Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4660 )

• Brooding

  

  Horror was undergoing a serious development beginning in 1968.  Into the seventies many boundaries were being crossed and new areas of fear were opened.  David... Read more

  Posted on 02 December 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• True Value

  

  It’s a funny idea, net worth.  (Who says Capitalism isn’t a religion?)  We decide what people are worth by what corporate executives and small-minded economics... Read more

  Posted on 01 December 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Devils and Witches

  

  If you’re a regular reader (thank you!) you know that I’m currently under contract to write the Devil’s Advocates series volume on The Wicker Man. Read more

  Posted on 30 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Standard Maintenance

  

  Something disturbing happened the other day.  My laptop started requiring constant plugging in.  I figured the battery was starting to go—it is several years ol... Read more

  Posted on 29 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Remarkable and Beautiful

  

  Last year I read and commented on Hank Green’s An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. I knew there’d be a sequel, but it took some time for it to come out in paperback... Read more

  Posted on 28 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Abominable and Biblical

  

  In many ways Holy Horror was an initial volume. The Bible is fairly prevalent in horror, and had the book done any better I might’ve considered a sequel. Take... Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Not Shopping

  

  Santa Claus arrived at the end of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade yesterday.  I actually began seeing Christmas paraphernalia in stores before Halloween.  It... Read more

  Posted on 26 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Flight Path

  

  It’s been some time since I was on a plane.  Or in a hotel.  These things seem strange and foreign to me now.  Covid-19 is now a fixture in life and we, as... Read more

  Posted on 25 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Celts and Gods

  

  We’re accustomed to religions being written out. Indeed, many world religions have sacred texts from the Avestas to Dianetics. Read more

  Posted on 24 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Learning to Like

  

  The shout-out is an always appreciated gesture.  Among the guests on The Incarcerated Christian podcast, I’m pretty clearly the one with the smallest following. Read more

  Posted on 23 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Erase This

  

  Over the years I’ve read a fair bit about Eraserhead without having ever seen it. Approaching it I had little idea what to expect—normally classified as body... Read more

  Posted on 22 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Rel Stud 101

  

  There’s no such thing.  Religious studies, that is.  I first heard this a decade ago while working as religious studies editor for Routledge.  My supervisor... Read more

  Posted on 21 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Mag Dash

  

  I don’t do much magazine reading.  Back when I had more time (mainly before buying a house), there were a few with which I attempted to keep up.  Mainly,... Read more

  Posted on 20 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Global Swarming

  

  It’s a veritable horror trope.  The swarm, that is.  We fear being overwhelmed by vast numbers of apparently innocuous insects or arachnids, although they are... Read more

  Posted on 19 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Numbers Game

  

  I once asked a movie expert—this must’ve been when I was regularly on a campus somewhere, but not Nashotah House—how many movies had been made.  He sighed and... Read more

  Posted on 18 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Next Books

  

  The other day an older friend asked about my writing.  My answer was brief because it’s complicated.  Not because I do it from three to four a.m.  Not because... Read more

  Posted on 17 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Ghost Publishers

  

  Ancient Near Eastern studies, where my academic work has the widest recognition, is still an area of fascination.  I have to hold myself back when I see a new... Read more

  Posted on 16 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Thought Experiment

  

  One benefit of aging is that hiccups become less common.  They were always a conversation starter when I was younger—someone you were on a date with, or a... Read more

  Posted on 15 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Haunted Landscapes

  

  The Devil’s Advocates series consists of short books focused on a single horror film. For horror fans they’re a great resource, as they will hopefully also be i... Read more

  Posted on 14 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Religious Dinosaurs

  

  Dippy is, apparently, a common name for pet diplodocuses.  The statue of a diplodocus outside the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh is fondly known as “Dippy,” as i... Read more

  Posted on 13 November 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY