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The author of Skulls in the Stars is a professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. Archives
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Category Archives: Horror
Laird Barron’s The Croning
I love Laird Barron’s writing! I first came across his work in the horror collection Haunted Legends; Barron’s story, “The Redfield Girls”, really stood out to me above all the others in terms of its eloquence and eeriness. Since then, … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Asamatsu Ken’s Queen of K’n-Yan
Been a crazy time at work lately, and things look to remain crazy for a couple more weeks! In the meantime, I’m catching up on some of my weird fiction blogging. One of the most remarkable and persistent aspects of … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Caitlin R. Kiernan’s The Drowning Girl
Good ghost stories are hard to find these days. Though there is much wonderful horror out there to read (and watch), in my opinion there are few authors that capture the ghostly sense of dread as well the early 20th … Continue reading
Brian Keene’s “Earthworm Gods”
I haven’t blogged about horror fiction for a while — work, travel and holidays have conspired against me! This post is an attempt to catch up. A few years ago, I had a plan to do a blog post surveying … Continue reading
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Halloween treats 2011
It is time again for my yearly dose of creepy and classic horror stories for some chilling Halloween reading! You can also read my previous editions: 2007, 2008, 2009, and my 2010 post on the true story of the “Lady … Continue reading
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Two ghost stories: “The Man in the Picture” and “Isis”
It seems that ghost stories have been told since the beginning of speech itself, and have held a special place in the imagination of people for just as long. It is hard to characterize what sets a “ghost story” apart … Continue reading
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Stephen McKenna’s The Oldest God
Imagine that you were at an isolated weekend party, and people started to act aberrant, even evil. You begin to suspect that one of the guests of the party is in fact a monster, corrupting the others. What do you … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
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Isaac Newton… Father of invisibility physics?
My blog has been a good impetus to research a number of interesting scientific topics more deeply than I would otherwise have had the ambition to do. For instance, since the blog’s inception, I’ve been pushing the origins of “invisibility physics” … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Invisibility, Science fiction
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Laird Barron’s Occultation
It didn’t take much for me to become a fan of Laird Barron’s writing. I first encountered the horror author’s work in the wonderful anthology Haunted Legends, and Barron’s story The Redfield Girls stood out as a beautifully written and … Continue reading
Peter Straub’s Ghost Story
I have historically had a curious quirk about my fiction reading that I suspect a lot of people share: the more famous a work is, the less motivated I am to read it. This may be the hipster within me … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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