Steve Nallon

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗚𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀 Steve Nallon offers a variety of ghost story talks on the supernatural story tradition, including ‘The Strange and Haunting History of the Ghost Story – From Ancient Egypt to Modern Cinema’, ‘The Gothic Story World: Exploring the Gothic Tradition and Its Legacy’, ‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL: Exploring Charles Dickens’s Classic Tale of Time’, ‘The Very Queer World of the Spook Tale (and Those Who Tell It)’, and ‘The Haunted House Movie’. Presentations of Steve’s Ghost Story Talks are available for literary festivals, horror conventions, cultural societies, libraries, cruises, and creative workshops. They are also ideal for writing groups and retreats, film clubs, academic conferences, museums, schools and universities – and, of course, bookshops and signings. Each talk is tailored to the specific group or audience in consultation with the organisers, and every event is supported by PowerPoint guides and illustrations. #GhostStories #AChristmasCarol #Gothic #SteveNallonGhostStories #DiabloicalHorror #HorrorTok #HorrorTales #GhostTales #HorrorMovies #HorrorFilms #HammerHorror #HorrorWriters #FantasyWriters #BookTok #ModernGothic #GothicHorror #GothicLiterature #MRJames #Shudder #RueMorgue #HorrorConventions #CharlesDickens #Spooks #Necromancer #Hades #RattlingChains #Halloween #ChristmasEve #StrandedGhost

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗠𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗘 The talk Steve Nallon gives on the action movie genre (with DIE HARD as the focal example) covers the appeal of the genre, its history, the psychology of the audience when watching an action movie, the nature of the hero, the setting and arena of the tale, the strategic nature of the plotting, and the genre’s political and social undertones. Steve’s lecture argues that the action movie is a genre largely ignored by academics, generally undervalued by critics, and often even scorned by those who work in the film industry. However, it has proved to be the most commercially successful genre in movie history and, when done well, is one of the few genres that will guarantee a packed audience of the paying public. Indeed, for many, it is the only genre that will get them to leave their house and go to a cinema (Steven Spielberg is said to have told Tom Cruise that TOP GUN: MAVERICK “saved Hollywood’s ass” and might have also “saved the entire theatrical industry”). Yet the talk argues that, despite the commercial rewards of the action movie, it is still one of the most difficult genres to write and make work. The lecture begins by asking ‘What is meant by “action”?’ and traces the idea and its dramatic usage right back to Aristotle and his POETICS. The talk then takes various concepts of what we call action, such as purpose, desire, plan, project and plot, and argues that clarity in the action line, and how it is manifested in a physical and strategic manner, is essential to the success of any action movie. And in tandem with this goes the ability to create a situation in which that action drive can be developed in an imaginative and original way. The lecture then moves on to ask, ‘What is the special appeal of the action genre?’ Here the talk looks at the verisimilitude of cinema compared with other media such as the novel, stage, and radio, and suggests that creating what at least looks like actuality is a key aspect of the genre. The talk also examines the pleasure of plot, proposing that the action genre, as with the caper movie and the whodunnit, puts much emphasis on the strategy of the plot, especially its twists and reveals. It is in this sense that the creativity of the action movie is so much underrated and undervalued by academics, critics, and even industry professionals. The talk considers, too, the importance of the ‘rooting interest’ and the empathetic sense of danger that is experienced when watching an action movie. The physiology and psychology of the audience is, the talk argues, one of the key elements that is often overlooked when considering the genre. Far more active involvement is going on than is traditionally proposed. The lecture next looks at the action genre in the context of ‘shame culture’, an anthropological term defining a way of thinking that puts great emphasis on the importance of doing the right thing based on the shame you would feel if you didn’t. The lecture points out that the lone hero in the Western – the ultimate ‘shame culture’ movie genre, where “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do” – has certain similarities with the action movie and, to some degree, the action movie developed from that genre. With all these thoughts in mind, the talk takes a detailed look at what many regard as the greatest of all action movies, namely, the