Wm. Schumacher
@wmschumacher.bsky.social
Gothic/Horror Film & Fiction Pedant (ghost stories, esp. M. R. James); Amateur Theatricals; Wastrel and Ne'er-Do-Well. Former Teacher. U of I ‘91, WPGU.
In case anyone was anxiously wondering - YES, we just finished the 1000-piece Edward Gorey puzzle.
SO much monochromatic sky…
SO much monochromatic sky…
December 6, 2025 at 1:29 AM
In case anyone was anxiously wondering - YES, we just finished the 1000-piece Edward Gorey puzzle.
SO much monochromatic sky…
SO much monochromatic sky…
A reboot of “The Office,” but it’s the Weyland-Yutani Corporation.
I want the Alien franchise to get the Andor treatment and just give us two seasons leading up to the launching of the Nostromo.
December 5, 2025 at 8:37 PM
A reboot of “The Office,” but it’s the Weyland-Yutani Corporation.
Reposted by Wm. Schumacher
Some #ChristmasHorror #GastroHorror cannibalism & anti-capitalism in the song/poem "The Vorkhouse Boy" (to the tune of "The Mistletoe Bough) from "Songs of the Working Class in England" in the Southern Reporter and Cork Commercial Courier [Ireland]. Jan 4, 1840. (Dates back at least to 1837 tho.)
![Every one knows the fine little romantic ballad of “The mistletoe bough” […]
One of the best parodies we have seen in. the collections of penny ballads is of this song. It is an article apparently prepared for the cockney market; and it will be seen that it falls in with some vulgar prejudices as to “workhouse starvation” “burking,” &c. It is entitled “The workhouse boy”:—
The cloth vos laid in the vorkhouse hall,
And the great-coats hung on the vhite-vash’d vail;
The paupers all vere blithe and gay,
Keeping their Christmas holiday:
When the master cried vith a roguish leer,
You'll all get fat on your Christmas cheer;
And one by his looks he seem'd to say,
I'll have more soup on this Christmas day!
Oh, the poor vorkhouse boy, &c .
At length all of us to bed vos sent,
The boy vos missing, in search ve vent:
Ve sought him above, ve sought him below,
Ve sought him vith faces of grief and voe;
Ve sought him that hour, ve sought him that night,
Ve sought him in fear, and ve sought him in fright;
Vben a young pauper cries, “I know ve shall
Get jolly veil vopt for loosing our pall.”
Oh, the poor vorkhouse boy, &c.
Ve sought in each corner, each crevice ve knew,
Ve sought down the yard, and ve sought up the flue .
Ve sought in each saucepan, each kettle and pot,
In vatter-butt look'd, but found him not.
And veeks new on ye vere all of us told,
That somebody said he'd been burk'd and sold;
Vhen our master goes out, the parishioners vild,
Cry, "There goes the cove that burk'd the poor child!"
Oh, the poor vorkhouse boy, ftc.
At length the soup coppers repairs did need,
The coppersmith came, and there he seed
A dollop of bones lay grizzling there,
In the leg of the breeches the boy did vear.
To gain his fill the boy did stoop,
And, dreadful to tell, he vos boil'd in the soup I
And ve all of us say it, and say it with sneers,
That he vos pushed in by the overseers.
Oh, the poor vorkhouse boy, &c.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:rykdmiisbjdf4ooel7bxlrfu/bafkreif2nofa2u5vwphbbqlkygax4psz4ksbjadvyeoujdxbgjeznl34fq@jpeg)
December 5, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Some #ChristmasHorror #GastroHorror cannibalism & anti-capitalism in the song/poem "The Vorkhouse Boy" (to the tune of "The Mistletoe Bough) from "Songs of the Working Class in England" in the Southern Reporter and Cork Commercial Courier [Ireland]. Jan 4, 1840. (Dates back at least to 1837 tho.)
Reposted by Wm. Schumacher
the 2026 new horror list is FINALLY LIVE! please share with all your freakiest loved ones: readjumpscares.com/2026-new-hor...
2026’s New Horror Books
All the new horror books coming in 2026, featuring all manner of hauntings, murderers, vampires, monsters, cults, ghosts, and all kinds of nebulous eldritch terrors.
readjumpscares.com
December 5, 2025 at 8:08 PM
the 2026 new horror list is FINALLY LIVE! please share with all your freakiest loved ones: readjumpscares.com/2026-new-hor...
Reposted by Wm. Schumacher
Reposted by Wm. Schumacher
“The keeping of records remains itself a kind of warfare. The keepers, whether they wish to or not, cannot be neutral.”
Currently reading Graham’s longer book about librarian spies, Book and Dagger, and can’t recommend it enough!!
www.publicbooks.org/the-spy-who-...
