The freak played a significant role in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century entertainment, but its significance extended beyond such venues as sideshows and minstrel shows. This dissertation examines the freak as an avatar emblematic of several issues, such as class and race, traditionally focused on in studies of Turn-of-the Century American literature and culture. Disability and freakishness are explored as central to late-nineteenth- and early twentieth- century Americans’ identity. Freakishness is applied to a series of ways in which Americans in this period constructed their identity, including race, gender, and socioeconomic class, showing the dual role that the freak played for many white, able-bodied, upper-class American men. Freaks threatened such men’s sense of their own disability, triggering such complexes as Wounded Southernness or white masculinity. But contrasting themselves with freaks also solidified their visions of themselves as models of American normalcy. Besides freak shows, they encountered freakishness in a variety of arenas, including lynchings, slums, and early horror films. The late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s fascination with freakishness is situated as an outgrowth of that period’s eugenics movement, showing how the entwined concepts of eugenics and normalcy traversed ground that went much further than studies of physical aberration and chronic illness. This extended notion of the freak is discussed by analyzing various literary texts, especially the novels of William Dean Howells and Jack London. The autobiographies of Booker T. Washington and Helen Keller exemplify how double consciousness can serve as a means of enfreakment. Further, all these texts are situated culturally by medicalizing a series of historical events, including specific lynchings, as well as laws that reconfigured urban landscapes. The final chapter focuses on early horror film, arguing that film became the new American sideshow and in the process changed the definition of freak to something far more monstrous. In short, this dissertation demonstrates how the freak show pervaded America at the turn of the twentieth century and turned the country into one large dime museum.

Through the lens of the horror film and the fairy tale, this thesis explores the notion of the grotesque as a boundary phenomenon—a negotiation of what is self and what is other. As such, it locates the function that the monstrous and the grotesque have in the formation of a personal and social identity. In asking why we take pleasure in the perverse, I explore how permutations of guilt, victimhood, and desire can be actively rewritten, in order to construct a stable sense of self.

In this study, we will explore how a restricted user interface affects the player experience in survival horror games. To test this, we created a digital survival horror game. The restricted user interface in the prototype resides in the player controller who has access to five different user interface elements. These elements are health, revolver, flashlight, compass and a watch. The results showed that the restriction and making the user interface diegetic did affect the player experience. This was presented through dividing the participant's experiences with the prototype in four categories: Challenge, Analytical, Safety and Control. Participant’s enjoyed the added challenge from the restricted user interface which also helped promote the horror experience. As a drawback, a restricted user interface resulted in participants having a harder time learning the game and understanding certain game mechanics and elements. / I denna studie så kommer vi undersöka hur ett begränsat användargränssnitt påverkar spelupplevelsen i överlevnadsskräckspel. För att testa detta så skapade vi ett digitalt överlevnadsskräckspel. Det begränsade användargränssnittet i prototypen befinner sig på den spelbara karaktären som har tillgång till fem olika användargränssnitts element. Dessa element är hälsa, revolver, ficklampa, kompass och klocka. Resultaten visar att begränsningen och genom att göra användargränssnittet diegetisk påverkade spelupplevelsen. Detta var presenterat genom att dela upp deltagarens erfarenheter med prototypen i fyra olika kategorier: utmaning, analytisk, säkerhet och kontroll. Deltagare gillade ökningen i utmaning från det begränsade gränssnittet som även hjälpte stärkte skräckupplevelsen. En nackdel med ett begränsat gränssnitt var att deltagare hade det svårare att lära sig spelet samt förstå vissa spelmekaniker och spelement.

Ce mémoire s‘intéresse à la spatialité du jeu vidéo et à l‘adaptation vidéoludique de lieux réels. Il se concentre sur un lieu précis, le métro, et sur sa représentation dans le genre de l‘horreur. Cette recherche comprend trois niveaux d‘adaptation du lieu et de création spatiale, soit l‘adaptation systémique, l‘adaptation sociohistorique et finalement l‘adaptation technologique. À partir d‘exemples de jeux comparés aux réalités concrètes du métro, ces trois niveaux d‘adaptation sont analysés afin d‘explorer à la fois les impacts du lieu virtuel sur l‘expérience de jeu et les influences externes qui guident la conception vidéoludique. / This master thesis studies video games‘ spatiality and the ludic adaptation of real locations. It focuses on one specific location, the subway, and on its representation in the horror genre. The research is structured by three levels of adaptation : systemic, sociohistorical and technological. Based on examples of games compared with the reality of the subway, those three levels of adaptation enable at once an exploration of the impact of the virtual location on the gaming experience and of the external influences on the game design.

