Very much looking forward to seeing Frank Miller interviewed by Joe Hill @rgs.org this evening - howtoacademy.com/events/frank... #Batman #SinCity #Daredevil #comics

30th July | Frank Miller: Storyteller

The creator of The Dark Knight Returns and 300 joins us for a deep dive into his life and art, revealing the inspiration behind his iconic comics and his secrets of storytelling.

howtoacademy.com

'Dragons and their Hoards' - Another fascinating talk from Jeremy Harte and the @folkloresociety.bsky.social on Tues 7th July. Tickets can be purchased from the link below. 🐉

The Folklore Society@folkloresociety.bsky.social · last mo.

Next week: join us for our online talk: Jeremy Harte, 'Dragons and their Hoards'. "The existence of dragons is open to question but buried treasure is real...". Tue 7 July 7-8:30pm BST. Tickets £6.00 (£4 for members with promo code) www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dragons-an...

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…

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 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).

opengravesopenminds.com

Really enjoyed the 'Performing Evil: The Mediation and Display of Diabolical Spirits, 1700-2000' conference in Leuven. The panels worked really well and there is some excellent research being done around this theme. Many thanks to @kristofsmeyers.bsky.social for organising and being a great host!

Kristof Smeyers@kristofsmeyers.bsky.social · 2mo ago

getting ready for my little conference

Great to see our Coastal Studies & Society's special issue, 'Coastal Imaginaries 2: #Haunted Space, Story and Place' is now available online: journals.sagepub.com/toc/CLS/curr... Many thanks to Mike Benbough-Jackson, Eamon Doggett, Prash Naidu, Claire Waffel and @jfpackham.bsky.social

Coastal Studies & Society - Volume 5, Number 1

Table of contents for Coastal Studies & Society, 5, 1

journals.sagepub.com

New #coastalstudies special issue just published – on 'Haunted Space, Story and Place'! My piece on container shipping sits alongside some excellent looking essays - lots open access. Many thanks to @karlbell.bsky.social & Brad Beaven for overseeing all this! journals.sagepub.com/toc/CLS/curr....

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

Italian ceramics artist Clara Holt, who decorates her work with images of ancient myths #WomensArt

The call for papers for the 'Speculative Climates: Hauntings of the Past Across the Humanities' conference (University of Cologne, 19-20th November) looks really interesting. For more details see networks.h-net.org/group/announ... Deadline for paper proposals is 30th April #envhist #envhum

We are open for applications to the MA Victorian Gothic: History, Literature and Culture for Sept 2026. Tutors include @c19thceleb.bsky.social @christopherpittard.bsky.social @bradbeaven.bsky.social @karlbell.bsky.social For info on our distance learning course see 👇 www.port.ac.uk/study/course...

Victorian Gothic: History, Literature and Culture (Distance Learning)

Explore the strange and spooky history, literature and culture of the Victorian Gothic period. Study online via distance learning.

port.ac.uk

New publication date: 'Stories of the Stones: Imagining Prehistory in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany' will be published by Reaktion Books in the UK on 13 April. Pre-order through your favourite bookseller! #BookSky

If you’re interested in folklore of the high seas, I highly recommend ‘The Perilous Deep: A Supernatural History of the Atlantic’ by @karlbell.bsky.social Fantastic book!

If interested in applying for our collaborative PhD, 'Uncharted Voices: Subaltern Cultures and Identities in Global Seafaring, 1880–1950', we will be holding a live webinar on Tuesday 24th March (1-2 pm). For further details about the project and webinar, see www.rmg.co.uk/ahrc-collabo...

AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership studentship: Uncharted Voices

Learn more about and apply for this fully funded collaborative doctoral studentship starting in October 2026

rmg.co.uk

A great @royalhistsoc.org lecture by @sashahandley.bsky.social coming up on 1st May - 'The Haunting at the Rectory: Ghost Stories and Women’s Lives in Early Modern England'. See below for online attendance and booking.

Royal Historical Society@royalhistsoc.org · 5mo ago

If you can't get to the University of Warwick on 1 May, booking for online attendance at our next lecture is also now available: bit.ly/3P5pqOZ 'The Haunting at the Rectory: Ghost Stories and Women’s Lives in Early Modern England' with Professor Sasha Handley (Manchester). All welcome #Skystorians

Next week: join us for our next online talk: Dr David Clarke and Dr Diane A. Rodgers, 'Early findings from The National Folklore Survey for England'. Tuesday 24 March, 19:00-20:30 GMT on Zoom. Tickets £6.00 (£4 for members with promo code) www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/early-find...

Early findings from The National Folklore Survey for England

Funded by the AHRC, the National Folklore Survey for England seeks to understand the folkloric beliefs, practices and narratives alive today

eventbrite.co.uk

Come and do a funded PhD with the co-directors of @uopmaritime.bsky.social and the excellent archivists at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Start date in October 2026. For more details, see 👇

uopmaritime@uopmaritime.bsky.social · 5mo ago

NEW PHD FUNDING: Research the National Maritime Museum's remarkable oral history collection of merchant seamen (1890s-1950s) with NMM's Lucy Dale & Dr Hannah Stockton & University of Portsmouth's @bradbeaven.bsky.social & @karlbell.bsky.social www.findaphd.com/phds/project... . Start date: Oct 2026

I've been informed that I should be appearing in Sky History's first episode of Britain's X-Files this evening at 9 pm. I'll be talking about sea serpents, and specifically about a famous sighting by HMS Daedalus in 1848.