first DIE HARD picture. It examines the movie’s strategic action, its audience appeal, and the protagonist’s connection to the traditional anti-hero found in the Western. Nor does the talk forget the movie’s humour. There’s a look, as well, at the social context of the 1980s with regard to DIE HARD. The talk considers, for example, the perceived threat to masculinity inherent in several notable 1980s movies, such as FATAL ATTRACTION, FIRST BLOOD, and THE WAR OF THE ROSES. John McClane in DIE HARD is estranged from his wife, who has taken a lucrative job where she is second in command of a multinational company, and so he is facing a life of loss without a defined domestic role. The movie also taps into the sense of loss of standing in America at the time, and indeed in Hollywood itself, where Japanese tech companies such as Sony were aggressively buying up and taking over film studios. The tower building in DIE HARD, it should be noted, may be in LA, but it is owned by Japan. Not only that, but the gang with all the know-how are German, and they easily manage to outwit the FBI agents. Furthermore, the Everyman characters, John McClane and Sergeant Al Powell (who in America doesn’t know a guy named Al?) are ignored and sidelined by the powers that be. It is in this context that the talk suggest that below the surface of the explosive action and the strategies and counter-strategies lie complex social, psychological and political subtexts – and it is these undercurrents that make DIE HARD such a quintessentially 1980s movie from a twenty-first century perspective. The next section of the lecture examines in detail some of the creative issues in developing and writing an action movie screenplay. One problem is giving the hero depth of character. That said, there is perhaps a larger range of heroes in the action movie genre than you might at first imagine. These include the anti-hero (MAD MAX, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK); the rogue hero (LETHAL WEAPON, DIRTY HARRY, TOP GUN, and the recent sequel TOP GUN: MAVERICK); the comedy/trickster hero (BEVERLY HILLS COP, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN); and the travelling angel hero (THE EQUALIZER, FISTFUL OF DOLLARS). The lecture suggests that John McClane is a rich combination of all these different types of hero, which in part explains his iconic appeal. Another issue is the justification for what the hero does, which in screenwriting is known as the ‘warrant for action’, meaning, in the context of an action movie, the use of violence as a justifiable force in the event of some sort of threat or attack. With regard to this point, the lecture looks at the issue of buildings being blown up in action movies following the events of 9/11. The talk points out that the genre, perhaps wanting to avoid the politics and ramifications of actual real-life terrorism, turned to sci-fi and alien invasions as the primary warrant for action. That said, contemporary social and political undertones can still be found in the action movie, notably in WAR OF THE WORLDS and INDEPENDENCE DAY. The lecture next examines the ‘arena of conflict’ in an action movie, meaning both the setting and the nature of the forces of antagonism. Some action movies involve a moving arena (RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, STAR WARS); in others, the arena is completely enclosed and sometimes contracting (AIRPORT, TOWERING INFERNO, POSEIDON ADVENTURE). Similarly, the forces of antagonism can be singular (THE TERMINATOR, PREDATOR) or multiple (THE MATRIX). DIE HARD, the lecture points out, has a changing arena, but also one that is enclosed. And again, the psychology of the audience is addressed here, with special consideration of the fear of enclosed spaces and natural resistance to the unnatural experience of flying or diving. Then, there are the multiple forces of antagonism, where conflict comes not just from the gang and the building’s environment, but also from those who should be on your side – namely the FBI. The lecture then moves on to consider one of the most misunderstood aspects of the action genre, specifically the conflict of the forces of opposition. The talk argues that, in the action genre, the ‘protagonist’ is not necessarily the ‘hero’. Strictly speaking, the protagonist is the one with the initial action-plan, whereas it is the antagonist who comes up with the counter-action. In DIE HARD, the villain is, therefore, the ‘protagonist’ and the hero, John McClane, is the ‘antagonist’. And it is both the imaginative strategy of the protagonist-villain (it is a quite brilliant plan with a great twist) and the inventive countering of that plan by the antagonist-hero (“Now I have a machine gun. Ho-ho-ho!”) that give so much dramatic pleasure in the movie. Related to all this physical and psychological plotting is the fact that it is based on a comprehensive