Derek Johnston
@drdjohnston.bsky.social
Media lecturer: UK TV history, telefantasy, historical dramas. At Queen’s University Belfast.
Pinned
Derek Johnston
@drdjohnston.bsky.social
· Mar 14
Nigel Kneale and Horror | Home
www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
And the cover for Nigel Kneale and Horror is now up on the @livunipress.bsky.social website! www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10.... @bronteschiltz.bsky.social @dianearodgers.bsky.social @davidcottis.bsky.social @mrgeetsromo.bsky.social
Reposted by Derek Johnston
hremn, m.n: raven. (H’REH-mun / ˈhrɛ-mən)
Image: Psalter of Isabelle of France; England (York), 1303-1308; Munich, @bsbmuenchen.bsky.social Cod.gall. 16, f. 52r.
#OldEnglish #WOTD
Image: Psalter of Isabelle of France; England (York), 1303-1308; Munich, @bsbmuenchen.bsky.social Cod.gall. 16, f. 52r.
#OldEnglish #WOTD
December 8, 2025 at 8:01 AM
hremn, m.n: raven. (H’REH-mun / ˈhrɛ-mən)
Image: Psalter of Isabelle of France; England (York), 1303-1308; Munich, @bsbmuenchen.bsky.social Cod.gall. 16, f. 52r.
#OldEnglish #WOTD
Image: Psalter of Isabelle of France; England (York), 1303-1308; Munich, @bsbmuenchen.bsky.social Cod.gall. 16, f. 52r.
#OldEnglish #WOTD
Reposted by Derek Johnston
The Wicker Man was released this week in December 1973.
Fifty years after the fictional date of the clifftop singalong sacrifice, we went to be the village pub band for a re-enactment, and I wrote this piece to try and capture a flavour of that moment.
open.substack.com/pub/joelmorr...
Fifty years after the fictional date of the clifftop singalong sacrifice, we went to be the village pub band for a re-enactment, and I wrote this piece to try and capture a flavour of that moment.
open.substack.com/pub/joelmorr...
"They will not fail..."
May Day, and the true meaning of folk.
open.substack.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:42 AM
The Wicker Man was released this week in December 1973.
Fifty years after the fictional date of the clifftop singalong sacrifice, we went to be the village pub band for a re-enactment, and I wrote this piece to try and capture a flavour of that moment.
open.substack.com/pub/joelmorr...
Fifty years after the fictional date of the clifftop singalong sacrifice, we went to be the village pub band for a re-enactment, and I wrote this piece to try and capture a flavour of that moment.
open.substack.com/pub/joelmorr...
Reposted by Derek Johnston
We sent round details of our next Adaptation SIG event - December 17th, 2-3pm. 'Adaptation and Remakes' featuring @drdjohnston.bsky.social and @rosemaryaj.bsky.social - if you haven't got the email and want to come along, DM us!
December 8, 2025 at 9:00 AM
We sent round details of our next Adaptation SIG event - December 17th, 2-3pm. 'Adaptation and Remakes' featuring @drdjohnston.bsky.social and @rosemaryaj.bsky.social - if you haven't got the email and want to come along, DM us!
Reposted by Derek Johnston
Horror Studies Now is a fantastic conference and with a Jan 30th deadline there is still plenty of time to get those abstracts in! Check it out #Horror scholars 👇 #HorrorSky
Reminder - Call for papers: HORROR STUDIES NOW, May 28/29 2026, Northumbria University
t.co/QK7DDTdeNb
t.co/QK7DDTdeNb
December 7, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Horror Studies Now is a fantastic conference and with a Jan 30th deadline there is still plenty of time to get those abstracts in! Check it out #Horror scholars 👇 #HorrorSky
My Memrise German class has just informed me (repeatedly) that “durchtrainiert” translates into English as “buffbuff”. Now I need to know what “buffbuff” translates into my English as …
(Yes, I can guess from the context that it’s something like “super buff”. But I felt like sharing.)
(Yes, I can guess from the context that it’s something like “super buff”. But I felt like sharing.)
December 7, 2025 at 3:36 PM
My Memrise German class has just informed me (repeatedly) that “durchtrainiert” translates into English as “buffbuff”. Now I need to know what “buffbuff” translates into my English as …
(Yes, I can guess from the context that it’s something like “super buff”. But I felt like sharing.)
(Yes, I can guess from the context that it’s something like “super buff”. But I felt like sharing.)
Reposted by Derek Johnston
This week's Romancing the Gothic 'Blast from the Past' is this talk introducting the Gothic author Sheridan Le Fanu (most famous, perhaps, as the author of 'Carmilla'!)
Want to know more about the author famous for his sapphic vampires?
Check it out!
youtu.be/HIwgqyuY1nA
Want to know more about the author famous for his sapphic vampires?