The Perilous Deep is available as an audiobook from today! If you prefer your books via your ears than your eyes, head over to www.audible.co.uk/pd/The-Peril...

Had a really enjoyable conversation about the supernatural history of the Atlantic with Stephen Coates on the Bureau of Lost Culture podcast - bureauoflostculture.podbean.com/e/a-supernat... The podcast is available on all the usual platforms - linktr.ee/BureauOfLost...

Many thanks for the kind words, Mike.

OldRailwayAccidents@rwldproject.bsky.social · 6mo ago

ONE WEEK'S TIME! Come & hear the ever great @karlbell.bsky.social - always fascinating material in his talks: Tidal Terrors: Folklore & Supernatural Storytelling at Sea 3 Feb 2026, 5.30pm University of Portsmouth Free - tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tidal-terr...

The first Maritime Matters of 2026 is out! Featuring @karlbell.bsky.social's Tidal Terrors talk, Portsmouth's bid to be UK City of Culture, Coastal Studies & Society and more. Email pcmc@port.ac.uk to sign up centreforportcitiesandmaritimecultures.cmail20.com/t/y-e-qulluh... @uophistory.bsky.social

If you prefer to access your podcasts from streaming platforms, the interview is also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/g... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/6dgE...

Ghosts, gods & sea monsters: a supernatural history of the Atlantic

Podcast Episode · History Extra podcast · 12/12/2025 · 30m

podcasts.apple.com

‪My @historyextra.bsky.social podcast interview, 'Ghosts, gods & sea monsters: a supernatural history of the Atlantic', is live @ www.historyextra.com/membership/s... Many thanks for the opportunity to talk about #maritime #folklore and my new book, The Perilous Deep @reaktionbooks.bsky.social .

Ghosts, gods & sea monsters: a supernatural history of the Atlantic

Karl Bell dives into the eerie and enchanting folklore of the Atlantic Ocean, revealing how supernatural stories helped sailors navigate a perilous world

historyextra.com

Next week: join us for our first online talk of 2026: Simon Young, 'The Mystery of Changelings: Origins, Geography and Nature'. Tuesday 13 January, 19:00-20:30 GMT on Zoom. Tickets £6.00 (£4 for members with promo code) www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-myster...

It's very exciting to say that Coastal Gothic, 1719–2020 has just been published in @universitypress.cambridge.org's Elements in the Gothic series – and it's currently open access and *free* to download until the end of December! doi.org/10.1017/9781...

Coastal Gothic, 1719–2020

Cambridge Core - English Literature: General Interest - Coastal Gothic, 1719–2020

doi.org

Hoy en nuestro pódcast de @ivoox.bsky.social invocamos la obra de Karl Bell dedicada a uno de los mas célebres fantasmas de Londres, "Pánico Victoriano, La Leyenda de Spring Heeled Jack". Publicada por Reediciones Anómalas con el arte exclusivo del maestro @javiertprado.bsky.social

Join us for @karlbell.bsky.social's free public talk, entitled Tidal Terrors: Folklore and Supernatural Storytelling at Sea, on 3rd February 2026 at Portsmouth University.

Karl Bell@karlbell.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Join me for 'Tidal Terrors: Folklore and Supernatural Storytelling at Sea', a public talk @ Portsmouth University on 3rd February (5.30-7 pm). It is free, but you need to book a place @ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tidal-terr... @uopmaritime.bsky.social @uophistory.bsky.social @reaktionbooks.bsky.social

Great to be working on the new @uophistory.bsky.social 2nd year module 'Age of Crisis'! Had a good team meeting yesterday, with the excellent @robtjames.bsky.social @karlbell.bsky.social & @drmseiter.bsky.social. It's a pleasure to co-teach with them - we've got lots to share with our students!

Many thanks, Jack - that's very much appreciated!

Jack El-Hai@jackelhai.bsky.social · 9mo ago

"Uncanny folklore linking seafarers across time." Today's book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @karlbell.bsky.social & @reaktionbooks.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Nice to see my Supernatural Cities book included in @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social's blog on 6 books to read on myth, legend and the supernatural - boydellandbrewer.com/blog/medieva... It was a pleasure to edit this rich compendium of essays about urban #folklore and #hauntings in the modern world.

6 Books to Read on: Myths, Legends and the Supernatural

From the legend of Robin Hood to Scotland's ghostly reputation, take a look at these 6 books that explore the supernatural side of history.

boydellandbrewer.com

Finished reading The Perilous Deep by @karlbell.bsky.social I enjoyed it. Highly recommend it if you wanna learn some ocean related lore and superstitions. And also get some movie recommendations.