understanding of the principles and stratagems of warfare. One particular aspect worth mentioning here is the stratagem of jungle warfare. The film-makers knowingly created DIE HARD as a ‘jungle picture’, in the sense that the world of the urban building, unfinished and still under construction, often takes on the appearance of an obstacle-laden jungle environment. Next, the lecture traces the history of the action genre back to the early Westerns, but argues that the first recognisable ‘action movie’ was GUNGA DIN in 1939. The talk illustrates how, in the action genre, certain compulsory scenes have become a necessary feature. These include an initial non-violent confrontation between villain and hero, and later the perilous situation when the hero is at the mercy of the villain – with the reversal that the hero, through ingenuity, ultimately triumphs. Such scenes can be found in a whole array of action movies, including CON AIR, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, HEAT, TRUE LIES, JEWEL IN THE NILE, and, most notably, the 007 Bond franchise. There are also action movies such as BLADE RUNNER where the boundaries of hero and villain are somewhat blurred, resulting in scenes that are subverted and ambiguous. The final section of the talk anticipates the changes and developments that might be possible in the action movie genre in the future. More female ‘heroes’ of the action movie could emerge, encouraged by movies such as ALIEN and LARA CROFT. Satire and comedy may also become a means of developing the genre, as might animation. Despite the action movie being seen as violent, it is interesting to note the number of heroes in the genre who transcend or eschew violence, as seen in films like BLADE RUNNER, HACKSAW RIDGE, THE FUGITIVE, MULAN, PRINCESS BRIDE, and even STAR WARS. The irony of the action genre is that its future may lie in a value system where non-violence becomes the primary means of overcoming an initially violent action – or not, as the case may be. Steve Nallon offers a variety of talks on movie history, film genres, and cinematic techniques. Presentations are available for literary festivals, cultural societies, schools, colleges, libraries, museums, cruises, and film clubs. #SteveNallon #MovieTalks #FilmTalks #MovieGenres #ActionMovie #DieHard

𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐧'𝐬 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐌 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐒 Steve Nallon offers a variety of talks on movie history, film genres, and cinematic techniques. His specific lectures on film genre are ‘The Haunted House Movie’; ‘Film Noir’, ‘The Animation Movie’, ‘Destination Time Travel: A Journey in Film and Television’, ‘The Gangster Movie’, and ‘The Action Movie’. His talks on cinematic topics cover ‘Cinema About Cinema’, ‘Cinema About Television’, ‘Post-modernism’, and ‘The Hollywood Formula’. Presentations are available for literary festivals, cultural societies, schools, colleges, libraries, museums, cruises, and film clubs. For each of his genre talks, Steve takes a key film as a focal example to explore the nature of that particular movie genre or subject: ‘Film Noir’: WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT ‘The Haunted House Movie’: THE CHANGELING ‘Post-modernism’: WAYNE’S WORLD ‘The Animation Genre’: Disney’s HERCULES ‘Destination Time Travel: A Journey in Film and Television’: BACK TO THE FUTURE ‘The Gangster Movie’: THE GODFATHER Trilogy ‘Cinema About Cinema’: THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO ‘Cinema About Television’: PLEASANTVILLE ‘The Action Movie’: DIE HARD Each is very different, but all stories have a focus – and in essence, genre is about how that central theme or idea is visually and narratively expressed. The talks Steve offers are based on the lectures he wrote for the interdisciplinary module on Film Studies at the University of Birmingham and his published writings in books and periodicals such as THE NEW STATESMAN, CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES, SCRIPTWRITER, MUSICAL STAGES, and THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MUSIC. Steve’s time travel lecture is based on the keynote presentation he gave at the British Film Institute to introduce their ‘Destination Time Travel’ season. In recent years, Steve’s insights into these film genres and movie topics have proved very popular with cultural groups, societies, and festivals. His friendly and relaxed approach makes Steve’s lectures highly engaging, and his use of everyday language rather than academic jargon means his talks are always accessible to a wide audience. #SteveNallon #MovieTalks #FilmTalks #MovieGenres #ActionMovie #TimeTravelMovie #TheGodfather #DieHard #BacktotheFuture #Animation #FilmNoir #HauntedHouseMovie #GangsterMovie

Sadly not. Besides, I've just donated my old blue suit to a museum in Blackpool.

