Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4108 )

• Nun Too Soon

  

  Following a horror franchise from the beginning is a rarity. At least it is for me. Now that I’ve seen The Nun II, I’m caught up on the Conjuring universe, for... Read more

  Posted on 28 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Why Write Then?

  

  People far smarter and more prominent than yours truly have pointed this out, generally in vain: academic writing is driving itself extinct.  And some of us wil... Read more

  Posted on 27 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Brain Exercise

  

  Why do we read, if not to expand our minds? I’ve read all of Diana Walsh Pasulka’s previous books but Encounters is mind-blowing. Read more

  Posted on 26 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Don’t You Sleep

  

  Sleep is pleasant but it’s such a vulnerable time. Something deep in our animal DNA tells us to find a sheltered place to do it. That vulnerability is compounde... Read more

  Posted on 25 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Dark House

  

  Last year I completed an odyssey that began over a decade and a half ago. I finished reading the Dark Shadows serial novels by Marilyn Ross. Read more

  Posted on 24 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Sequel Pondering

  

  Of course I’m working on another book.  I can’t say what it is at the moment, but one of the projects I’ve long been contemplating is a kind of sequel to Holy... Read more

  Posted on 23 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Through the Woods

  

  The thing about appreciating bad movies is that it’s difficult to be disappointed. On a recent weekend I’d watched a horror film that didn’t sit well with me (o... Read more

  Posted on 22 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Worthy of Note

  

  I admit it.  I use Wikipedia quite a lot.  When I was teaching I wasn’t one of those professors who said “Don’t use Wikipedia,” but I did say that if students... Read more

  Posted on 21 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Sinful Thoughts

  

  The driving force behind Holy Horror is the fact that the Bible appears in lots of horror movies. More than might be expected. Although I’ve moved on to other... Read more

  Posted on 20 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Playing Authors

  

  My family looked at me funnily, but not for the first time.  With a holiday gift card I’d ordered a book on the card game Authors that I’d blogged about... Read more

  Posted on 19 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Spider Thoughts

  

  Spiders know.  Spiders are aware of when they’ve been seen.  I’ve been noticing this for some time now.  You can verify this yourself, but it may take some... Read more

  Posted on 18 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Demonic Night

  

  There’s a type of film—I don’t have the vocabulary for it—where the action is loud, brash, and in-your-face. Colors are often lurid and, in horror, gross... Read more

  Posted on 17 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Unusual Places

  

  I don’t recall how I first learned about Mitch Horowitz’s work. I read Occult America as soon as I found out about it—it helped as I was transitioning to writin... Read more

  Posted on 16 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Life Learning

  

  One thing a recovering academic must learn is that the vast majority of people don’t really care what drives the academy.  They aren’t too worried about larger... Read more

  Posted on 15 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Truthful Fiction

  

  Octavia E. Butler is a name I’ve known for some time. Various people, most of whom I don’t know, had recommended her books, particularly Parable of the Talents. Read more

  Posted on 14 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Tall and Slender

  

  At first I thought she was mistaken. A friend mentioned, in a litany of horror films, The Tall Man. I thought she meant The Slender Man. Then I saw an online... Read more

  Posted on 13 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• No Agency

  

  I’ve worked in publishing since 2006.  That seems like a goodly time, but the industry is a complex one.  I started trying to publish again around 2010—losing m... Read more

  Posted on 12 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Cinematic Demons

  

  It was because I read The Exorcist Effect. I realize that there are lots of movies that I could’ve watched for Nightmares with the Bible, but with limited... Read more

  Posted on 11 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Bugging Out

  

  There’s a scene in Disney’s Hercules where Thebes has just been through a bunch of unnatural disasters sent by Hades to lure Hercules into the open. Read more

  Posted on 10 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Salem Away

  

  I can’t help but think the term “witch hunt” has been cheapened in recent years as a prominent, wealthy white man has been claiming to be the victim of one. Read more

  Posted on 09 January 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY