What scares us? Why do we sleep with the lights on? What creatures wait to grab a foot sticking out from under the covers? Why do we avoid the woods after dark?

This special issue of Humanities is themed on “Re-Imagining Classical Monsters.” Acrossall cultures, there have been monsters that have terrified, taught, othered, and much more. This issue will take a broad look at how modern authors and artists across genres conceptualize creatures—non-human as well as human—that haunt the imagination.

We are broadly defining all three of our key terms in an attempt to produce a wide-ranging and inclusive exploration. Re-imagining may be done through critical analysis of works of literature, art, theatre, film, TV, video games, or other genres. Classical includes everything from ancient world monsters like Lilith, Medusa, mogwai, yokai, ghuls, or frost giants, to iconic monsters from sources like Gothic literature or Universal monsters of the seventeenth to early twentieth centuries. And monsters encompasses not only traditional non-human creatures like those listed above, but also monstrous humans like Clytemnestra, Bluebeard, Vlad the Impaler, or Countess Bathory.

Some potential topics might include:

• Reception studies analysis
• Feminist revisions of monsters
• Queer revisions of monsters
• Postcolonial revisions of monsters
• Anti-racist revisions of monsters
• Monstrous psychology
• Social class/political economic analysis of monsters
• Historicist readings of monsters
• Ecocritical readings of monsters
• Body image/transformation/disfiguration
• Adaptations of fairy tales
• Adaptations of myths or legends
• Interactions between the human and the animal/non-human

Please be aware that Humanities does charge an article processing fee of CHF 1400 (Swiss Francs) for open access publication. Please inquire with your institution about whether funding exists to help cover the costs of publication. Otherwise, if this cost would be prohibitive, please contact Phillip Zapkin (phillipzapkin@gmail.com) to see what, if any, options exist for funding assistance on the part of Humanities.

Full length drafts of articles should be submitted through the Humanities website for this special issue by 31 Oct. 2024 at the latest. However, Humanities publishes on a rolling schedule as soon as an article has made it through peer review, so earlier submissions are very much welcomed.

Any questions, comments, or concerns can be directed to Phillip Zapkin, the special issue guest editor, at phillipzapkin@gmail.com.

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Humanities is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.