Dr Meaghan Allen
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morbidmae.bsky.social
Dr Meaghan Allen
@morbidmae.bsky.social
60 followers 140 following 24 posts
Doctorate researching ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, blood & the (crypto)medieval | Medieval(ism) | History of Science & Medicine | History of Crime | House ghoul | damesmacabre.com
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morbidmae.bsky.social
Dr Meaghan Allen @morbidmae.bsky.social · Jul 4
Want to learn about how the modern is really #medieval? About how H.P. Lovecraft is connected to #BuffytheVampireSlayer and Aristotle?

CHECK OUT DAMES MACABRE!

open.spotify.com/episode/0Ulk...
Dear Listeners... Welcome to Dames Macabre
Dames Macabre · Episode
open.spotify.com
Reposted by Dr Meaghan Allen
kristofsmeyers.bsky.social
Hi everyone, I'm organising a conference in Leuven, 4-5 June, and you're all invited*! It's called 'Performing evil: the mediation and display of diabolic spectres 1700-2000' and here is the call for papers (get in touch if you'd like a pdf!). Please share widely!

*to submit an abstract before 21/3
CALL FOR PAPERS: PERFORMING EVIL: the mediation and display of diabolic spectres, 1700-2000'. 4 & 5 June 2026, Leuven. This conference explores the tangled histories of supernatural, diabolic evil and all kinds of spectral apparitions in the last three centuries – Walter Scott’s ‘malignant and unhappy beings’. Specifically, it is interested in how and why ghosts, spirits and related apparitional phenomena were framed as diabolic, demonic or malign manifestations from the afterlife. Diabolic connotations of ghosts and spirits did meaningful cultural work. They were mobilised to discredit ghost beliefs and spiritual practices, to delegitimise competing beliefs, or to invest doctrinal arguments with occult authority. They could also function as tools of scepticism and ridicule as well as triggers of wonder, fear and religiosity. Put differently, the nexus of ghosts and evil is deeply historical. And it was often articulated through performative means: in gestures and expressions of (dis)belief, in visual and textual representations, in séance rooms, on the stage and on the page. Emerging from this nexus are theatrical spirits of evil, staged, embodied, and made legible through mediation and display. In this sense, every ghost is a theatrical ghost. Through the focus on the construction and staging of diabolic spirits, this conference aims to develop a methodological framework for studying historical forms of occultism and demonology more broadly in terms of performance. Exploring how the relationship of spectrality and evil has shifted in shape over time and across different cultures, the conference invites contributions that can consider a wide range of historical actors – clerics, mediums, ghost-hunters, debunkers, necromancers, stage performers, eyewitnesses. This conference aims to study cultural intersections and interactions to arrive at a more granular understanding of discursive, practical and material connections between spirits and evil. At the same time this lens zooms out, making visible broader dynamics of knowledge construction in specific historical moments. How, for instance, did hauntings and possessions shape communities and audiences? How did religious or folkloric ideas about the devil inform spectral encounters? We hope to bring together historians, art historians, theatre and literary scholars, folklorists and anthropologists from every stage in their career around the above questions. We welcome 20-minute papers on topics that include but are by no means limited to: - making spectral evil visible: performance, arts, media, technologies, popular cultures - making spectral evil invisible: popular and occult knowledge circulation - performing (un)belief: practices and rhetoric, summoning and debunking on the stage (from popular stages to the lecture hall and the laboratory) - materiality of spectres: the function of bodies and objects - diabolic spirits and (intellectual, vernacular, theological, folkloric) ideas about morality, mortality and temporality - occult performance and ‘cultural scripts’ of ghost encounters (from necromancy to poltergeists) - affect and emotions: fear, grief, trauma… and hope Send abstracts (c.250 words) and bios (c.100 words) to kristof.smeyers@kuleuven.be before 21 March 2026. Please do get in touch if you have any questions.
January 27, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Dr Meaghan Allen
romgothsam.bsky.social
I'm running a popular romance course at the University of Liverpool... but only if enough people sign up!

