Gothic Times for Young People – The Seventh Annual Gothic Manchester Festival

Chloé at the Frankenweenie event

Now in its seventh year, the festival has engaged numerous groups and subcultures in the city, looking to ‘make Manchester Gothic’ and bring out the darker side of its history and culture. These days the Gothic is more popular than ever and nowhere is this more evident than in young people and children’s culture – as Chloé’s research shows.

Last year, the festival celebrated children’s gothic culture with a special screening and activity session for Tim Burton’s movie Frankenweenie (2012). This event, marking the bicentenary of Mary Shelley’s original novel from which the movie takes its inspiration, brought over 100 people to the university to play games and create artwork. In attendance was also one of Manchester’s eminent drag performers, Liquorice Black, in character as one of horror cinema’s most iconic monsters.

This year, Gothic Manchester has offered more to young people. At Bad Bugs! Zombie Outbreak! young people worked with Chloé, Dr Matthew Crossley and Professor Joanna Verran to explore the fiction and the science of zombies. Participants investigated some of the most popular zombie books from the past decade through a scientific lens, before designing their own “zombie outbreak” with some gruesome consequences. The aim of the session was to facilitate learning about microbiology and understand how scientists investigate, map and treat diseases. You can read more about the research here.

Families returned to the university for the festival’s gothic-themed Games Jam, co-ordinated by Charlotte Gislam and Jon Garrad from the Manchester Game Studies Network. Participants of all ages enjoyed this interactive workshop, using the theme of Gothic Time to make some innovative new board games and card games.

As Halloween approaches, there are further Gothic delights in store for young people, including a creative workshop for writers who love the gruesome, spooky or macabre. Join award-winning Young Adult authors Catherine Johnson and Chris Priestley for an afternoon of reading and writing, and have a go at creating your own ‘tales of terror’. Finally, families can also enjoy our Halloween Dance Spectacular, organised by Dr Emma Liggins, which will feature dark and terrifying performances, in a variety of dance styles from ballet and musical theatre to contemporary. A short introduction will outline the links between dance and the Gothic.

For young people and families looking to enjoy spooky themed activities and events throughout the year, Manchester Metropolitan academics have curated the HAUNT website. Provision for young people as well as activities that recognise young peoples’ participation in and creation of Gothic culture is something we are growing.