Dr Sam Hirst
@romgothsam.bsky.social
Cat sitter. Gothic lit and theology. Gothic romance. Queer Gothic. Runs 'Romancing the Gothic'.
Pinned
Dr Sam Hirst
@romgothsam.bsky.social
· Jan 23
a close up of a man 's face with the word woo written below him
Alt: Nicholas Cage screaming WOO!
media.tenor.com
Job Application Update Thread 2025 - now on Bluesky!
For those who are new, I do one of these every year, to keep track of my applications.
Let's go!
For those who are new, I do one of these every year, to keep track of my applications.
Let's go!
Reposted by Dr Sam Hirst
Are you a PhD student & interested in using museum collections in your teaching or research?
We're running a *free* doctoral training programme for students at any institution to learn about working with collections.
Find out more:
collections.reading.ac.uk/whats-on/
We're running a *free* doctoral training programme for students at any institution to learn about working with collections.
Find out more:
collections.reading.ac.uk/whats-on/
November 25, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Are you a PhD student & interested in using museum collections in your teaching or research?
We're running a *free* doctoral training programme for students at any institution to learn about working with collections.
Find out more:
collections.reading.ac.uk/whats-on/
We're running a *free* doctoral training programme for students at any institution to learn about working with collections.
Find out more:
collections.reading.ac.uk/whats-on/
Reposted by Dr Sam Hirst
I can’t say enough how fantastic the programme staff are at the Visiting Scholars Programme @bodleian.ox.ac.uk. If you don’t know about this wonderful programme, read more here: www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowsh...
🚨 Deadline is this Friday 30 Nov, still time to apply.
🚨 Deadline is this Friday 30 Nov, still time to apply.
Bodleian Visiting Fellowships in Special Collections
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
November 24, 2025 at 10:44 AM
I can’t say enough how fantastic the programme staff are at the Visiting Scholars Programme @bodleian.ox.ac.uk. If you don’t know about this wonderful programme, read more here: www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowsh...
🚨 Deadline is this Friday 30 Nov, still time to apply.
🚨 Deadline is this Friday 30 Nov, still time to apply.
I've just added a few more talks to the Romancing the Gothic world map. If you'd like to explore horror, the Gothic, the supernatural, folklore and more in talks with experts from around the world... this is the resource for you!
padlet.com/hollyhirst84...
padlet.com/hollyhirst84...
Romancing the Gothic World Tour
Made with Padlet
padlet.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:15 PM
I've just added a few more talks to the Romancing the Gothic world map. If you'd like to explore horror, the Gothic, the supernatural, folklore and more in talks with experts from around the world... this is the resource for you!
padlet.com/hollyhirst84...
padlet.com/hollyhirst84...
If you're interested in folklore, Romancing the Gothic has talks on folklore in lots of countries: from Scotland, Ireland and England to Appalachia, Hawaii, Pakistan, India and more!
Check out our playlist
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8nz...
Check out our playlist
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8nz...
Northern Folklore - Icy Sedgwick
YouTube video by Romancing the Gothic
www.youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:10 PM
If you're interested in folklore, Romancing the Gothic has talks on folklore in lots of countries: from Scotland, Ireland and England to Appalachia, Hawaii, Pakistan, India and more!
Check out our playlist
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8nz...
Check out our playlist
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8nz...
This was such a great talk exploring Bengali Folklore and modern iterations in movies.
Really engaging and well worth a watch.
If it's not a topic you know about, this is a great introduction!
If you already know about it, this offers a fascinating exploration of some modern reimaginings.
Really engaging and well worth a watch.
If it's not a topic you know about, this is a great introduction!
If you already know about it, this offers a fascinating exploration of some modern reimaginings.
If you missed this week's Romancing the Gothic talk, you can catch it here.
It was an absolutely fantastic exploration. Highly recommended.
youtu.be/bgmV4Sz1AC8
It was an absolutely fantastic exploration. Highly recommended.
youtu.be/bgmV4Sz1AC8
‘Thakumar Jhuli’ – The Ghost Stories of Bengali Folklore with Arya Ray
YouTube video by Romancing the Gothic
youtu.be
November 25, 2025 at 11:56 AM
This was such a great talk exploring Bengali Folklore and modern iterations in movies.
Really engaging and well worth a watch.
If it's not a topic you know about, this is a great introduction!
If you already know about it, this offers a fascinating exploration of some modern reimaginings.
Really engaging and well worth a watch.
If it's not a topic you know about, this is a great introduction!
If you already know about it, this offers a fascinating exploration of some modern reimaginings.
