Attendees can expect an enchanting keynote speech from @ogomproject.bsky.social's own Dr Sam George (@coffinboffin.bsky.social) as well as a spooky creative writing workshop run by Ella Ruby Self (@local-sea-wytch.bsky.social), author of Abraxus Elijah Honey (2024). darkenchantments.my.canva.site
Dracula ballet doesn’t suck! – it’s rather good actually. Review of Joel Burke’s Dracula, by Daisy Butcher
Dracula ballet doesn't suck! – it's rather good actually On Saturday, the 6th of June, 2026, I went to Joel Burke’s new ballet adaptation of Dracula at Sadler’s Wells in London. I have always…
UNVEILING NEW ACCOUNT If you were following my Coffin Boffin account on Twitter @drsamgeorge1 please follow this bsky account. I can't make the transition easily as I have 35K followers on there and only 700+ on here. I am posting on the same themes of Gothic Enchantment and Dark Folklore!!
In October 2026, the upcoming PGR-led conference, Dark Enchantments: Gothic Folklore and the Monstrous Fairy-Tale, will be held at the University of Sheffield. Interested in getting involved? Follow the QR code and send us your abstracts by the end of July!
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PANDORA Rackham's re-imagining of the Pandora myth c. 1910 shows the contents on her box to be bats; a gothicising of the myth of how evil got into the world takes place & a direct referencing of Goya's sleep of reason producing monsters. Fascinating!
TAKING TEA WITH A COCKATRICE This monstrous C19th teapot is stunning; perfect for entertaining gothic guests! The cockatrice or basilisk is hatched from a rooster's egg by a toad with a serpent's head & tail & the feet and wings of a cockerel!
MERMAID HELMET dated 1643 & made by Filippo Negroli (The Met Museum NY). In the mythical scenes, the #mermaid siren forming the helmet's comb holds a grimacing head of Medusa by the hair #MythologyMonday
WINGED WOLF-HEAD HELMET of Emperor Charles V, c.1540, Patrimonio Nacional, Real Armería, Madrid. The #wolf, often reviled as a fearsome predator, is a noble and brave beast in heraldry #MythologyMonday
Dark Enchantments: CFP and Keynote
I am pleased to announce the CFP for Sheffield Gothic’s forthcoming conference Dark Enchantments: Gothic Folklore and the Monstrous Fairy Tale. The conference will take place in Sheffield, UK, on October 29-30, 2026. You can visit the Dark Enchantments website…
GOTHIC NATURE Tentacled ivy reclaims the dead at Highgate Cemetery, UK. The #Gothic fusion of living vines, ancient tombs & enduring angels is beautifully dark & evocative of transgressing boundaries between life and death, new and old worlds
I am pleased to announce the CFP for Sheffield Gothic’s forthcoming conference Dark Enchantments: Gothic Folklore and the Monstrous Fairy Tale. The conference will take place in Sheffield, UK, on October 29-30, 2026. You can visit the Dark Enchantments website and see the description on the image below for possible submissions and papers (deadline Friday, 31 July). The theme coheres well with OGOM’s research on Gothic Enchantment, and the material that has fed into our forthcoming book Gothic Enchantment with the Fairy Realm in Literature and Culture (Manchester University Press, forthcoming 2026/7).
Dracula ballet doesn't suck! – it's rather good actually On Saturday, the 6th of June, 2026, I went to Joel Burke’s new ballet adaptation of Dracula at Sadler’s Wells in London. I have always enjoyed ballet performances which explore themes of the supernatural, magical and the Gothic, so when tickets for a ballet revolving around the story of Dracula were announced, I booked right away. With the rise of vampire comedy, fans of the dramatic vampire in all its brooding glory have been under-served in recent times. Burke’s ballet is a refreshing return to the tragic romance of the vampire.
