[Commlist] Fright Nights: Live Halloween Horror Events - Edited Collection Call for Abstracts

*/_Fright Nights: Live Halloween Horror Events_/**__*

*_CALL FOR CHAPTERS: EDITED COLLECTION_*

*Editors: Kieran Foster, University of Nottingham (UK), and Cassie 
Brummitt, University of Nottingham (UK)*

Horror’s origins - with its roots in folklore, mythology and the oral 
tradition - stretch much further back in time than screen media, and 
beyond even ‘canonical’ literature such as /Frankenstein/ and /Dracula/. 
However, in the 20th century and beyond, horror as a media genre has 
become big business, especially in the screen industries where horror 
film and television franchises have become globally-exploited 
intellectual properties ripe for spin-offs, sequels, remakes, transmedia 
world-building and merchandising (Fleury and Mamber 2019, Harris 2010, 
Mee 2022).

What remains less explored in extant scholarly literature, which this 
edited collection intends to address, is the phenomenon of space and 
place within horror’s commercial logics. Importantly, the past few 
decades have seen a rise in immersive, interactive environments that 
draw on horror imagery as an indelible part of the attraction. Events 
such as escape rooms, immersive experiences and fan-led celebratory 
events enable horror intellectual property to escape the confines of the 
big and small screen to pervade cultural spaces globally (Kennedy 2018, 
Ndalianis 2010). These physical, participatory, often visceral 
environments have implications for the ways in which horror properties 
are materialised, remediated, and engaged with.

These kinds of immersive attractions are no more popular than at 
Halloween, where it has become increasingly common to see both branded 
and non-branded horror events take place across the globe. For example, 
in the UK, pop-up ‘scream parks’ such as York Maze’s ‘HallowScream’, or 
theme park events such as ‘Fright Nights’ at Thorpe Park, draw on 
non-branded horror, folklore and supernatural imagery. Meanwhile, 
internationally, events such as ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ (at Universal 
Studio sites in Orlando, Hollywood, Singapore and Japan) and ‘Mickey’s 
Not-So-Scary Halloween Party’ (at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in 
Orlando and Disneyland Paris) exploit branded iconography, IP, and 
franchises.

Horror’s preoccupation with the abject and the visceral offers arguably 
unique opportunities to translate cultural fears into a physically 
inhabitable and interactable experience. Seeking to address this 
important phenomenon, this edited collection will examine 
Halloween-focused horror events as an under-explored but sizable part of 
horror media’s global creative and commercial logics, both historically 
and contemporarily.

We are seeking abstracts of up to 250 words in response to this theme 
(plus author biography up to 100 words). The form of contributions can 
be flexible, whether a standard chapter, an interview (for example, with 
a practitioner, an industry professional, or fans), an autoethnographic 
piece, or another creative means of exploring the topic.

Topics may include but are not limited to:

  * Issues of labour in Halloween horror events

  * Marketing and promotional discourses of Halloween horror events
  * Franchising and intellectual property in Halloween horror events
  * Immersion and interactivity
  * Halloween horror events as film, media or literary tourism
  * Notions of play and lusory attitudes to Halloween horror events
  * Performance and emotion in Halloween horror events
  * Audience engagement and experience
  * Fan studies of horror events
  * Narratives and storytelling
  * Industrial relationships, logics and practices


Please send your abstract and bio to Dr. Kieran Foster 
((kieran.foster /at/ nottingham.ac.uk) <mailto:(kieran.foster /at/ nottingham.ac.uk)>) 
and Dr. Cassie Brummitt ((cassie.brummitt /at/ nottingham.ac.uk) 
<mailto:(cassie.brummitt /at/ nottingham.ac.uk)>). *The deadline for abstracts 
is July 24th 2023.***


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