Come and join us!

www.liverpool.ac.uk/continuing-e...
A poster for 'Falling in Love with Love: A History of Popular Romance: An Online Course' including front covers from the following books: Fantomina by Eliza Haywood, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, The Sheik by E M Hull, The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer, Tabitha in Moonlight by Betty Neels, Indigo by Beverley Jenkins, Hen Fever by Olivia Waite, The Isle of the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri
January 13, 2026 at 10:33 AM
Reposted by Dr Meaghan Allen
audrelawdamercy.bsky.social
semi-regular reminder that ICE was only created in 2003

when you are asked to imagine a world without ICE, you're basically being asked to remember where you were when Lilo & Stitch came out
January 12, 2026 at 8:04 PM
morbidmae.bsky.social
Slowing returning to “reality” with @drjaninaramirez.bsky.social & a cheeky pint
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#medieval #history #saints #hagiography #academia #literature
January 3, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Reposted by Dr Meaghan Allen
ordergooddeath.bsky.social
Win an entire library on death, grief, and what it means to be human. Which book are you reading first?

Enter today by becoming a Tier 2 Order Member by December 19th: www.orderofthegooddeath.com/membership
*Must have a U.S. mailing address.
graphic featuring a painting of a woman holding a duster reading a book in a library graphic featuring book covers for over 35 books included in the giveaway
December 16, 2025 at 9:37 PM
morbidmae.bsky.social
Seminar for ‘History of Forensic Science & Medicine’ is about polygraphs & LFPEs today so naturally I’m showing a clip of Pedro Pascal’s @vanityfair.com interview. #forensics #history
November 26, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Reposted by Dr Meaghan Allen
manchesterup.bsky.social
Publishing today!

From village rituals and fairytales to UFOs and fanfiction, witches, wizards and wickermen, British folklore is a living tradition that continues on.

Available from all good bookshops and online now.
@cerihoulbrook.bsky.social
@odavies9.bsky.social
#folklore #booksky
Folklore front cover Folklore back cover
September 23, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Reposted by Dr Meaghan Allen
ctimmermann.bsky.social
I recommend this article, which provides an excellent introduction to the history both of the term autism and the ways in which the label has been applied to a changing set of human characteristics, in line with changing scientific and diagnostic approaches.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
How autism became autism - Bonnie Evans, 2013
This article argues that the meaning of the word ‘autism’ experienced a radical shift in the early 1960s in Britain which was contemporaneous with a growth in e...
journals.sagepub.com
September 23, 2025 at 7:17 AM
Reposted by Dr Meaghan Allen
ctimmermann.bsky.social
Or read one of Dr Evans' journal articles on the issue - you can access a list of publications through this link.

research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/b...
Bonnie Evans
research.manchester.ac.uk
September 23, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Reposted by Dr Meaghan Allen
ctimmermann.bsky.social
Autism is back on the front pages. Why not read the book that my excellent @manchester.ac.uk @manchstm.bsky.social colleague Dr Bonnie Evans has published on the history of autism? It's open access and you can read it online for free.

www.manchesterhive.com/display/9781...
Cover of Dr Bonnie Evans' book The Metamorphosis of Autism: A History of Child Development in Britain (Manchester University Press, 2017)
September 23, 2025 at 7:09 AM
morbidmae.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/episode/3yXe...

New episode of Dames Macabre now live!!!

#buffythevampireslayer #podcast #history #medieval #culture #Gothic #vampire
Ep 7 - Hellmouth Metaphysics in 'Nightmares' and 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind'
Spotify video
open.spotify.com
August 22, 2025 at 9:08 AM
morbidmae.bsky.social
How can the divine exist in cyberspace? What even IS the divine?

Tune in to the newest episode of Dames Macabre to hear our insights & thoughts on Sunnydale’s resident “technopagan” Jenny Calendar (including her connections to early #medieval time reckoning).