Aucune figure, au XXe siècle et aujourd'hui, n'est comparable au zombie. Sa prolifération et sa réitération en font un cas d'étude exceptionnel. Or, une figure est inséparable des discours qui la voient naître. Il existe un subtil et profond arrimage entre la production d'une figure, son interprétation et l'économie de sens qui la voit naître. Ma modeste ambition, dans ce mémoire, s'insère dans une réflexion à caractère épistémologique où les enjeux narratifs et les notions critiques encadrant le phénomène zombie seront interrogés. De même, afin de faire émerger cette économie de sens, les modalités de sens de la métaphore doivent être cernées. Ce mémoire est donc une série de prolégomènes nécessaires à l'intelligence d'un important problème contemporain : l'interprétation d'une figure telle que le zombie. Le premier chapitre est une synthèse des manifestations de la figure et de sa compréhension. Les années 60 opèrent une importante transformation dans le corpus filmique zombie (et d'horreur) qui s'incarne dans Night of the Living Dead, de George Romero. Le second chapitre s'intéresse aux enjeux narratifs et aux notions critiques qui encadrent le phénomène zombie. La distinction entre thématique et esthétisme s'incarne alors dans la séparation stricte entre forme et contenu et se fait sentir dans les interprétations offertes du phénomène de l'horreur et dont les études sur le zombie sont tributaires. Cela fait, je rappellerai la vision de Todorov et d'Ingarden sur la représentation afin de cerner les enjeux véritables d'une interprétation. En définitive, la question sera de savoir si le zombie peut être pris à la lettre. Le troisième chapitre sera le moment d'interroger la métaphore afin qu'émergent les modalités de sens qui lui sont inhérentes. Ce chapitre se divisera en deux parties qui reprennent les moments essentiels de la métaphore : sa production et sa lecture. Pour ce faire, je parcourrai la tradition théorique sur la métaphore afin de saisir la portée de l'affirmation poétique qui établit un rapport métaphorique entre les zombies et les humains. Quelle est la signification de cette affirmation qui assume et guide la mise en récit d'une figure (le zombie), et qui assume et guide une lecture métaphorique de l'être humain? En guise de conclusion, je réfléchirai sur les modalités de la lecture en vue d'une interprétation de la figure du zombie. En ce sens, j'explorerai cette inséparabilité entre la manière, c'est-à-dire la métaphore, et son contenu, c'est-à-dire ses interprétations. / No figure, in the Twentieth Century, and today, is comparable to the zombie. Its proliferation and reiteration make it an exceptional case study. Yet a figure is inseparable from the discourses that give birth to it. There is a profound and subtle correlation between the figure’s productions and interpretation, as well as the economy of meaning generating it. My modest ambition, in this thesis, is anchored in an epistemological reflection in which the narrative stakes and the critical notions framing the zombie phenomenon will be examined. For that economy of sense to emerge, the metaphor’s modalities of meaning must be grasped. Thus, this thesis takes the form of a series of prolegomena necessary for understanding an important contemporary problem: the interpretation of a figure such as that of the zombie. The first chapter presents a synthesis of the figure’s manifestations. The 60s bring an important transformation in the zombie (and horror) corpus that is conveyed in George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. The second chapter focuses on narrative issues and critical notions framing the zombie phenomenon. The strict separation between form and content shapes the horror discourse and many of its interpretations from which Zombie Studies emerge. Subsequently, I revisit Todorov’s and Ingarden’s thought about representation in order to grasp the fundamental issues of interpretation. Ultimately, the question concerns knowing whether the zombie can be taken à la lettre. The third chapter examines metaphor’s inherent modalities of meaning. This chapter is divided into two sections that represent the essential aspects of metaphor: production and reading. In this connection, I refer to the theoretical tradition on metaphor so as to discern the nature of the poetic affirmation that, through metaphor, links zombies and humans. What does this affirmation signify, as it takes up and guides both the zombie figure’s narrative and the metaphorical reading of the human being? In conclusion, I reflect on the modalities of reading underlying interpretations of the zombie figure. In this sense, I will explore the inextricable link between the mode - that is, the metaphor - and its content or, rather, interpretations.

