“It’s not enough to know we’re scared – we need to understand how and why, and what being scared means. The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies is an initiation into an understanding of horror, which is – in the end – a key to an understanding of everything.”
Kim Newman

Named for the fictional university in H.P. Lovecraft’s literary mythos, the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies is an international organization that offers undergraduate-level history, theory, and production-based masterclasses. In addition to a September-May curriculum, Miskatonic co- presents events throughout the year.

History

The Miskatonic is a largely volunteer-run endeavour through which established horror writers, directors, scholars and programmers/curators celebrate horror history and culture with a unique blend of enthusiasm and critical perspective.

The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies was founded by film writer and programmer Kier-La Janisse in March of 2010. After existing in embryonic form at Aqua Books in Winnipeg, Canada, Miskatonic moved to Montreal’s Blue Sunshine Psychotronic Film Centre in June of 2010. In fall of that year, scholars Kristopher Woofter and Mario DeGiglio-Bellemare joined as instructors, and later as co-directors and curators.

In addition to helping shape the long term vision of Miskatonic, Woofter and DeGiglio-Bellemare oversaw Miskatonic Montreal from 2013-2017, while Janisse teamed up with UK-based film scholar and Electric Sheep founder/editor-in-chief Virginie Sélavy to launch Miskatonic London in January 2015.

In fall of 2016, Janisse launched Miskatonic NYC with a masterclass by horror author Jack Ketchum; while originally overseen by Japanese film scholar Marc Walkow, the NYC branch is now directed jointly by Cristina Cacioppo and Claire Donner.

In 2017, the Montreal location went on indefinite hiatus, and Josh Saco of Cigarette Burns Cinema took over from Virginie Sélavy as co-director of Miskatonic London.

In fall of 2018, Miskatonic launched a branch in Los Angeles at the storied Los Feliz headquarters of the Philosophical Research Society, founded by occultist Manly Palmer Hall in 1934, and is currently run by Amy Voorhees Searles and Graham Skipper.

In March of 2019, Miskatonic established its first Advisory Board, to aid in expanding the curriculum to work towards internal accreditation.

In 2020, Miskatonic founder Kier-La Janisse announced she was stepping down as Executive Director and would be succeeded by ScreenAnarchy editor and FrightFest programmer Dr. Shelagh Rowan-Legg as of January 2021.

Summer 2023 saw yet another change of directors with Josh Saco, taking the role of Executive Director, and Claire Donner as Online Director.

Locations

London
The Horse Hospital
Colonnade, Bloomsbury
London, WC1N 1JD
Map

Staff

  • Josh Saco
  • Executive Director
  • Chloë Hancock
  • Marketing Manager

Advisory Board

  • Stacey Abbott
  • Author, Critic (Celluloid Vampires, Undead Apocalypse)
  • Prano Bailey-Bond
  • Filmmaker (Censor, NASTY, Shortcut)
  • Brandon Cronenberg
  • Film writer, Director, Producer (Antiviral, Possessor, Infinity Pool)
  • Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
  • Author, Critic (Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study, 1000 Women in Horror)
  • Heidi Honeycutt
  • Film programmer (Etheria Film Night)
  • Dan Martin
  • 13 Finger FX (Possessor, Banshees of Inisherin, Dashcam, Lord of Chaos, A Field in England)
  • Amy Voorhees Searles
  • Creative Director (Severin Films)