Check it out!
youtu.be/HIwgqyuY1nA
An Introduction to Sheridan Le Fanu with Sean O'Rourke
YouTube video by Romancing the Gothic
youtu.be
December 7, 2025 at 11:49 AM
This week's Romancing the Gothic 'Blast from the Past' is this talk introducting the Gothic author Sheridan Le Fanu (most famous, perhaps, as the author of 'Carmilla'!)
Want to know more about the author famous for his sapphic vampires?
Check it out!
youtu.be/HIwgqyuY1nA
Want to know more about the author famous for his sapphic vampires?
Check it out!
youtu.be/HIwgqyuY1nA
Reposted by Derek Johnston
Hello friends! Would you like to see the winter sun setting over the palace of Versailles? Thought so.
December 5, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Hello friends! Would you like to see the winter sun setting over the palace of Versailles? Thought so.
Reposted by Derek Johnston
Join the excellent @johnnymains.co.uk to launch his @britishlibrary.bsky.social anthology, 'Illusions of Presence' on 18th December 7pm (GMT).
A ticket also gets you an exclusive recording of the event in case you find you can't make it on the night!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/illusions-...
A ticket also gets you an exclusive recording of the event in case you find you can't make it on the night!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/illusions-...
Illusions of Presence - Book Launch with Johnny Mains
An online evening celebrating the release of ILLUSIONS OF PRESENCE, a collection of lost ghost stories, with editor Johnny Mains.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
December 5, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Join the excellent @johnnymains.co.uk to launch his @britishlibrary.bsky.social anthology, 'Illusions of Presence' on 18th December 7pm (GMT).
A ticket also gets you an exclusive recording of the event in case you find you can't make it on the night!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/illusions-...
A ticket also gets you an exclusive recording of the event in case you find you can't make it on the night!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/illusions-...
Reposted by Derek Johnston
"It's being able to listen to the siren call of your better nature". Excellent discussion between host Sergio Angelini and guest James Leggott about Alan Plater's Beiderbecke trilogy, partially through the lens of Sergio's podcast's theme, film noir
open.spotify.com/episode/0tU8... (1)
open.spotify.com/episode/0tU8... (1)
36. THE BEIDERBECKE TRILOGY (1985 to 1988), with James Leggott
open.spotify.com
December 4, 2025 at 9:50 AM
"It's being able to listen to the siren call of your better nature". Excellent discussion between host Sergio Angelini and guest James Leggott about Alan Plater's Beiderbecke trilogy, partially through the lens of Sergio's podcast's theme, film noir
open.spotify.com/episode/0tU8... (1)
open.spotify.com/episode/0tU8... (1)
Reposted by Derek Johnston
UPDATED SCREENINGS!
More screenings for THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM added: Dec 6th at @triskelartscentre.bsky.social w BLACK CHRISTMAS, Dec 23 at the Beacon in Seattle w A GHOST STORY FOR CHRISTMAS, and Dec 30 at Stray Cat Film Center in KCMO w/ Sean Hogan's "To Fire You Come at Last"
More screenings for THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM added: Dec 6th at @triskelartscentre.bsky.social w BLACK CHRISTMAS, Dec 23 at the Beacon in Seattle w A GHOST STORY FOR CHRISTMAS, and Dec 30 at Stray Cat Film Center in KCMO w/ Sean Hogan's "To Fire You Come at Last"
December 3, 2025 at 11:47 PM
UPDATED SCREENINGS!
More screenings for THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM added: Dec 6th at @triskelartscentre.bsky.social w BLACK CHRISTMAS, Dec 23 at the Beacon in Seattle w A GHOST STORY FOR CHRISTMAS, and Dec 30 at Stray Cat Film Center in KCMO w/ Sean Hogan's "To Fire You Come at Last"
More screenings for THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM added: Dec 6th at @triskelartscentre.bsky.social w BLACK CHRISTMAS, Dec 23 at the Beacon in Seattle w A GHOST STORY FOR CHRISTMAS, and Dec 30 at Stray Cat Film Center in KCMO w/ Sean Hogan's "To Fire You Come at Last"
Reposted by Derek Johnston
Tales of Health: Illness, Disability, and Citizenship in the Romantic National Tale is now available for preorder from @livunipress.bsky.social. It revises our understanding of this political genre through medical humanities
www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....
www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....
Tales of Health: Illness, Disability, and Citizenship in the Romantic National Tale | Home
Matthew L. Reznicek is Associate Professor of Medical Humanities at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He has published widely on British and Irish romantic literature, and particularly on the intersection of health and illness in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century writing.
www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
December 3, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Tales of Health: Illness, Disability, and Citizenship in the Romantic National Tale is now available for preorder from @livunipress.bsky.social. It revises our understanding of this political genre through medical humanities
www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....
www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....
