Haunted Seasons

Derek Johnston is Lecturer in Broadcast Literacy at Queen's University, Belfast, UK. His research focuses on British broadcasting history and on the history of genres such as science fiction and horror, particularly where the two combine.

“Johnston’s Haunted Seasons is a vital addition to Gothic and media studies, primarily examining the cultural popularity of ghost stories in British broadcasting at Christmas and, to a lesser extent, American horror programming at Halloween. … Johnston’s study provides valuable and thorough research on the Christmas ghost story in Britain … .” (Shannon Scott, Gothic Studies, Vol. 19 (1), May, 2017)“This book is filled with historical detail about ghost stories, gothic, horror and television, as well as insight into the cultural meanings of these traditions. Haunted Seasons is an original and significant addition to a growing body of work on television horror. … This book is ideal for the television and horror scholar but also for anyone who enjoys a brief, seasonal, sojourn into the ghostly and the macabre.” (Dr. Stacey Abbott, BUFVC, December, 2016)“Derek Johnston’s Haunted Seasons, which comes as a welcome … addition to the literature on the gothic, the supernatural, and our media landscape … . Johnston’s work excavates a fascinating history of these seasonal hauntings, locating them within the role that seasonal days like Christmas and Halloween play in the lived experience of communities on both sides of the Atlantic. … This material is welcome in its own way, especially for an uninitiated reader … .” (Murray Leeder, Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies, Issue 15, 2016)

• Introduction: Defining Television Gothic1. The British Ghost Story at Christmas2. A Broadcast Tradition3. Irruptions of the Abnormal4. Seasonality, Nostalgia, Heritage and History5. The Ghost Story for Christmas and 'Treehouse of Horror'