Sarah Sloan

About the researcher

Sarah is a PhD researcher at Falmouth University, where she explores Glory Gothic—a term she defined to describe the beautification of the Gothic in contemporary literature, film, and television. Her doctoral research, “How does the glorification and beautification of Gothic themes in contemporary film and television interrogate the cultural framing of fear and anxiety through the aesthetical form?" examines how Gothic aesthetics have evolved, embracing heightened visual splendour while retaining the genre’s haunting themes of obsession, monstrosity, and the sublime. 

She holds an MA in Crime and Gothic Fictions from Bath Spa University, where her dissertation focused on the psychological parallels between detectives and killers in True Crime Narratives. Analysing works such as Michelle McNamara’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and John Douglas’ Mindhunter, her research offered a psychoanalytical lens on the thin boundary between hunter and hunted. She also conducted an extended study of John Logan’s Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, leading to the development of her Glory Gothic theory. 

Beyond academia, Sarah is a publisher and business owner. She runs a not-for-profit CIC and multiple publications based in Somerset, championing independent voices and creative ventures. Passionate about the intersections of Gothic fiction, crime narratives, and media, she continues to explore how storytelling shapes and reflects cultural anxieties.

Sloane

    PhD Abstract

    Thesis title

    Glory Gothic: The Beautification of The Gothic in Film and Television 

    Abstract

    My research examines the evolving aesthetics of the Gothic in contemporary film and television, focusing on how traditionally unsettling themes are reimagined through a stylised and visually alluring lens—a concept I term Glory Gothic. By exploring the interplay between beauty and horror, this study considers whether the Gothic’s transformation reflects a shift from visceral dread to a controlled and aesthetically refined experience of fear. 

    Through the analysis of key creators such as Mike Flanagan, Ryan Murphy, and Brad Falchuk, this research situates Glory Gothic within broader socio-cultural and theoretical frameworks, drawing on Zygmunt Bauman’s “liquid fear” and Gilles Lipovetsky’s hypermodernity. Using textual analysis, visual semiotics, and cultural contextualisation, it explores how Gothic narratives align with contemporary sensibilities, commodifying fear as an elevated aesthetic experience. 

    By bridging Gothic Studies, film and media theory, and cultural criticism, my research contributes to the discourse on beauty and horror in modern media, redefining our understanding of fear in a hypermodern world. 

    Qualifications, outputs & expertise

    Research interests

    • Gothic Studies & Horror Aesthetics – Evolution of Gothic visual culture, Glory Gothic as a new paradigm  
    • Film & Television Studies – Contemporary horror, adaptation, and cross-medium storytelling  
    • Cultural Theory & Hypermodernity – The commodification of fear, aestheticisation of horror in media 

    Qualifications

    • MA Crime & Gothic Fictions, Bath Spa University, 2020
    • BA English Literature & Creative Writing, Bath Spa University, 2018

    Areas of expertise

    • Gothic & Horror in Film and Television  
    • Aesthetic Theory & Visual Semiotics  
    • Cultural Studies & Hypermodernity  
    • Crime Narratives & True Crime