Reposted by Dr Sam Hirst
Frankenstein is the story of a lonely sea captain who hears such a great story that he decides not to kill his entire crew in the arctic.
November 25, 2025 at 4:59 AM
Frankenstein is the story of a lonely sea captain who hears such a great story that he decides not to kill his entire crew in the arctic.
What are your favourite biographical Bronte reads?
46) The Brontes: A Life in Letters by Juliet Barker
This is an enjoyable, and often moving, read which offers a basic biography of the Bronte siblings using letters to, from and about them. Definitely worth a read and a good introduction for those starting their Bronte explorations!
This is an enjoyable, and often moving, read which offers a basic biography of the Bronte siblings using letters to, from and about them. Definitely worth a read and a good introduction for those starting their Bronte explorations!
November 25, 2025 at 4:17 AM
What are your favourite biographical Bronte reads?
Reposted by Dr Sam Hirst
If you missed this week's Romancing the Gothic talk, you can catch it here.
It was an absolutely fantastic exploration. Highly recommended.
youtu.be/bgmV4Sz1AC8
It was an absolutely fantastic exploration. Highly recommended.
youtu.be/bgmV4Sz1AC8
‘Thakumar Jhuli’ – The Ghost Stories of Bengali Folklore with Arya Ray
YouTube video by Romancing the Gothic
youtu.be
November 24, 2025 at 3:15 PM
If you missed this week's Romancing the Gothic talk, you can catch it here.
It was an absolutely fantastic exploration. Highly recommended.
youtu.be/bgmV4Sz1AC8
It was an absolutely fantastic exploration. Highly recommended.
youtu.be/bgmV4Sz1AC8
Reposted by Dr Sam Hirst
This Saturday at 8pm via Zoom is our next online lecture
Rich Blackett, @ofwolfandmanbook.bsky.social will be discussing werewolves in folklore and myth, from early wolf cults to today
Tickets are £5 and include video replay access if you can’t be there live
Order now at bit.ly/flaevents
Rich Blackett, @ofwolfandmanbook.bsky.social will be discussing werewolves in folklore and myth, from early wolf cults to today
Tickets are £5 and include video replay access if you can’t be there live
Order now at bit.ly/flaevents
November 24, 2025 at 2:08 PM
This Saturday at 8pm via Zoom is our next online lecture
Rich Blackett, @ofwolfandmanbook.bsky.social will be discussing werewolves in folklore and myth, from early wolf cults to today
Tickets are £5 and include video replay access if you can’t be there live
Order now at bit.ly/flaevents
Rich Blackett, @ofwolfandmanbook.bsky.social will be discussing werewolves in folklore and myth, from early wolf cults to today
Tickets are £5 and include video replay access if you can’t be there live
Order now at bit.ly/flaevents
If you missed this week's Romancing the Gothic talk, you can catch it here.
It was an absolutely fantastic exploration. Highly recommended.
youtu.be/bgmV4Sz1AC8
It was an absolutely fantastic exploration. Highly recommended.
youtu.be/bgmV4Sz1AC8
‘Thakumar Jhuli’ – The Ghost Stories of Bengali Folklore with Arya Ray
YouTube video by Romancing the Gothic
youtu.be
November 24, 2025 at 3:15 PM
If you missed this week's Romancing the Gothic talk, you can catch it here.
It was an absolutely fantastic exploration. Highly recommended.
youtu.be/bgmV4Sz1AC8
It was an absolutely fantastic exploration. Highly recommended.
youtu.be/bgmV4Sz1AC8
Reposted by Dr Sam Hirst
This weekend's Romancing the Gothic Blast from the Past is Dr Tim Jones talking about the
Non-fiction Gothic: Vampires and Ghosts in the 1960s/70s
Dive in!
youtu.be/yiV7_E2Bgyw
Non-fiction Gothic: Vampires and Ghosts in the 1960s/70s
Dive in!
youtu.be/yiV7_E2Bgyw
The Non-Fiction Gothic: Ghosts and Vampires in the 60s and 70s with Dr Tim Jones
YouTube video by Romancing the Gothic
youtu.be
November 24, 2025 at 3:55 AM
This weekend's Romancing the Gothic Blast from the Past is Dr Tim Jones talking about the
Non-fiction Gothic: Vampires and Ghosts in the 1960s/70s
Dive in!
youtu.be/yiV7_E2Bgyw
Non-fiction Gothic: Vampires and Ghosts in the 1960s/70s
Dive in!
youtu.be/yiV7_E2Bgyw
This weekend's Romancing the Gothic Blast from the Past is Dr Tim Jones talking about the
Non-fiction Gothic: Vampires and Ghosts in the 1960s/70s
Dive in!