#podcast #buffy #history #culture
August 15, 2025 at 10:20 AM
morbidmae.bsky.social
The Dames Macabre website is now live!!!
damesmacabre.com

#podcast #medieval #gothic #phdlife #history #literature #culture #buffy #vampire #darkacademia
DAMES MACABRE
Two PhDs obsessed with death, darkness, and cultural decay.
damesmacabre.com
July 23, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Reposted by Dr Meaghan Allen
ihr.bsky.social
Job alert! Come and join us for 12 months in our lovely @chppc.bsky.social team. We're seeking a fixed-term Lecturer in Historic Environment, who'll work on our projects, including research, publishing and digitisation. Closing date 29 August. Please share!
www.jobs.london.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Lecturer in Historic Environment:London Senate House
The University of London
www.jobs.london.ac.uk
July 21, 2025 at 10:00 AM
morbidmae.bsky.social
New episode of Dames Macabre with @alexcarabine.bsky.social has dropped discussing the #femmefatale in episodes ‘Witch’ & ‘Teachers Pet’!
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#Buffy #Buffythevampireslayer #gothic #medieval #vampire #podcast #history
July 17, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Reposted by Dr Meaghan Allen
drdragases.bsky.social
Stop using WeTransfer right now.
ramiismail.com Rami Ismail (رامي) @ramiismail.com · Jul 14
Bye forever, WeTransfer.
WeTransfer TOS says they can use all your uploaded content for genAI
July 15, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Reposted by Dr Meaghan Allen
hallierubenhold.bsky.social
People throw out treasure. I’m not going to say which library was throwing out this scrapbook of newspaper clippings from 1910-1911 DOCUMENTING THE ENTIRE CRIPPEN CASE, but it’s in the right hands now (mine). Literal archival material, including things I’d never seen before. #StoryofaMurder
July 11, 2025 at 9:51 AM
morbidmae.bsky.social
Please rate, review, and subscribe!

(And share with your friends, family, and peers!)
July 9, 2025 at 11:15 AM
morbidmae.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/show/0hpB1Wt...

New episodes on ‘Welcome to the (Medieval) Hellmouth’, Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’ (2025), and more!

#buffythevampireslayer #podcast #history #medievalages #gothic #horror #hellmouth #DamesMacabre #vampire #medievalism
Dames Macabre
Podcast · Dames Macabre · Two PhDs obsessed with death, darkness, and cultural decay here to discuss all things Medieval, Gothic, and down right spooky. . . Dr Alex Carabine website: literatureunlock...
open.spotify.com
July 9, 2025 at 11:14 AM
morbidmae.bsky.social
Want to learn about how the modern is really #medieval? About how H.P. Lovecraft is connected to #BuffytheVampireSlayer and Aristotle?

CHECK OUT DAMES MACABRE!

open.spotify.com/episode/0Ulk...
Dear Listeners... Welcome to Dames Macabre
Dames Macabre · Episode
open.spotify.com
July 4, 2025 at 12:04 PM
morbidmae.bsky.social
Wonderful presentation from Amanda Power on “sacrifice zones” at today’s NWMSN Annual Conference
June 13, 2025 at 2:32 PM
morbidmae.bsky.social
✨Slightly blurry phone screenshots of my first ever official business cards!!! Square format with rounded corners because why not? 🤷🏻‍♀️ ✨

#medieval #phd #historian #Buffy
June 11, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Reposted by Dr Meaghan Allen
manchesterup.bsky.social
Any Medievalists want a copy of the newest edition of Debating #Medieval Europe - The central and later Middle Ages - for... free?

Our DME books serve as an entry point for understanding the distinctive historiography of their periods.

Hit repost and we'll add you to the giveaway 📗👇 #booksky
June 10, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Reposted by Dr Meaghan Allen
manchesterup.bsky.social
We're excited to announce the launch of Foundations of Horror Studies, a brand new series from Manchester University Press.

This series explores key concepts, critical trends, and historical developments within global #HorrorStudies

Find out more ⬇️
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/series/found...
May 19, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Reposted by Dr Meaghan Allen
joshcoulthard.bsky.social
🎉 CFP for the annual NWMS Postgrad Symposium. To be held at Chetham’s Library Tuesday 5th August 2025. Open to any PG or ECR. Papers should speak to the theme of community but any paper with a medieval theme is welcome. Email title, ~200 abstract and short bio to [email protected] by 18th July 🎉
Call for papers for this year’s annual North West Medieval Studies Network Postgrad Symposium is now open. This years symposium will take place at Chetham’s Library on Tuesday 5th August 2025. All postgraduates and early career scholars are welcome to submit. We are especially interested in papers which speak to the theme of community but are open to any paper with a medieval or medievalism theme. To present email your title, a ~200 abstract and a short bio to nwmsreading@gmail.com by 18th July
May 2, 2025 at 8:14 AM