Currently reading Graham’s longer book about librarian spies, Book and Dagger, and can’t recommend it enough!!
www.publicbooks.org/the-spy-who-...
The Spy Who Came In from the Carrel - Public Books
In Nazi Europe, countless books were banned. So those who saved books—whether university archivists or Jewish scholars—became smugglers.
www.publicbooks.org
December 4, 2025 at 6:30 PM
“The keeping of records remains itself a kind of warfare. The keepers, whether they wish to or not, cannot be neutral.”
Currently reading Graham’s longer book about librarian spies, Book and Dagger, and can’t recommend it enough!!
www.publicbooks.org/the-spy-who-...
Currently reading Graham’s longer book about librarian spies, Book and Dagger, and can’t recommend it enough!!
www.publicbooks.org/the-spy-who-...
Late to the game, but…
December 4, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Late to the game, but…
Reposted by Wm. Schumacher
Why is there a Walt Disney death mask
So apparently Jeffrey Epstein had a room with weird masks hanging on the wall...
December 3, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Why is there a Walt Disney death mask
Me showing up to the Bluesky Holiday Party.
An early Christmas gift - save this GIF while you can!
December 3, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Me showing up to the Bluesky Holiday Party.
Reposted by Wm. Schumacher
This show is magnificent. If you have Disney+ watch it. It is hi-octane procedural trash of the finest kind.
Episode 1 of Season 9 of 911: an obnoxious billionaire is swallowed whole by a whale while out kayaking, and is still on his Zoom call from inside the whale. (“You have reception?” “Satellite.”) Meanwhile, there’s trouble on the International Space Station. Ask yourself why you don’t watch this show
December 3, 2025 at 3:22 PM
This show is magnificent. If you have Disney+ watch it. It is hi-octane procedural trash of the finest kind.
I’m constantly enamored with the artifice of baroque theatre sets; before I retire, I’d love to design a set all of drops and shaped flats like the Drottningholm Slottsteater or the Théâtre de la Reine at Versailles. I know high school theatre has its limitations, but a man can dream…? 🧵
December 3, 2025 at 3:58 PM
I’m constantly enamored with the artifice of baroque theatre sets; before I retire, I’d love to design a set all of drops and shaped flats like the Drottningholm Slottsteater or the Théâtre de la Reine at Versailles. I know high school theatre has its limitations, but a man can dream…? 🧵
Reposted by Wm. Schumacher
Tomorrow is the official publication date for POSSESSED by Rosalie and Edward Synton. To celebrate, I'll be talking about it's authors Rosalie and Edward Corse-Scott (who wrote under the name Synton).
If you want a cheap copy, it's on sale online for £7.99 at Forbidden Planet. Link below.
If you want a cheap copy, it's on sale online for £7.99 at Forbidden Planet. Link below.
December 3, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Tomorrow is the official publication date for POSSESSED by Rosalie and Edward Synton. To celebrate, I'll be talking about it's authors Rosalie and Edward Corse-Scott (who wrote under the name Synton).
If you want a cheap copy, it's on sale online for £7.99 at Forbidden Planet. Link below.
If you want a cheap copy, it's on sale online for £7.99 at Forbidden Planet. Link below.
Reposted by Wm. Schumacher
Yeah, yeah, Bond I know but now Daniel Craig has really hit the big time
December 2, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Yeah, yeah, Bond I know but now Daniel Craig has really hit the big time
Reposted by Wm. Schumacher
Very excited that my first narrative film is not only premiering on @shudder.com tomorrow, but that it's also getting so many screenings!! Being a 30-minute film I didn't expect it to get any theatrical play, so the fact that all these venues programmed it to support features is a huge deal to me.🖤
Upcoming screenings for THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM, beginning tomorrow with its premiere on @shudder.com as part of annual series THE HAUNTED SEASON (in all their territories!)
Scan through the list to see if it is coming to a theatre near you!
Scan through the list to see if it is coming to a theatre near you!
November 30, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Very excited that my first narrative film is not only premiering on @shudder.com tomorrow, but that it's also getting so many screenings!! Being a 30-minute film I didn't expect it to get any theatrical play, so the fact that all these venues programmed it to support features is a huge deal to me.🖤
Reposted by Wm. Schumacher
Just out of interest... what have people gone on to do inspired by a Romancing the Gothic class or event?
I know people have done podcast episodes, started research projects, gone to do courses, written short stories and books, written blogs, read a frankly ridiculous amount...
I'd love to know!
I know people have done podcast episodes, started research projects, gone to do courses, written short stories and books, written blogs, read a frankly ridiculous amount...
I'd love to know!
I wish there was more emphasis on access to education disentangled from employability and focusing instead on enrichment because people who engage with education (or have the ability to) as enrichment interact with it differently. (And that's a whole society thing, not an in-uni thing) 7/7
November 29, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Just out of interest... what have people gone on to do inspired by a Romancing the Gothic class or event?
