The already dead or damned unreliable narrator, and the similar path of characters immersed in death dreams – initially popularized by Ambrose Bierce’s short story, “The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” – allow for philosophical explorations on the nature of reality, consciousness, the grim inevitability of death and occasionally, the possibility of an afterlife. This talk asks students to consider horror narratives in popular cinema and TV with characters who negotiate their impending / past deaths by constructing alternate scenarios in which they have escaped their fates going on to avenge themselves or make different choices entirely with their second chances. We will explore the functions of the death dream and damned narrator in films such as Jacob’s Ladder, Carnival of Souls, Ghost Stories, Angel Heart, Tale of Two Sisters, and Phantasm. We will also touch on Mike Flanagan’s limited series The Haunting of Bly Manor and Midnight Mass which both use this trope as a way to conceptualize the afterlife as a neverending dream that reimagines the present. In a media landscape where sci-fi and fantasy multiverses and their defining ‘what ifs’ are central to a significant number of family friendly, mainstream entertainment, what is the source of the horrific being mined in horror characters’ departures from objective reality?

Please note this is a live broadcast event – the class cannot be watched later, so please be sure you are available at the date and time the class is being offered in before registering. All sales are final, and we will not give refunds for any reason other than class cancellation. Classes curated by Miskatonic New York are in Eastern Time.