Depuis le début du nouveau millénaire, le cinéma s’est vu envahi par une pratique qui n’avait jamais atteint une telle ampleur : le remake. Lorsque comparée à son film source, la nouvelle version est à tout coup semblable, mais différente à la fois; ont-ils plus de points en commun qu’ils en ont avec les films de leurs époques respectives? En utilisant cette vague de remakes des années 2000, la présente étude propose une analyse comparative afin de démontrer l’évolution de la représentation du mal et de la violence retrouvée dans les remakes d’horreur de type slashers. En guise de première partie, ce mémoire débute avec l’élaboration de la fonction du genre ainsi que celle du remake. Puis, un second chapitre est dédié à la constitution des premiers cycles des slashers afin de comprendre le cheminement du sous-genre. L’étude se conclut par la comparaison de ces informations avec les résultats de l’analyse des remakes de slashers. / Since the new millennium’s arrival, cinema has been invaded by a practice that never before reached this scale: the remake. When compared to its source, the remake is similar, but different at the same time. Are there more common aspects between them by comparison with films of there respective period? By using this wave of remakes, this study suggest a comparative analysis to demonstrate the evolution of the representation of the evil and the violence through horror remakes, slasher films to be more precise. The first part of this thesis dissects the genre functions as well as the remake functions. Then a second chapter is dedicated to the constitution of the first slasher circle in order to notice the progression of the subgenre. This study concludes by the comparison of these informations with the result of the present analysis of the slasher films.

L’appellation « genre frénétique », créée par Charles Nodier en 1821, fait aujourd’hui partie intégrante du vocabulaire des études sur le romantisme. Le genre qu’elle désigne donne cependant lieu à des définitions divergentes, tant au niveau des auteurs qui l’exemplifient qu’au niveau des caractéristiques qui le décrivent. Cette thèse retrace l’histoire du genre frénétique tel qu’il a été défini par la critique, de 1821 à 2010, à partir d’une étude des emplois de l’appellation générique dans un corpus de près de 630 textes critiques. Dans les années 1820 et 1830, la notion du frénétique revêt une visée polémique dans le cadre du débat sur le romantisme. Alors que Nodier inventait le genre frénétique pour le distinguer du romantisme, de nombreux critiques assimilent au contraire, totalement ou partiellement, les deux notions, l’appellation permettant de décrire le romantisme dans ses dimensions violente et excessive. Après plusieurs décennies où le genre disparaît des lectures du romantisme, le genre « frénétique » est à nouveau convoqué au début du XXe siècle et connaît un succès croissant, qui a pour corollaire une complexification des définitions. Manifestation d’une révolte métaphysique ou transposition littéraire d’un èthos, le « frénétique », qu’il soit jugé favorablement ou non, permet aussi généralement de rendre compte de la vogue, à l’époque romantique, d’un genre horrifique et outrancier, héritier du roman gothique anglais. Ce dernier genre, formé par les romans de Radcliffe, Lewis et Maturin, constitue cependant un corpus hétérogène déterminant deux lignées génériques qui méritent d’être distinguées, le roman noir et le frénétique. / The name of the “Frénétique” genre was created by Charles Nodier in 1821 and is now an integral part of the vocabulary of Romanticism studies. The genre it designates, however, has experienced diverging definitions, both with regards to the authors associated with this genre and the characteristics that describe it. The present thesis traces the history of the genre known as “Frénétique” as defined by critiques from 1821 to 2010, based on a study of the uses of the genre name in a corpus of close to 630 critiques. In the 1820s and 1830s, the notion of “Frénétique” was used in debates on Romanticism with a polemical purpose. While Nodier invented the “Frénétique” genre so as to distinguish it from Romanticism, numerous critics instead assimilated the two notions in part or in whole —using the “Frénétique” appellation to describe the most violent and excessive dimensions of Romanticism. After disappearing from Romanticism readings for several decades, the “Frénétique” genre emerged again in the early 20th century, when its rising success lead to an increasing complexity of its definitions. The “Frénétique” genre can be the manifestation of a metaphysical revolt, the literary transposition of an èthos, or is generally used to describe the Romantic-era craze for a horrific and excessive genre that inherited its key characteristics from the Gothic Novel. The latter, constituted by the novels of Radcliffe, Lewis and Maturin, spurred two genres that should be distinguished: the French Gothic Novel and the “Frénétique” genre.

