during the 1920s and 1930s. Kidō’s weird tales have a strong focus on the monstrous, on uncanny humans, and on nature’s revenge against those who break taboos. These stori…[Read more]

This essay will explore the image of the Gothic home in Emily Dickinson’s poetry using close readings of her poems and historical sources. Analysis of nineteenth century Gothic texts will provide evidence that an admiration of female Gothic authors lead Dickinson to emulate many of the themes, motifs, and symbols they used. Their influence c…[Read more]

Demons, ghosts, and witches seem synonymous with the name Shirley Jackson (1916-1965), a New England author popularly known for her interest in the occult. However, Jackson’s connection to the supernatural is perhaps one of the most misunderstood aspects of her oeuvre. It is notable that her only novel directly addressing ghosts is The Haunting of…[Read more]

Music was a form of communication for Emily Dickinson, both separate from and contained within her poetry. Music provided her with another language to converse with her family, and friends, especially her sister-in-law, Susan, and her niece, Martha. Primarily building upon research conducted by Carolyn Cooley, Judy Jo Small, Richard Sewall and…[Read more]