31 Days of Halloween: Day 29

A slightly quieter day today, but still chock-full of Halloween goodness!

Samhain Forest Bathing

Just perfect Samhain forest bathing session this afternoon with Natalie Rossiter Wellbeing, finding beauty in decay, sycamore for protection and messages in the trees, then soul cakes, mulled apple juice and reflection by the fire.

Autumn Charm

One of the things we did on today's Samhain forest bathing was to make up our own plant folklore. The idea of let-go leaves and holly to prevent the holding of grudges seemed particularly apt, so I collected some up and made myself a little autumn charm.

Halloween Cupcakes

Halloween cupcakes!

31 Halloween Films: Resident Evil

Back to our film list this afternoon, and the random number generator has decreed that we are watching Resident Evil this evening!

Halloween Dinner

We had our traditional Halloween Dinner tonight... Pumpkin and Sausage Casserole!

Halloween Gifts

And after dinner, we exchanged our traditional Halloween gifts... the final two whiskies for our seasonal tasting sets that we'll have in December.

31 Halloween Films: Dracula: Prince of Darkness

There is a small chance we won't make it through all of our list by the end of October, but for tonight, we have Dracula: Prince of Darkness.

OUT NOW: Unraveling Resident Evil: Essays on the Complex Universe of the Games and Films, ed. by Nadine Farghaly (McFarland, 2014)

About the book:

Resident Evil is a multidimensional as well as multimedia universe: Various books, graphic novels, games and movies (the fifth one came out in 2012) all contribute to this enormous universe. The new essays written for this volume focus on this particular zombie manifestation and its significance in popular culture. The essayists come from very different fields, so it was possible to cover a wide range and discuss numerous issues regarding this universe. Among them are game theory, the idea of silence as well as memory, the connection to iconic stories such as Alice in Wonderland, posthumanism and much more. A lot of ground is covered that will facilitate further discussions not only among Resident Evil interested persons but also among other zombie universes and zombies in general. Most of these essays focus on the female figure Alice, a character revered by many as a feminist warrior.

Contents:

Introduction: Unraveling the Resident Evil Universe
Nadine Farghaly

From Necromancy to the Necrotrophic: Resident Evil's Influence on the Zombie Origin Shift from Supernatural to Science
Tanya Carinae Pell Jones

Survival and System in Resident Evil (2002): Remembering, Repeating and Working-Through
David Müller

Why They Keep Coming Back: The Allure of Incongruity
Adam M. Crowley

Opening Doors: Art-Horror and Agency
Stephen Cadwell

Survival Horror, Metaculture and the Fluidity of Video Game Genres
Broc Holmquest

The Strong, Silent Type: Alice's Use of Rhetorical Silence as Feminist Strategy
Suzan E. Aiken

'My name is Alice and I remember everything!': Surviving Sexual Abuse in the Resident Evil Films
James Stone

The Woman in the Red Dress: Sexuality, Femmes Fatales, the Gaze and Ada Wong
Jenny Platz

Chris Redfield and the Curious Case of Wesker's Sunglasses
Nicolas J. Lalone

Through the Looking-Glass: Interrogating the 'Alice-ness' of Alice
Hannah Priest

Thank You for Making Me Human Again: Alice and the Teaching of Scientific Ethics
Kristine Larsen

Zombies, Cyborgs and Wheelchairs: The Question of Normalcy Within Diseased and Disabled Bodies
J.L. Schatz

'I barely feel human anymore': Project Alice and the Posthuman in the Films
Margo Collins

'Six impossible things before breakfast': Living Memory and Undead History
Simon Bacon

For more information about the book, please visit the publisher's website.