Reposted by Derek Johnston
December 3, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by Derek Johnston
OUR HAUNTED YEAR 2025
Our annual blog post looking back at what we did at Swan River Press this year.
swanriverpress.ie/2025/12/our-...
Our annual blog post looking back at what we did at Swan River Press this year.
swanriverpress.ie/2025/12/our-...
Our Haunted Year 2025 | Swan River Press
After another cycle around the sun, and as the darker days of winter approach, it’s time to look back at what we managed to accomplish this year here at Swan River Press. Along the housing front, the ...
swanriverpress.ie
December 3, 2025 at 11:01 AM
OUR HAUNTED YEAR 2025
Our annual blog post looking back at what we did at Swan River Press this year.
swanriverpress.ie/2025/12/our-...
Our annual blog post looking back at what we did at Swan River Press this year.
swanriverpress.ie/2025/12/our-...
Reposted by Derek Johnston
There are just a few tickets left for this screening of Whistle and I’ll Come to You (1968) and A Warning to the Curious (1972) at Hyde Park Picture House, followed by a panel comprising me, @adamzed.bsky.social, @mikemuncer.bsky.social and Jeremy Dyson! 👻 🎄
🎟️: hpph.co.uk/films/ghost-...
🎟️: hpph.co.uk/films/ghost-...
December 2, 2025 at 5:16 PM
There are just a few tickets left for this screening of Whistle and I’ll Come to You (1968) and A Warning to the Curious (1972) at Hyde Park Picture House, followed by a panel comprising me, @adamzed.bsky.social, @mikemuncer.bsky.social and Jeremy Dyson! 👻 🎄
🎟️: hpph.co.uk/films/ghost-...
🎟️: hpph.co.uk/films/ghost-...
Reposted by Derek Johnston
Glastonbury Tor this morning, shortly before the moon set. Rays of light from the moon when it was behind the cloud.
December 2, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Glastonbury Tor this morning, shortly before the moon set. Rays of light from the moon when it was behind the cloud.
Reposted by Derek Johnston
It’s Quatermass time this Saturday at The Quad in Derby.
Hope to see a few of you there.
Hope to see a few of you there.
The Quatermass Event | Derby QUAD
View our latest event: The Quatermass Event. See what the available times are for this event.
www.derbyquad.co.uk
December 1, 2025 at 9:57 PM
It’s Quatermass time this Saturday at The Quad in Derby.
Hope to see a few of you there.
Hope to see a few of you there.
Reposted by Derek Johnston
For Christmas, a chapbook; 58 pages of Edwardiana in the style of 2021's award-winning The Governess. All profits to Medecins sans Frontieres, and I'll match what it makes. Here's the link for the US:
The Adventure of the Seven Unnatural Women: A Story of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventure of the Seven Unnatural Women: A Story of Sherlock Holmes [Gallagher, Stephen] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Adventure of the Seven Unnatural Women: A Story of Sherlock Holmes
www.amazon.com
December 1, 2025 at 11:22 PM
For Christmas, a chapbook; 58 pages of Edwardiana in the style of 2021's award-winning The Governess. All profits to Medecins sans Frontieres, and I'll match what it makes. Here's the link for the US:
Reposted by Derek Johnston
Look who got a section on the @arrowplayer.bsky.social this month!
I got to pick whatever films I wanted out of their catalogue - I limited it to ten films, and some won't be available in all territories, but you can read the full list of what I chose here: www.arrow-player.com/kier-la-jani...
I got to pick whatever films I wanted out of their catalogue - I limited it to ten films, and some won't be available in all territories, but you can read the full list of what I chose here: www.arrow-player.com/kier-la-jani...
Kier-La Janisse Selects - ARROW
Kier-La Janisse is a film writer, producer, acquisitions executive for Severin Films, creative director of Spectacular Optical Media, founder of the Miskatonic institute of Horror Studies and Adjunct ...
www.arrow-player.com
December 1, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Look who got a section on the @arrowplayer.bsky.social this month!
I got to pick whatever films I wanted out of their catalogue - I limited it to ten films, and some won't be available in all territories, but you can read the full list of what I chose here: www.arrow-player.com/kier-la-jani...
I got to pick whatever films I wanted out of their catalogue - I limited it to ten films, and some won't be available in all territories, but you can read the full list of what I chose here: www.arrow-player.com/kier-la-jani...
Does anyone know of any academic work on the thriller on TV and audio? The term’s definitely one I see a lot in the press, trailers, etc., but my initial search has only turned up a few specific uses and nothing suitable as a general undergrad intro #academia
December 1, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Does anyone know of any academic work on the thriller on TV and audio? The term’s definitely one I see a lot in the press, trailers, etc., but my initial search has only turned up a few specific uses and nothing suitable as a general undergrad intro #academia
Reposted by Derek Johnston
I intend to do a full-on photo shoot with these when I have some free time, but for now, this will do - author copies of my first book, Metafiction and Narratice Worlds in Science Fiction ( @livunipress.bsky.social ) have arrived! Over the moon, and can highly recommend LUP as publishers.
