The Paranormal Puppet Show

London, today: When fourteen-year-old Arthur Drake shelters from the rain in a dusty shop, the last thing he expects to find is the antique casebook of The Invisible Detective. It may have been written in the 1930s, but it's in his handwriting... London, 1936: Whatever your problem, the Invisible Detective can find the answer. He is a mystery, an enigma. In fact, the truth about the Invisible Detective is known by only four children with their own special talents. Together the children use their special skills to solve crimes and mysteries. But who'd listen to a bunch of kids? Now the gang is about to take on their most sinister case so far. When an incredible touring exhibition takes over their den, the Invisible Detective must deal with disappearing people, faceless bodies, and some deadly puppets...

After finding a mysterious stone and an old casebook, fourteen-year-old Arthur finds himself remembering the 1936 adventures of a boy named Art who, under the identity of the Invisible Detective, works with three friends in London to solve the mystery of sinister puppets who are replacing real people.

This first book-length exploration of geographical engagement with puppets examines constructions of puppets in contemporary popular British culture and considers the various ways in which puppets and humans (not just puppeteers) are unified in diverse cultural media. Organised around themes of metaphorical, performative and transformational puppets, the work draws out how puppets are used in diverse cultural media (fiction, music, television, film and theatre), how they are constructed through those uses, and to what effect. Both puppets as generalised forms (bodily, relational or ideational) and specific puppet characters (Mr Punch, Pinocchio) are explored. Building upon existing associations between puppets and the grotesque, the volume extends understandings of the puppet by elaborating borderscaping strategies through which puppets are constructed and an alternative perspective on the uncanniness of puppets. Geographically, it unearths distinct puppet spatialities, identifies the socially critical potential of puppets, rescales geo/bio-politics at the interpersonal level, and highlights the potential of puppets within posthuman debates about the status of the human. This work will be of interest to anyone fascinated by puppets, as well as those in fields such as geography, anthropology, cultural and media studies, and those interested in the grotesque, posthumanism and/or non-representational scholarship.

"... collects Hellboy: Krampusnacht, Hellboy: return of the Lambton Worm, Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: Saturn returns #1-#3, and Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: the Beast of Vargu"--Title page verso.

The detective genre has explored supernatural and paranormal themes throughout its colorful history. Stories of detectives investigating spiritualists, ghostly apparitions, the occult and psychics have spanned pulp fiction magazines, comic books, novels, film, television, animation and video games. This encyclopedia covers the history of the genre in its multiple forms and informs and adds to the knowledge of either the new or informed reader. Its A-Z format provides ready reference by title. Detective fans browsing for new discoveries will enjoy the entertaining style.

100 British Crime Writers explores a history of British crime writing between 1855 and 2015 through 100 writers, detailing their lives and significant writing and exploring their contributions to the genre. Divided into four sections: 'The Victorians, Edwardians, and World War One, 1855-1918; 'The Golden Age and World War Two, 1919-1945; 'Post-War and Cold War, 1946-1989; and 'To the Millennium and Beyond, 1990-2015, each section offers an introduction to the significant features of these eras in crime fiction and discusses trends in publication, readership, and critical response. With entries spanning the earliest authors of crime fiction to a selection of innovative contemporary novelists, this book considers the development and progression of the genre in the light of historical and social events.

“A pleasant mix of cozy and paranormal” (The Mystery Reader) this “appealing as apple pie” (Harley Jane Kozak) series “proves the vivacious Jaffarian is the literary heir apparent to Lucille Ball!” (The Book Resort) as a spiritual medium counts on family (those dead and alive) to help her get to the core of the most baffling crimes… A party is giving Kelly Whitecastle a chance to play catch-up with old friends, and she’s especially keen on seeing Chris May again, an up-and-coming ventriloquist. But when Kelly sees his show, and Chris’s dummies, a couple named Shirley and Doug, appear to be staring straight at her, it only rattles Kelly’s nerves. It seems that the ghosts of Chris’s grandparents inhabit those grinning heads full of sawdust and they have a warning for Kelly: Chris is in mortal danger. Now Kelly’s working the nightclub circuit to find out who—or what—wants Chris dead. And she’d better do it fast before the final curtain falls on Chris’s act. Includes excerpts from the first three books in the series, plus a preview of the new Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery, Ghost of a Gamble Praise for the Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery series: “Likable characters and steady suspense… [Sue Ann Jaffarian] makes paranormal activity seem plausible. One of the best cozy authors for light chatter and low-key humor.”—Library Journal “Delectable…introduces Ish Reynolds (aka ‘Granny Apples’), a charming turn-of-the-20th-century spirit and pie maker.” —Publishers Weekly

Gothic Afterlives examines the intersecting dimensions of contemporary Gothic horror and remakes scholarship, bringing together innovative perspectives from different areas of study. The research compiled in this collection covers a wide range of examples, including not only literature but also film, television, video games, and digital media remakes. Gothic Afterlives signals the cultural and conceptual impact of Gothic horror on transmedia production, with a focus on reimagining and remaking. While diverse in content and approach, all chapters pivot on two important points: first, they reflect some of the core preoccupations of Gothic horror by subverting cultural and social certainties about notions such as the body, technology, consumption, human nature, digitalization, scientific experimentation, national identity, memory, and gender and by challenging the boundaries between human and inhuman, self and Other, and good and evil. Second, and perhaps most important, all chapters in the collection collectively show what happens when well-known Gothic horror narratives are adapted and remade into different contexts, highlighting the implications of the mode-shifting registers, platforms, and chronologies in the process. As a collection, Gothic Afterlives hones in on contemporary sociocultural experiences and identities as they appear in contemporary popular culture and in the stories told and retold in the twenty-first century.