Halloween Greetings! Great evening of ghost story readings the other night at the Cartoon Museum. Lovely warm and appreciative audience. STEVE NALLON'S GHOST STORIES now on display at the Cartoon Museum shop and the collection is also available from Waterstones and Amazon. #Halloween2026

‘𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔊𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔠 𝔖𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔶 𝔚𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡: 𝔈𝔵𝔭𝔩𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔊𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔠 𝔗𝔯𝔞𝔡𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔞𝔫𝔡 ℑ𝔱𝔰 𝔏𝔢𝔤𝔞𝔠𝔶’ Steve Nallon’s talk ‘The Gothic Story World: Exploring the Gothic Tradition and Its Legacy’ considers the rise of the Gothic, its settings, motifs, tropes, recurring character archetypes, themes, and philosophy. The Age of Reason gave rise to science and rationality, yet this same era also saw the burgeoning of the supernatural Gothic in both literature and art. ‘Why so?’ asks the talk. Was it an emotional pushback, the appeal of the sublime aesthetic of ‘delightful horror’ as set out by Edmund Burke, or simply that what appears unfathomable always leaves open the possibility of the supernatural? The talk then delves into the specific story tropes and characters of the Gothic tale, including ancestral curses, the persecuted heroine, incarceration, hauntings, revenge, dark secrets, dreams, madness, abusive male power, the stylistic use of heightened prose, coded language, and symbols. Here paintings by Goya, Blake, and Doré are offered as visual illustrations of Gothic iconography and the philosophy behind ‘The Sleep of Reason’. Both classic and modern tales are discussed, including Horace Walpole’s THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO, Robert Louis Stevenson’s THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE, Angela Carter’s THE BLOODY CHAMBER, Bram Stoker’s DRACULA, and Charles Dickens’s GREAT EXPECTATIONS. The presentation concludes by looking at Gothic subgenres such as American Gothic, Urban Gothic, Spoof Gothic, and Fairy Tale Gothic, plus how Gothic motifs and iconography are now embedded in popular culture, ranging from Goth fashion and lifestyle, to the design of the space vessel ‘Nostromo’ in the movie ALIEN, as well as its representation in SCOOBY-DOO cartoons, the HARRY POTTER novels and pretty much every Tim Burton movie. Steve Nallon offers a variety of ghost story talks on the supernatural storytelling tradition. Presentations are available for literary festivals, horror conventions, cultural societies, schools, colleges, libraries, museums, cruises, and film clubs. #GhostStories #Gothic #SteveNallonGhostStories #HauntedHouses #Hauntings #HorrorMovies #GhostMovies #GothicHorror #GothicLiterature #Spooks #RattlingChains #SteveNallon #HarryPotter #Shudder

‘𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 – 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐄𝐠𝐲𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐂𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐚’ Steve Nallon’s ‘The Strange and Haunting History of the Ghost Story – From Ancient Egypt to Modern Cinema’ talk explores the ghost tale, its history, themes, plots and characters, as well as its literary tradition and development, with special emphasis on the way supernatural stories across the eras have reflected society’s ever-changing cultural attitudes and concerns. Steve begins with the rituals of age-old burial traditions and how they suggest a developing belief in a soul and afterlife. He then looks at some early ghost tales, including the necromancer in the BOOK OF SAMUEL, Odysseus’s visit to the underworld in Homer’s ODYSSEY, a yarn in a letter of Pliny the Younger concerning a spectre rattling chains, and what’s believed to be the earliest written ghost tale, discovered on ancient Egyptian pottery. Following on from this, there’s the when, where, why and who of the ghost story: the ‘when’ being the times in the year ghosts are believed to be most active (Halloween, Christmas Eve); the ‘where’, the places ghosts are often encountered (crossroads, rivers, castles); the ‘why’, the reasons ghosts return from the dead (revenge, abduction, unfinished business); and the ‘who’, the fascinating range of spooks that populate the ghost tale (‘stranded’, ‘omen’, ‘siren’). The corporeal nature or otherwise of spectres is then discussed, including revenant, invisible and shadow ghosts. Traditionally, nervous women, people near to death, sexually ambiguous men, and animals such as dogs, cats and horses have all been thought to be the most receptive ghost seers, so they are also included in Steve’s presentation. Next, the talk considers the role of ghosts in Elizabethan drama (Shakespeare’s HAMLET and