December 1, 2025 at 9:55 AM
I intend to do a full-on photo shoot with these when I have some free time, but for now, this will do - author copies of my first book, Metafiction and Narratice Worlds in Science Fiction ( @livunipress.bsky.social ) have arrived! Over the moon, and can highly recommend LUP as publishers.
Reposted by Derek Johnston
bisig, adj: busy, occupied. (BIH-zih / ˈbɪ-zɪj)
Image: Calendar page for December in the Prayer Book of Bonne of Luxembourg; France (Paris), before 1349; @metcloisters.bsky.social object 69.86.
#OldEnglish #WOTD
Image: Calendar page for December in the Prayer Book of Bonne of Luxembourg; France (Paris), before 1349; @metcloisters.bsky.social object 69.86.
#OldEnglish #WOTD
December 1, 2025 at 8:01 AM
bisig, adj: busy, occupied. (BIH-zih / ˈbɪ-zɪj)
Image: Calendar page for December in the Prayer Book of Bonne of Luxembourg; France (Paris), before 1349; @metcloisters.bsky.social object 69.86.
#OldEnglish #WOTD
Image: Calendar page for December in the Prayer Book of Bonne of Luxembourg; France (Paris), before 1349; @metcloisters.bsky.social object 69.86.
#OldEnglish #WOTD
Reposted by Derek Johnston
Our Holiday gift guide! spectacularoptical.com/articles/ess...
ESSENTIAL NON-FICTION FILM, MUSIC AND CULTURE BOOKS OF 2025
Spectacular Optical Media is a Canadian small-press publisher of film and pop culture books and independent film producer/distributor.
spectacularoptical.com
December 1, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Our Holiday gift guide! spectacularoptical.com/articles/ess...
Reposted by Derek Johnston
This weekend's Romancing the Gothic 'blast from the past' is this video from last year by yours truly!
'Interminable Realms of Space': Cosmic Voyages and Demonic Theo-Aesthetics in Byron's 'Cain'
youtu.be/f8GJzKqVNsg
'Interminable Realms of Space': Cosmic Voyages and Demonic Theo-Aesthetics in Byron's 'Cain'
youtu.be/f8GJzKqVNsg
Interminable Realms of Space: Demonic Cosmic Voyages in Byron's Cain with Dr Sam Hirst
YouTube video by Romancing the Gothic
youtu.be
December 1, 2025 at 2:53 AM
This weekend's Romancing the Gothic 'blast from the past' is this video from last year by yours truly!
'Interminable Realms of Space': Cosmic Voyages and Demonic Theo-Aesthetics in Byron's 'Cain'
youtu.be/f8GJzKqVNsg
'Interminable Realms of Space': Cosmic Voyages and Demonic Theo-Aesthetics in Byron's 'Cain'
youtu.be/f8GJzKqVNsg
Reposted by Derek Johnston
Very excited that my first narrative film is not only premiering on @shudder.com tomorrow, but that it's also getting so many screenings!! Being a 30-minute film I didn't expect it to get any theatrical play, so the fact that all these venues programmed it to support features is a huge deal to me.🖤
Upcoming screenings for THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM, beginning tomorrow with its premiere on @shudder.com as part of annual series THE HAUNTED SEASON (in all their territories!)
Scan through the list to see if it is coming to a theatre near you!
Scan through the list to see if it is coming to a theatre near you!
November 30, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Very excited that my first narrative film is not only premiering on @shudder.com tomorrow, but that it's also getting so many screenings!! Being a 30-minute film I didn't expect it to get any theatrical play, so the fact that all these venues programmed it to support features is a huge deal to me.🖤
Reposted by Derek Johnston
This was a really good and challenging talk which has implications for talking about haunting in lots of ways, but which gave me new eyes on the case-study films and the specifics of the intersections of caste and horror.
Recommend.
Recommend.
If you missed yesterday's fantastic talk on
Haunting, Caste Aesthetics and South Asian Horror
with Ishan Tripathi
You can catch it here
youtu.be/Grocj_pUIeI
Haunting, Caste Aesthetics and South Asian Horror
with Ishan Tripathi
You can catch it here
youtu.be/Grocj_pUIeI
Haunting, Caste Aesthetics, and Violence in South Asian Horror with Ishan Tripathi
YouTube video by Romancing the Gothic
youtu.be
November 30, 2025 at 4:53 PM
This was a really good and challenging talk which has implications for talking about haunting in lots of ways, but which gave me new eyes on the case-study films and the specifics of the intersections of caste and horror.
Recommend.
Recommend.