The Ghoul Guides Association

Of course we had to review this one: Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of Mary Shelley's Gothic classic, starring Oscar Issacs and Jacob Elordi, is now in cinemas and streaming on Netflix, so we share our thoughts and feelings about the film.

Ghouls, it's Halloween! And we've got some more spooky reading recommendations for you, this time all on the theme of cultishness and corruption.

Mary reviews The Long Walk, the latest and final instalment of The Conjuring franchise and streaming anthology V/H/S Halloween, as well as a horror comedy retrospective.

In this review episode Mary takes us through some of C. J. Cookes’ novels starting with her suitably spooky The Lighthouse Witches - and make sure you watch till the end to discover more witchy books to read this Halloween season.Let us know in the comments if you’ve read any of these books, or if you have your own witch books to recommend!SUPPORT THE GHOUL GUIDES! If you enjoyed this video then why not subscribe to our channel? We love hearing from you so do like this video and leave us a comment telling us what you liked, and let us know if you have any suggestions for future topics. And don't forget, if you want to you can buy us a coffee at our Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/theghoulguides.

Two PhD students head to hell to bring back their supervisor? This had our name written all over it. In this episode Lauren reviews R.F Kuang's latest novel, Katabasis, discusses what makes dark academia dark, and if hell really is a university campus.

So You Don't Like Horror is your guide to the movies you can't watch - featuring one horror fan (Mary) and one scaredy cat (Lauren). Join us as we discuss recent horror releases from August 2025. This episode also features some nuclear nightmares in Mary's retrospectives, some picks from Lauren, and our Audience Recommends with film suggestions from you!.Want to send us a horror film recommendation for the next episode? Leave us a comment on this episode or send us a message on twitter @TheGhoulGuides or BlueSky @ghoulguides.bsky.social.

Mary unearths the vampire - exploring the vampire’s Eastern European origins, metaphorical and economic vampirism, and two essential Gothic vampire texts: Polidori’s The Vampyre and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

In this episode, Lauren takes Mary into the barbarous world of the Gothic Wars - discussing who exactly were the Ostrogoths and Visigoths, and what happened to them after they sacked Rome.*** DISCLAIMER: Lauren’s autistic brain struggles to remember that 300 means 4th century, and with directions. If you’re thinking ‘she means the Eastern, not Western’ or ‘she said 5th century but then 534?’. We know. She knows. We’re sorry. Also to note - Arius was born in the 256, not the 156. She mistyped the numbers in her notes and afterwards we both realised that would be an impossibly long life span. Ancient history is hard, okay? ***Don't forget to check out Lauren's book on a related topic: The Gothic at War: Masculinity in Conflict, 1760 - 1818!Buy it here: https://www.uwp.co.uk/book/the-gothic-at-war-nixon/

Procopius' History of the Wars: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/20298/20298-h/20298-h.htm

Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint by David Potter: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/theodora-9780190692759?cc=gb&lang=en&Prefer video? Watch the Ghoul Guides Association here and catch up with all our episodes: https://youtu.be/F87U1Jr16JASUPPORT THE GHOUL GUIDES! If you enjoyed this video then why not subscribe to our channel? We love hearing from you so do like this video and leave us a comment telling us what you liked, and let us know if you have any suggestions for future topics. Stay up to date with our latest news on the following:BLUESKY: @ghoulguides.bsky.socialINSTAGRAM: theghoulguides WEB: https://theghoulguides.wordpress.com/ And don't forget, if you want to you can buy us a coffee at our Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/theghoulguides.

In this episode Lauren and Mary dive into the dark world of moral panics, unearthing the long history of moral panics and what links historical Satanic panics to the recent Labubu craze. Prefer video? https://youtu.be/qRiDK5aWqQc00:00 Intro06:16 Who is Pazuzu?11:19 Who is Labubu?32:39 What is a moral panic?1:01:22 Case Study 1 - Medieval Blood Libel1:17:40 Case Study 2 - Witch Panic1:18:07 Case Study 3 - The Gothic1:33:03 - Book RecommendationSUPPORT THE GHOUL GUIDES! If you enjoyed this video then why not subscribe to our channel? We love hearing from you so do like this video and leave us a comment telling us what you liked, and let us know if you have any suggestions for future topics. Stay up to date with our latest news on the following:BLUESKY: @ghoulguides.bsky.socialINSTAGRAM: theghoulguidesWEB: https://theghoulguides.wordpress.com/ And don't forget, if you want to you can buy us a coffee at our Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/theghoulguides.

Our review of Wednesday Season Two so far, and what to read if you're looking for more dark academia or Gothic nostalgia!