MACBETH) and early prose fiction (Defoe’s THE APPARITION OF MRS VEAL). A key date in the development of the spook tale was the publication in 1764 of the Gothic romance THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO by Horace Walpole. Other sensationalist tales soon followed, leading us into the Golden Age of supernatural fiction during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The most prominent theme of the ghost tale is arguably the way the past impinges on the present, and the talk explores how this expresses itself in stories of grief and loneliness, but also as a quest for justice, reparation, and redemption. The talk considers as well the way the ghost story has been used to explore societal concerns and psychological insecurities. There’s then an exploration of the main exponents of the literary tradition, notably M.R. James, E.F. Benson, Sheridan Le Fanu, and more recently writers such as Shirley Jackson, Sarah Waters, and Stephen King. To bring us right up to date, we turn to ghost stories and hauntings in modern cinema (THE OTHERS, THE SIXTH SENSE, THE ORPHANAGE) and the recent explosion of supernatural tales on television (STRANGER THINGS, PENNY DREADFUL, AMERICAN HORROR STORY). The talk then concludes by asking, ‘Why this sudden popularity of otherworldliness, and what does it tell us about our predominantly secular age?’ Steve Nallon offers a variety of ghost story talks on the supernatural storytelling tradition. Presentations are available for literary festivals, horror conventions, cultural societies, schools, colleges, libraries, museums, cruises, and film clubs. #GhostStories #Gothic #SteveNallonGhostStories #HauntedHouses #Hauntings #HorrorMovies #GhostMovies #MRJames #Spooks #RattlingChains #SteveNallon #EFBenson #SheridanLeFanu #ShirleyJackson #SarahWaters #StephenKing

‘𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑼𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑫 𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑺𝑬 𝑴𝑶𝑽𝑰𝑬’ Steve Nallon’s talk ‘The Haunted House Movie’ explores the origins of the genre, its tropes, motifs, cinematic techniques, scenarios, and recurring character archetypes. Ghost movies have been around since the early days of cinema, but the foundations of what we know as the haunted house genre can arguably be traced back to THE UNINVITED (1944). This seminal movie has many of the story beats now familiar to the genre – such as the warning not to buy the house, a past injustice impinging on the present, and the inevitable séance scene – as well as visual and sensory tropes, including the onset of an eerie coldness or strange smell, a hissing cat, candles being blown out, and a nearby creepy tree. And many of these tropes and happenings can be found in ghost movies that followed, such as THE CHANGELING (1980), THE ORPHANAGE (2007), STIR OF ECHOES (1999), and WHAT LIES BENEATH (2000). In the haunted house genre, rooms and spaces such as attics, staircases, corridors, cellars, and bathrooms tend to have specific dramatic functions, and so the talk considers each of these in turn. There’s also a look at the concept of the 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖 genius loci and the idea that the dwelling itself is a malevolent magnetic force. Arguably the most important aspect of any haunted house is that it is a haunted ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒, for a major theme of the genre is the family under threat. Here, Steve considers the way the maternal figure is usually the most protective and watchful character (THE OTHERS, STARVE ACRE, THE BABADOOK, THE INNOCENTS), whereas the paternal figure is often a disruptive force (THE SHINING, SINISTER, BURNT OFFERINGS). Following on from this, there’s an exploration of story craft, particularly the importance of time and place, along with the many specific story beats and tropes you’d expect to find in a haunted narrative. Next, there’s a look at cinematic techniques such as lighting and shadows, camera placement, the use of the ‘Dutch tilt’, and the camera effect known as the ‘trombone shot’. In storytelling there’s the well-known adage ‘Show, Don’t Tell’, but often the portrayal of the physical nature of the ghostly presence in haunted house movies is more ‘Suggest, Don’t Show’, especially in psychological horror. This section of Steve’s lecture also takes a look at the nature of the jump scare (or ‘startle-reflex’, as psychologists prefer to call it) and the various methods used to achieve this, including a detailed analysis of some of the shockers that James Wan uses in THE CONJURING. Much of this section of the presentation is concerned with what you might call cinematic style, which Steve defines as “the manner in which a movie maker expresses their distinct creative vision through mood, tone, and pace, with the aim of shaping how an audience will experience the story as it’s being presented.” But can a movie have too much style? Being distinct is fine, but many critics have argued that, for some directors, style often takes precedence over substance and that their movies become ‘showy’. Detractors say their films may work well enough as mechanical frighteners but are ultimately clinical and emotionally vacuous. Steve argues that it’s a matter of balance. However, it is always worth repeating the old adage, ‘It’s not about the shot, but what the shot’s about.’ In other words, cinematic style and technique are pointless if their purpose doesn’t serve the narrative. To conclude the talk, Steve reflects on the psychological nature of the spook writer, where ideas come from, how the haunted house movie has developed in recent years, and the future direction of the genre. Steve Nallon offers a variety of ghost story talks on the supernatural storytelling tradition. Presentations are available for literary festivals, horror conventions, cultural societies, schools, colleges, libraries, museums, cruises, and film clubs. #GhostStories #Gothic #SteveNallonGhostStories #HauntedHouses #Hauntings #HorrorMovies #GhostMovies #GothicHorror #GothicLiterature #Spooks #RattlingChains #SteveNallon #TheConjuring #JamesWan

Great interactive creative workshop with Year 7. Came up with a mystery story 🕵️‍♀️

‘𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝑸𝒖𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑻𝒂𝒍𝒆 (𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑰𝒕)’ Shamans and mystics across history have often been associated with those said to be of ‘Two-Spirits’ – in other words, people who do not conform to strict definitions of sexual and gender identities. That it’s ‘the queer’ who is sensitive to the presence of ghosts goes way back to Reginald Scot’s THE DISCOVERY OF WITCHCRAFT (1584), where the seeing of spirits proceeds “from a cowardly nature and complexion, or from an effeminate and fond bringing up”. The talk therefore asks ‘What exactly is at the heart of this symbiotic connection?’ Applying today’s sexual categories to folk long dead is a contentious issue. That said, there have been numerous writers over the centuries who did not conform to sexual norms – and many penned unnerving tales and yarns. And it’s in this context that the talk considers the lives and works of Horace Walpole (THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO), Mary Shelley (FRANKENSTEIN), Matthew Lewis (THE MONK), John Polidori (THE VAMPYRE), Oscar Wilde (A PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY), Henry James (THE TURN OF THE SCREW), M.R. James (GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY), and E.F. Benson (NIGHT TERRORS), as well as more contemporary authors such as Sarah Waters (THE LITTLE STRANGER) and Shirley Jackson (THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE). To bring us right up to date, there is a review of some of the queer supernatural tales that one can find in modern cinema, including ALL OF US STRANGERS, THE SERPENT’S SKIN, I SAW THE TV GLOW, JENNIFER’S BODY, TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA, MARRY MY DEAD BODY, HELLRAISER, and LEVITICUS, not forgetting the plethora of lesbian vampire movies from the Universal and Hammer era to the current day. So, why do strange tales often attract a queer audience? Is it sympathy for the outsider, the transgressional thrill of horror, a sense of otherness, or simply the glories of excess and high camp? The talk concludes by inviting those present to share their favourite spooky queer tales. My own are E.F. Benson’s THE MAN WHO WENT TOO FAR, James Whale’s movie BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, and the now classic A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET II: FREDDY’S REVENGE. Steve Nallon offers a variety of ghost story talks on the supernatural storytelling tradition. Presentations are available for literary festivals, horror conventions, cultural societies, schools, colleges, libraries, museums, cruises, and film clubs.

While researching my talk ‘𝔗𝖍𝔢 𝔊𝖔𝔱𝖍𝔦𝖈 𝕾𝔱𝖔𝔯𝖞 𝖂𝔬𝖗𝔩𝖉: 𝔈𝖝𝔭𝖑𝔬𝖗𝔦𝖓𝔤 𝔱𝖍𝔢 𝔊𝖔𝔱𝖍𝔦𝖈 𝕿𝔯𝖆𝔡𝖎𝔱𝖎𝔬𝖓 𝖆𝔫𝖉 𝕴𝔱𝖘 𝕷𝔢𝖌𝔞𝖈𝔶’, I put together a list of some of the tropes, characters, plot scenarios, settings, themes, motifs, idioms, stylistic choices and literary techniques that you might associate with or expect to find in a Gothic tale across a variety of genres, forms and media... it’s quite long! A creepy and furtive atmosphere; curses; a family secret; occultism; cobwebs and spiders; melancholia; weird and wondrous dreams; madness and hysteria; a dark nobleman or Byronic figure; vengeance; suspense and foreshadowing; a forbidden woman or 𝑓𝑒𝑚𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑒; egregious sin; hierarchical class structure; hidden treasure; werewolves; attics and cellars; word choices that emphasise