CFP: “What my Granny once told me…” - International Conference on Urban Legends, Myths, and Horror

The idea that urban myths and legends are deeply woven into cultural practices, literary texts, and language is not a recent revelation. Today, however, these chilling and/or cautionary tales are predominantly associated with the horror genre while the existing research at the intersection of urban legends and the arts focused largely on their adaptation in (horror) cinema. By acknowledging this multifaceted relationship between urban myths and horror, we are thrilled to announce a call for proposals for our upcoming scientific conference that will explore the intersection of urban legends, horror narratives, and human geography. This conference places a particular emphasis on past and contemporary articulations of urban myths and legends, as well as the adjacent historical, social and cultural practices..

With this in mind, the aim is to deepen our understanding of the genre's connection to specific regions, highlighting its role in expressing societal fears and fascination with the unknown and the threatening, as well as its contribution to forming unique artistic and critical paradigms. These fears and critical discourses, elegantly conveyed through urban legends and mythologies, are deeply rooted in real places, landscapes, and the individual and collective subconsciousness. Thus, they offer insightful readings not only of genre-specific tropes and ideas but also of complex societal issues and potential traumas. 

This conference further aims to explore these narrative practices within the unique context of the Adriatic, Mediterranean, and Balkan regions, which, despite their distinct cultural tapestry, remain largely overlooked in contemporary horror academia. Proposals should consider the varied expressions of these phenomena primarily articulated through horror narratives across different media, while also striving to provide new and innovative theoretical frameworks for past and contemporary narrative practices. 

The main conference objectives are as follows:

• Explore urban myths as specific segments of horror narratives
• Examine the interconnections of urban myths, horror genre, and human geography
• Establish a cultural geography that defines the distinctiveness of a particular region

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Representation and perception of urban myths in regional horror films, comics, and video games
• Geographical roots and haunted spaces/places within urban myths
• Identity, representation, and questions of gender in relation to urban myths
• Political discourses and place identity in urban myths
• The reshaping of national contemporaneity through urban myth narratives
• Comparative analyses of different mediatic representations
• Digital narratives, digitalization of urban myths, and spatial horror in video games
• Intersections of folklore and horror in the region
• Visual constructions and perceptions of spatiality within urban myths

Submission Guidelines

Please submit your 300-word abstract and a short biographical note (100 words)  to conference organizers at grannysconference@gmail.com by 11 February 2024. Abstracts should clearly outline the proposed topic, methodology, and relevance to the conference theme. Please state on your submission whether you will be attending in- person or online. 

The conference will be held both on-site at the University of Zadar, Croatia and online, via Zoom platform from 11 to 12 April 2024. Conference fee is 50 euros and payment instructions will be forwarded following the acceptance of your proposal.

Important Dates 

Submission Deadline: 11 February 2024

Notification of Acceptance: 20 February 2024

Conference Dates: 11-12 April 2024

Join us in uncovering the enigmatic nexus of urban legends and horror narratives as they relate to the Adriatic, Mediterranean, and Balkan regions, and contribute to the creation of a new cultural geography that promises to be as captivating as the legend and the myths it explores. We look forward to receiving your proposals!