Monstrous manifestations: Realities and the Imaginings of the Monster

Book excerpt: This volume was first published by Inter-Disciplinary Press in 2013. Monstrous manifestations: Realities and Imaginings of the Monster presents an enlightening collection of inter-disciplinary research on the multifarious incarnations of the monster. Exploring the fears, hopes and concerns of contemporary and bygone times alike through the literary, cinematic, artistic, cultural and political metaphor of the monstrous, this volume will be of interest to both the expert and the amateur monster aficionado. Encompassing a variety of theoretical frameworks, Monstrous manifestations illuminates the monsters lurking in studies of gender, media and literature, as well as of religions and popular culture. Consorting with witches, vampires, shape-shifters, clones and hybrids, and acquainting with killers, deformed creatures and beings undefined, the authors daringly stalk the monsters coming out of their traditional lairs and colonising the new and constantly expanding social, cultural, psychological and political spaces, inviting the reader to journey with them as they venture into the monster’s terrain.