guttural sounds and sibilance; psychological damage as a result of past trauma; evil murderers; graphic visceral violence; a beast half-human half-animal; masculine muscular strength; a damsel in distress or persecuted heroine; the power of the elements (fire, water, earth and air); inclement weather (storms, winds, lightning, fog, ice); locked doors; wine and beer barrels; a bedridden invalid; an enchanted mirror; startled and rearing horses; mummification; a haunted portrait; loss of rationality and the ‘sleep of reason’; a narrative framing device or story within a a story (for example, the finding of an old manuscript or the recounting of a life history); libido verses repression; strange creatures or monsters; Catholic iconography; garlic hanging from beams in taverns; coachmen who won’t go further than the crossroads; a full moon; a woman screaming; a woman fainting; sleepwalking; dungeons, chains and torture; decay; a subterranean world; armour, helmets, shields and heraldic flags; an east European setting; entrapment, imprisonment, and incarceration; use of symbolism; the burning of human flesh; isolation and seclusion; nervous innkeepers; stuffed animals with wide mouths and threatening teeth; science against the will of God; four-poster beds; candle light; masks and cloaks; devils, demons and goblins; hangings, executions, decapitations and dismemberment; whippings, lashings and bloody lacerations; morphine or opium habit; recovered memories; use widow’s weeds and black lace veils; visual juxtaposition of natural beauty with human depravity; immured nuns in convents; church bells; ropes and bondage; psychological manipulation intended to make another person doubt their memory or sanity (‘gaslighting’); sable black; exotic foreignness; medieval architecture, emblems and aesthetics; gravediggers; dreams that invade reality; a purifying fire; crooked trees and branches; piercing eyes; a claim the narrative is based on an authentic document; witchcraft; a bargain with the Devil; inebriety; folklore, superstition and pagan rites; hypnotism and mesmeric power over others; blind obsession; poisonings; a family in decline; interweaving of desire and dread; tyranny and despotic rule; injustice; decadent nobility and the trappings of extreme wealth; seduction, lust and sexual depravity; a ruinous landscape; a young pure-of-heart hero who loses his naive innocence; warnings and interdictions; jailers; ambiguous shadows; apparitions; death; a mute; physical deformity; capture and escape; ancient castles; 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑙; flimsy nightdresses; human sacrifice; ghouls (flesh-eating creatures); gargoyles; nocturnal fears; 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑘 (often called 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛 or 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑢𝑒𝑟-𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑘𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 meaning ‘dark romanticism’); voyeurism; tall and threatening towers; the uncovering of a past crime; susurrating leaves; birds of the Corvidae family, especially ravens, crows and jays; Carpathian mountains; ghosts; servants unwilling to intervene in wrongdoing; ancestral wickedness and the sins of the father; labyrinths, mazes and tunnels; a sense of a prior evil in a malevolent dwelling; the supernatural; fearful nightmares; omens; sublime terror; corpses and skeletons; red wine; smug aristocrats preying upon the weak; women as property; loners, recluses, outsiders and outcasts; morbidity; the discovery and awakening of sexual desire; churches and abbeys; graveyards, crypts and tombs; liminal places (marshes, caves, moors, rivers); gaunt, bloodless faces; ‘sublime terror’, the aesthetic sense of awe and insignificance when confronting the power and vastness of nature; ‘cosmic horror’, the sense of fear of an indifferent universe ruled by uncaring ancient entities; subjugation of the flesh; thresholds of transition (passageways, corridors, staircases, drawbridges); angry mob with pitchforks and shovels; transgression of sexuality, morality and the natural order; breakdown of boundaries and barriers (life:death, human:animal, reason:madness); a story set in the past; whores; bigotry; ‘resurrection men’ (grave and body snatchers); the narrative as allegory; good against evil; nudity; crumbling stonework and bricks; animal savagery (wild dogs, rats, snakes, bats); monks, priests and nuns; a ‘golem’, the creature of Jewish folklore made from clay; buildings of angular menace; sadism, cruelty, mockery and humiliation; the uncanny, the grotesque and the fantastic; burials, hearses and funerals; the literary use of the pathetic fallacy; eyes gorged out or pressed in with thumbs; owls hooting in trees; rape and incest; the ‘unknowable truth’, the horror that comes from