I love the NBC sitcom Community (2009-2015). I try not to suck out the joy by overthinking, but the copious references to Indiana Jones and an Anthropology course within the series that quickly goes off the rails are too much fun to ignore. What follows isn't an analysis of the series, but instead a thinly … Continue reading Looking below the surface of Community (2009-2015)
Category: Post Type
Gothic America
Keeping up with The Scholarly Literature is a wild academic fantasy, even for those with a neatly bounded subject area. When I was a kid I thought the expression "trying to shovel a waterfall" was hilarious. As I got older I realized it was a pretty good job description for interdisciplinary scholars. I can't keep … Continue reading Gothic America
Modern Mummies (2025)
At the beginning of the year, I noticed that Cat Eye Press was soliciting stories for a new collection. The theme was "modern mummies" and I have to admit that I was skeptical until I read the guidelines for authors. No racism, no colonial-tropes, no mindlessly rampaging villainous ancient Egyptian mummies. After that, I was … Continue reading Modern Mummies (2025)
Anthropology, Archaeology & Slashers
Happy Halloween! As I'm editing some posts for the spooky season, I realized I didn't yet have a brief introductory post to slasher films up yet! I'm not going to get into the weeds over what constitutes a slasher film here, instead using a broad definition that hinges on a killer or small group of … Continue reading Anthropology, Archaeology & Slashers
Hellebore
The 1st two issues of Hellebore, image by Maria J. Perez Cuervo. Issue 1 cover art: "Come Unto the Corn" by Paul Watson. Issue 2 cover art:" Who Chanced to Meet the Great God Pan" by the Occult Party art collaborative. Hellebore is a marvelous print zine which describes itself as "a collection of writings … Continue reading Hellebore
Archaeology & Folk Horror
Archaeology is a useful narrative device in the Horror genre for many reasons, and not just because of our propensity for uncorking ancient evil now and again. Academia is a natural fit for the sub-genre known broadly as Folk Horror because the intrusion of an outsider, which includes all manner of nosy folklorists, historians, cultural … Continue reading Archaeology & Folk Horror
Some Initial Thoughts on Archaeology in Horror Fiction & Films
Test post.
Book Review Essay: Elizabeth Hand’s Waking the Moon.
July was a misery. A global heatwave, strong earthquakes in California, fires in the American Southwest, and other signs of catastrophic climate change were all around. In DC, power outages and random violence were attributed to the miserable weather. Tourists listlessly thronged the museums while residents inched through endless construction between their mediocre-paying civil service … Continue reading Book Review Essay: Elizabeth Hand’s Waking the Moon.
Movie Watch: Alone in the Dark (2005)
Alone in the Dark is a 1982 horror movie starring Jack Palance, Donald Pleasence and Martin Landau.Unfortunately, that's not the movie we're watching. We're watching Alone in the Dark, a 2005 supernatural/archaeological horror movie starring Tara Reid, Christian Slater and Stephen Dorff. If that doesn't give you a sufficient idea of how terrible this movie … Continue reading Movie Watch: Alone in the Dark (2005)
excavatinghorror.com 