youtu.be/yiV7_E2Bgyw
Non-fiction Gothic: Vampires and Ghosts in the 1960s/70s
Dive in!
youtu.be/yiV7_E2Bgyw
The Non-Fiction Gothic: Ghosts and Vampires in the 60s and 70s with Dr Tim Jones
YouTube video by Romancing the Gothic
youtu.be
November 24, 2025 at 3:55 AM
This weekend's Romancing the Gothic Blast from the Past is Dr Tim Jones talking about the
Non-fiction Gothic: Vampires and Ghosts in the 1960s/70s
Dive in!
youtu.be/yiV7_E2Bgyw
Non-fiction Gothic: Vampires and Ghosts in the 1960s/70s
Dive in!
youtu.be/yiV7_E2Bgyw
I had to take a bit of a break, or slow down at least, for the inevitable exhaustion and weird sleep patterns following travel across continents. Back on the wagon next week... and then hopefully I can take some actual holiday as well. Imagine!
Week 3 Summary
I went on holiday to Canada this week so everything slowed down a bit!
5 articles
2 novels
2 chapbooks
I went on holiday to Canada this week so everything slowed down a bit!
5 articles
2 novels
2 chapbooks
November 24, 2025 at 3:42 AM
I had to take a bit of a break, or slow down at least, for the inevitable exhaustion and weird sleep patterns following travel across continents. Back on the wagon next week... and then hopefully I can take some actual holiday as well. Imagine!
This is one of those books that people get put off because of the title but it is such a great read! It's also consistently been one of my most successful recommendations. If you haven't read it, give it a go!
39) The Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg
This is always a great read and I'm very much looking forward to discussing it with my Gothic class on Tuesday!
This is always a great read and I'm very much looking forward to discussing it with my Gothic class on Tuesday!
November 23, 2025 at 11:04 PM
This is one of those books that people get put off because of the title but it is such a great read! It's also consistently been one of my most successful recommendations. If you haven't read it, give it a go!
Details of a women's writing online conference!
Looks interesting!
Looks interesting!
November 23, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Details of a women's writing online conference!
Looks interesting!
Looks interesting!
Reposted by Dr Sam Hirst
GenAI has polluted image search results, especially for animal pics. It’s now basically impossible to find accurate art references.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
Exotic Animal Photo Reference Repository
www.animal-photo-references.com
January 27, 2025 at 9:45 AM
GenAI has polluted image search results, especially for animal pics. It’s now basically impossible to find accurate art references.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
Reposted by Dr Sam Hirst
Officially asking now for author folks (and reader folks) to tell me about the new queer holiday romances coming out this year—I don’t know why I’m having trouble finding them this year, but I am.
Drop 'em here, please.
(Bonus if low-angst; also happy for sapphic—this is not just a dude zone).
Drop 'em here, please.
(Bonus if low-angst; also happy for sapphic—this is not just a dude zone).
November 23, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Officially asking now for author folks (and reader folks) to tell me about the new queer holiday romances coming out this year—I don’t know why I’m having trouble finding them this year, but I am.
Drop 'em here, please.
(Bonus if low-angst; also happy for sapphic—this is not just a dude zone).
Drop 'em here, please.
(Bonus if low-angst; also happy for sapphic—this is not just a dude zone).
Reposted by Dr Sam Hirst
It’s great to have them available. We have three readings, all gothic stories by Robert Louis Stevenson – “Thrawn Janet”, “The Tale of Tod Lapraik”, & “The Bottle Imp” – so we appreciate how difficult & time-consuming they are to do!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rylw...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rylw...
Robert Louis Stevenson's "Thrawn Janet"
YouTube video by ASL
www.youtube.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:40 PM
It’s great to have them available. We have three readings, all gothic stories by Robert Louis Stevenson – “Thrawn Janet”, “The Tale of Tod Lapraik”, & “The Bottle Imp” – so we appreciate how difficult & time-consuming they are to do!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rylw...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rylw...
Reposted by Dr Sam Hirst
Did anyone enjoy the stories I wrote for the AScareADay challenge in October? If so I rewrote the 4-part necromancy one a bit, and it's now a Ko-Fi exclusive short story.
#QueerAdultSFF #Fantasy #BookSky 🌈📚💙
ko-fi.com/s/095ae061d6
#QueerAdultSFF #Fantasy #BookSky 🌈📚💙
ko-fi.com/s/095ae061d6
Bone Puppets - CM Rosens's Ko-fi Shop
Dark Fantasy Short Story.