discovering realities the human brain is not built to understand; sensationalism; a feeling of being frozen in time; inversions, doppelgängers, duality and visual echoes; expressionistic imagery... and the list could even go on. Steve Nallon offers a variety of ghost story talks on the supernatural story tradition, including ‘The Strange and Haunting History of the Ghost Story – From Ancient Egypt to Modern Cinema’, ‘The Gothic Story World: Exploring the Gothic Tradition and Its Legacy’, ‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL: Exploring Charles Dickens’s Classic Tale of Time’, ‘The Very Queer World of the Spook Tale (and Those Who Tell It)’, and ‘The Haunted House Movie’. #GhostStories #Gothic #SteveNallonGhostStories #DiabloicalHorror #HorrorTok #HorrorTales #GhostTales #HorrorMovies #HorrorFilms #HammerHorror #HorrorWriters #FantasyWriters #SteveNallon #BookTok #ModernGothic #GothicHorror #GothicLiterature #MRJames #Shudder #RueMorgue #HorrorConventions #CharlesDickens #Spooks #Necromancer #Hades #RattlingChains #Halloween #ChristmasEve #StrandedGhost

‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL: Exploring Charles Dickens’s Classic Tale of Time’ Steve Nallon offers a variety of ghost story talks on the supernatural storytelling tradition. Presentations are available for literary festivals, horror conventions, cultural societies, libraries, museums, cruises, and film clubs. A CHRISTMAS CAROL has a fascinating history, and Steve Nallon’s talk delves into how this ‘Ghostly little book’, as Dickens called it, became such an immediate success and why it remains a beloved seasonal favourite to this day. Dickens’s novella first arrived in Victorian bookshops in December 1843. The decade was known as ‘The Hungry Forties’, so Steve’s talk begins with the challenging social and financial problems of the era. Each leading player of the tale is then considered, with particular focus on how visual imagery and metaphor give vitality to Dickens’s characters. Next, the talk explores the role of ‘fancy’ and how Scrooge must change his very way of thinking in order to become his new self, and, following on from that,the themes of memory and time. Life as a prison is one of the story’s underlying metaphors, so there’s a look at how Dickens uses the concept of incarceration in the story. There’s an examination, too, of the many other Gothic motifs and tropes that feature in the tale. Dickens’s narrative style is often described as ‘cinematic’. Steve explores what this means, offers examples, and puts forward the theory that many of the visual techniques that Dickens makes use of in his writing – such as suddenly jumping from one scene to another or the alteration in form and size of the spectres – come from his passion for magic lantern and phantasmagoria shows. Dickens may not have been a church-going man, yet his social Christian ethics are reflected and embedded in his tale. Steve considers these, as well as the narrative purpose of the many biblical references that can be found throughout the tale. Supernatural storytelling in winter has ancient folklore roots, but it is fair to say that Dickens popularised the annual Christmas tale for the growing urban readership of his day. The talk therefore considers some of Dickens’s other Yuletide stories, and indeed the whole tradition of the ghost story at Christmas. Steve also looks at some of the popular film and television adaptations of A CHRISTMAS CAROL and the way each interpretation reflects the concerns of the times in which they were made. The aim of the talk is to inspire as well as inform and so if people attending the lecturer have a better understanding of what Scrooge means when he says, “I shall live in the Past, Present and Future,” then its central purpose will have been achieved. And as Tiny Tim said, “God Bless Us, Every One!” Steve Nallon's own supernatural collection of tales, STEVE NALLON’S GHOST STORIES, has received five star reviews – “Don’t be fooled by the cover... beneath that surface is a mind that inhabits the catacombs of hell” STARBURST, “Spooktastic” THE SUNDAY POST, “Something no horror fan, lover of ghost stories, film buff, or slasher aficionado, should miss” CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES, “Nallon is a multifaceted writer with great powers of invention and almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of his favourite genre” SF-CROWSNEST. #GhostStories #AChristmasCarol #Gothic #SteveNallon #SteveNallonGhostStories #HorrorTok #BookTok #GothicHorror #GothicLiterature #Shudder #RueMorgue #CharlesDickens #Spooks #RattlingChains #ChristmasEve #Scrooge

Ronnie le Drew. Quite simply the loveliest man in the world. But today he's gone and the world is all the sadder. The brightest of smiles. The friendliest of laughs. The warmest of souls. My friend, you're with the rainbows now... Much love xxx