This thesis deals with the evolution of vampire as a literary character in contemporary production for young adults. Its aim is not to describe all existing works but to cover only the most interesting representations of a vampire in various epochs. The thesis describes the most influential works building the literary stereotype of a vampire and proposes an evolution line. The crucial works in this genre are: Vampire, Carmilla, Dracula, Interview with a Vampire, The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Twilight, House of Night, Vampire Academy and Vampire Boardingschool. Based on them we create a typology according to the appearance, character and narrative role of a vampire. The thesis begins with an anthropological introduction, especially with the origin of the vampires in Easteuropean folk tradition. Farther more we deal with most common genres used to enrich the vampire literature and theory of a literary character as a narrative category. The analysis covers the evolution of a vampire character from its naturalistic appearance to its very civilized pole in the contemporary young adults fiction. We close with the chapter describing the character of a vampire as a literary symbol.

A partir da teoria do escopo formulada por Katharina Reiß e Hans Vermeer em Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Translationstheorie (1984) e de uma expansão do modelo de análise textual de relevância tradutória apresentado por Christiane Nord em Textanalyse und Übersetzen (1988), a presente tese de doutorado apresenta um novo modelo teórico para a execução da TRADUÇÃO RETROSPECTIVA, definida como a tradução a posteriori de um TP (texto precursor) ainda inédito na cultura-alvo que mantenha uma relação de influência e/ou precedência cronológica com um TS (texto sucessor) já traduzido anteriormente para a cultura-alvo, de maneira que a tradução de TP cause a impressão de ser anterior e/ou de ter influenciado a tradução de TS. A tradução retrospectiva tem por objetivo simular, na culturaalvo, a relação existente entre o original de TP e o original de TS na cultura-fonte através de uma inversão das relações de influência literária segundo os moldes propostos por Jorge Luis Borges no ensaio “Kafka y sus precursores”. Uma vez exposto o modelo teórico, o trabalho apresenta um estudo de caso sobre o volume O grande deus Pã, totalmente concebido em função de uma tradução retrospectiva do TP The Great God Pan, de Arthur Machen, feita com uma visada sobre o TS “The Dunwich Horror”, de Howard Phillips Lovecraft, traduzido anteriormente por mim. / By building on the Skopos theory proposed by Katharina Reiß and Hans Vermeer in Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Translationstheorie (1984) and on an expansion of the model for text analysis in translation presented by Christiane Nord in Textanalyse und Übersetzen (1988), this doctoral dissertation introduces a new theoretical model for RETROSPECTIVE TRANSLATION, defined as an a posteriori translation of a PT (precursor text) still unpublished in the target culture which in turn maintains a relationship of influence and/or chronological precedence with an ST (successor text) previously translated in the target culture, so that the translation of PT may seem to have anticipated and/or influenced the translation of ST. The objective of a retrospective translation is to simulate, in the target culture, the existing relation between the original of PT and the original of ST in the source culture by promoting an inversion of traditional literary influence relations inspired by Jorge Luis Borges's essay “Kafka and his precursors”. Once the theoretical model is laid out, there follows a case study of the volume O grande deus Pã, entirely conceived around a retrospective translation of the PT The Great God Pan, by Arthur Machen, done with a backward glance toward the ST “The Dunwich Horror”, by Howard Phillips Lovecraft, previously translated by me.

The following study has its origin and context in the politically polarised McCarthy era of the American history. With the WWII in retrospect, politicians in Western nations quickly acknowledged the potential impact and sphere of influence of popular culture and its ability to form public opinion. During this period attempts were made to censor culture from underlying socialist messages in order to spread and awake support for the government, especially in mainstream Hollywood productions. However, how successful were these attempts and did it actually create a resistance against the censorship’s proclaimers? This study analyses four different Hollywood science fiction films from the 1950’s and argues that the underlying messages were more diverse than previously expected. Some of the productions seemed to endorse the McCarthyist values, whereas others more clearly rejected these sets of values, implicitly claiming they were a highly irrational response to an unstable international situation.