Two amateur necromancers decide to raise the most powerful necromancer of their world's history to defend their lands from...
ko-fi.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Did anyone enjoy the stories I wrote for the AScareADay challenge in October? If so I rewrote the 4-part necromancy one a bit, and it's now a Ko-Fi exclusive short story.
#QueerAdultSFF #Fantasy #BookSky 🌈📚💙
ko-fi.com/s/095ae061d6
#QueerAdultSFF #Fantasy #BookSky 🌈📚💙
ko-fi.com/s/095ae061d6
Reposted by Dr Sam Hirst
Thank you! And I see a playlist of eight Scottish gothic tales, too – with stories from James Hogg, Margaret Oliphant, Dorothy K. Haynes, J.M. Barrie, George MacDonald, John Buchan, Robert Louis Stevenson, & Walter Scott …
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Scottish Gothic Tales
YouTube video by Romancing the Gothic
www.youtube.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Thank you! And I see a playlist of eight Scottish gothic tales, too – with stories from James Hogg, Margaret Oliphant, Dorothy K. Haynes, J.M. Barrie, George MacDonald, John Buchan, Robert Louis Stevenson, & Walter Scott …
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Reposted by Dr Sam Hirst
I've had quite a lot of new people follow me this week so time for some Romancing the Gothic recs!
Romancing the Gothic runs free talks on all things Gothic, horror and the supernatural. We have a backlog of hundreds of classes!
Give me a topic you're interested in, and I'll see what we've got :)
Romancing the Gothic runs free talks on all things Gothic, horror and the supernatural. We have a backlog of hundreds of classes!
Give me a topic you're interested in, and I'll see what we've got :)
November 21, 2025 at 11:12 PM
I've had quite a lot of new people follow me this week so time for some Romancing the Gothic recs!
Romancing the Gothic runs free talks on all things Gothic, horror and the supernatural. We have a backlog of hundreds of classes!
Give me a topic you're interested in, and I'll see what we've got :)
Romancing the Gothic runs free talks on all things Gothic, horror and the supernatural. We have a backlog of hundreds of classes!
Give me a topic you're interested in, and I'll see what we've got :)
Wants some talks on Haunted Houses? We've got more haunted houses than you can shake a stick at - check out this thread!
We have a lot of talks on Haunted Houses!
This one is about Shirley Jackson and Haunted Houses and Finances
youtu.be/HeERGmwUdF8
This one is about Shirley Jackson and Haunted Houses and Finances
youtu.be/HeERGmwUdF8
Haunted Houses, Credit and Shirley Jackson with Amy Bride
YouTube video by Romancing the Gothic
youtu.be
November 22, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Wants some talks on Haunted Houses? We've got more haunted houses than you can shake a stick at - check out this thread!
Interested in exploring Malaysian horror? We've got three talks for you on different films, periods and types of horror!
We have three!
First up, Malay(sian) Cinema and Monstrosity in Munafik with Syazween Zainal
youtu.be/VVlUO2gl2GM
First up, Malay(sian) Cinema and Monstrosity in Munafik with Syazween Zainal
youtu.be/VVlUO2gl2GM
Malay(sian) Cinema and Malay Monstrosity: An Analysis of Munafik
YouTube video by Romancing the Gothic
youtu.be
November 22, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Interested in exploring Malaysian horror? We've got three talks for you on different films, periods and types of horror!
Looking for talks on Frankenstein and Medical History from an expert in the field? We've got you covered!
We don't have any queer Frankensteins (though we have upcoming talks!) but wendonhave medical history!
youtu.be/o7Dvip3yexM?...
youtu.be/o7Dvip3yexM?...
Cat Irving - Frankenstein and Medical Science
YouTube video by Romancing the Gothic
youtu.be
November 22, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Looking for talks on Frankenstein and Medical History from an expert in the field? We've got you covered!
I've been giving recs, so do go check out some of the talks or ask for your own topics!
We've got talks on things from medieval revenants to modern day horror!
We've got talks on things from medieval revenants to modern day horror!
I've had quite a lot of new people follow me this week so time for some Romancing the Gothic recs!
Romancing the Gothic runs free talks on all things Gothic, horror and the supernatural. We have a backlog of hundreds of classes!
Give me a topic you're interested in, and I'll see what we've got :)
Romancing the Gothic runs free talks on all things Gothic, horror and the supernatural. We have a backlog of hundreds of classes!
Give me a topic you're interested in, and I'll see what we've got :)
November 22, 2025 at 11:04 AM
I've been giving recs, so do go check out some of the talks or ask for your own topics!
We've got talks on things from medieval revenants to modern day horror!
We've got talks on things from medieval revenants to modern day horror!