The Hauntology Podcast Brought to you by the Hauntology and Spectrality Research Group at York St John University. Episode 1 - What is Hauntology? For our first episode, some of us have gathered to talk about why we wanted to make this podcast in the first place. Along the way, we’ll wander through ghosts, eighteenth-century history, music, folk horror, and York as “Europe’s most haunted city”. We also ask the simple yet deceptively tricky question, “What is hauntology?” Host Samantha Goddard, PhD Student in Counselling, Psychotherapy and Mental Health at York St John University, Medical Hauntology Sub Group Lead for the Hauntology and Spectrality Research Group Guests Dr. Robert Edgar, Professor of Writing and Popular Culture at York St John University, Group Lead for the Hauntology and Spectrality Research Group Dr. Adam James Smith, Associate Professor in English Literature at York St John University, Academic Co-Lead of the Hauntology and Spectrality Research Group Lowen Frampton-Thorburn, PhD student in English Literature at York St John University, Hauntology and Spectrality Research Group PGR Co-Lead, Founder of The York Society of Hauntologists You can contact us and find out more about The Hauntology and Spectrality Research Group at York St John University at: https://blog.yorksj.ac.uk/hauntology/. References and Recommendations 06:30: Contemporary Gothic and Horror Film: Transnational Perspectives, Dr Keith McDonald (author) and Dr Wayne Johnson (author), published 11/11/2025. 06:45: Dr Lauren Stephenson’s writing on horror: https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/profile/1295. 07:40: The York Society of Hauntologists: find out more on our Instagram @YorkHauntologists. 08:45: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, novel by Susanna Clarke, published 08/09/2004. 10:30: Damnable Tales: A Folk Horror Anthology compiled and illustrated by Richard Wells, published 31/02/2022. Richard Wells is on Instagram @Slippery_Jack. 10:45: Randalls Round, short story by Eleanor Scott (can be found in the Damnable Tales: A Folk Horror Anthology and other collections). 13:00: Horrifying Children: Hauntology and the Legacy of Children’s Television, Lauren Stephenson (Anthology Editor), Robert Edgar (Anthology Editor), John Marland (Anthology Editor), published 04/04/2024. 13:07: The Scarred for Life books, shows, and podcast by Stephen Brotherstone and Dave Lawrence, and The Haunted Generation project with Bob Fischer, https://hauntedgeneration.co.uk and @HauntedGeneration on Instagram. 14:00: The Hauntology and Spectrality Research Group members on our blog at https://blog.yorksj.ac.uk/hauntology/hauntology-group-members/. 14:40: A suggested article by way of introduction to what Hauntology has to do with Hamlet from Samantha; Prendergast, C. (2005). Derrida’s Hamlet. SubStance, 34(1), 44–47. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3685614. 16:00: Do make sure to check out Adam’s podcast, which he produces with his colleague Jo Waugh, “Smith & Waugh Talk About Satire” - available on Spotify, and @TalkAboutSatire on Instagram. 16:50: Spectres of Marx: The State of the Debt, the Work of Mourning and the New International by Jacques Derrida, originally published in 1993. 19:30: Fisher has published many books and articles, but a suggested starting point is Ghosts of My Life: Writings on Depression, Hauntology, and Lost Futures by Mark Fisher, published on 30/05/2014. 21:20: The French Enlightenment philosopher, satirist, and writer Voltaire (see also Jacques Lacan on presence and absence). 21:26: The Post Card: From Socrates to Freud and Beyond by Jacques Derrida, published 1979. 26:40: Read about Oliver Hambsch, research group member and artist/printmaker at https://oliverhambsch.com. 28:00: We Are Making A Film About Mark Fisher, https://www.closeandremote.net/portfolio/we-are-making-a-film-about-mark-fisher/ and @MarkFisherFilm on Instagram. 29:30: “Hauntological Music”, Ghostbox Records (record label, @GhostBoxRecords on Instagram), Warrington Runcorn New Town Development Plan (@WarringtonRuncorn on Instagram), Boards of Canada (@BoardsofCanada on Instagram). 32:13: Simon Reynolds, music writer. See Futuromania: Electronic Dreams, Desiring Machines and Tomorrow’s Music Today by Simon Reynolds, published 05/03/2026 (@SimonReynoldsWriter on Instagram). 32:55: Media, Materiality and Memory: Grounding the Groove (Music and Material Culture) by Elodie Roy, published 09/10/2015. 35:50: The verbatim theatre performance mentioned here was researched and delivered by the Skald Theatre Group. You can hear more about this in Episode 2 and find out about Skald at https://skaldtheatre.com/ and at @SkaldTheatreGroup on Instagram. 36:20: The Withered Arm is a short story by Thomas Hardy, originally published in 1888. You can also find this story in the Damnable Tales: A Folk Horror Anthology by Richard Wells. 38:17: The Spectral Tourism Conference is a day-long event being held at York St John University on the 31st of July 2026, which you can find out more about in our upcoming Episode 2, or by visiting https://blog.yorksj.ac.uk/hauntology/conferences/spectral-tourism-conference/. 40:40: Upcoming book, The Routledge Companion to the Urban Wyrd. Stay tuned to the podcast and the research group for future updates. 43:00: More information on The Medical Hauntology Sub Group within the Hauntology and Spectrality Research Group can be found at https://blog.yorksj.ac.uk/hauntology/medical-hauntology/. 43:30: Note from Samantha: Many articles explore hauntology as both a historical/political lens and a call to action, but I was thinking of an article I read recently by Ana Deumert - “Thinking, living and acting with ghosts: Hauntology and Fanon’s zone of occult instability.” Emotion, Space and Society, Volume 59, 2026, 101172, ISSN 1755-4586, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2026.101172. 46:00: Folk Horror: Hours Dreadful and Things Strange by Adam Scovell, published 03/05/2017. 46:10: Folk Horror Revival, https://folkhorrorrevival.com/. 46:30: The Routledge Companion to Folk Horror, Robert Edgar-Hunt (editor), Wayne Johnson (editor), published 09/10/2023. Our “Where to Start” Closing Recommendations 50:20: Samantha: Ghostly Matters: Haunting and the Sociological Imagination by Avery Gordon, published 29/02/2008. 50:45: Adam: Ghost of an Idea: Hauntology, Folk Horror, and the Spectre of Nostalgia by William Burns, published 06/03/2025. 51:50: Rob: Ghosts of My Life: Writings on Depression, Hauntology, and Lost Futures by Mark Fisher, published on 30/05/2014. 52:20: Lowen: Mark Fisher, The Metaphysics of Crackle: Afrofuturism and Hauntology. Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture 5(2): 42-55, ISSN 1947-5493, DOI 10.12801/1947-5403.2013.05.02.03. Thanks for listening. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hauntologyspectrality.substack.com