I know people have done podcast episodes, started research projects, gone to do courses, written short stories and books, written blogs, read a frankly ridiculous amount...
I'd love to know!
I know people have done podcast episodes, started research projects, gone to do courses, written short stories and books, written blogs, read a frankly ridiculous amount...
I'd love to know!
We have spent the last of our Thanksgiving hours absorbed by an Edward Gorey picture puzzle, as God, the Pilgrims, and Sarah Josepha Hale intended.
Good Night!
Good Night!
November 28, 2025 at 3:38 AM
We have spent the last of our Thanksgiving hours absorbed by an Edward Gorey picture puzzle, as God, the Pilgrims, and Sarah Josepha Hale intended.
Good Night!
Good Night!
Reposted by Wm. Schumacher
It's giving thanks
November 27, 2025 at 7:39 PM
It's giving thanks
I’m old enough not to have any conservative uncles left to argue with this Thanksgiving Day, so - for those of you dining without contention today - I’m bringing this.
Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate!
Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate!
Oh, just one more thing. Canned pumpkin is available year-round; how come we only make pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving —maybe Christmas —if it’s so “delicious?”
November 27, 2025 at 6:38 PM
I’m old enough not to have any conservative uncles left to argue with this Thanksgiving Day, so - for those of you dining without contention today - I’m bringing this.
Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate!
Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate!
Reposted by Wm. Schumacher
Get your BAVS abstracts in! ⬇️
Check out the BAVS 2026 conference website: www.ljmu.ac.uk/bavs2026
CfP deadline extended until 12th December 2025!
CfP deadline extended until 12th December 2025!
British Association for Victorian Studies (BAVS) conference
The Centre for Modern and Contemporary History, with the Centre for Port and Maritime History, are delighted to welcome BAVS delegates to Liverpool in 2026.
www.ljmu.ac.uk
November 27, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Get your BAVS abstracts in! ⬇️
Oh, just one more thing. Canned pumpkin is available year-round; how come we only make pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving —maybe Christmas —if it’s so “delicious?”
November 27, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Oh, just one more thing. Canned pumpkin is available year-round; how come we only make pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving —maybe Christmas —if it’s so “delicious?”
I will die on the hill that Turkey and Pumpkin Pie are the American versions of Lutefisk; we eat them because they are traditional, not because they are delicious.
November 27, 2025 at 3:01 AM
I will die on the hill that Turkey and Pumpkin Pie are the American versions of Lutefisk; we eat them because they are traditional, not because they are delicious.
Sensible people in South Arlington - speaking truth to pumpkin pie and leaving it as far from a dinner table as possible.
What?!? Pumpkin Pie Bench has returned!!! #southarlington
November 27, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Sensible people in South Arlington - speaking truth to pumpkin pie and leaving it as far from a dinner table as possible.
Help me, Charlie Brown! Get me back! Get me back, I don't care what happens to me! Get me back to my wife and kids! Help me Charlie Brown, please! Please! I wanna live again. I wanna live again. Please, God, let me live again.
Someday a real rain'll come, Charlie Brown, and wash ALL the scum off the streets
“Give me a ping, Charlie Brown. One ping only, please.”
November 25, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Help me, Charlie Brown! Get me back! Get me back, I don't care what happens to me! Get me back to my wife and kids! Help me Charlie Brown, please! Please! I wanna live again. I wanna live again. Please, God, let me live again.
Reposted by Wm. Schumacher
If you're interested in folklore, Romancing the Gothic has talks on folklore in lots of countries: from Scotland, Ireland and England to Appalachia, Hawaii, Pakistan, India and more!
Check out our playlist
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8nz...
Check out our playlist
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8nz...
Northern Folklore - Icy Sedgwick
YouTube video by Romancing the Gothic
www.youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:10 PM
If you're interested in folklore, Romancing the Gothic has talks on folklore in lots of countries: from Scotland, Ireland and England to Appalachia, Hawaii, Pakistan, India and more!
Check out our playlist
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8nz...
Check out our playlist
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8nz...
Reposted by Wm. Schumacher
I've just added a few more talks to the Romancing the Gothic world map. If you'd like to explore horror, the Gothic, the supernatural, folklore and more in talks with experts from around the world... this is the resource for you!
padlet.com/hollyhirst84...
padlet.com/hollyhirst84...
Romancing the Gothic World Tour
Made with Padlet
padlet.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:15 PM
I've just added a few more talks to the Romancing the Gothic world map. If you'd like to explore horror, the Gothic, the supernatural, folklore and more in talks with experts from around the world... this is the resource for you!
padlet.com/hollyhirst84...
padlet.com/hollyhirst84...