Join the Hysteria
By taking deep dives into female-focused stories, characters, and tropes, Hysteria aims to examine the role and impact of women in the horror genre.
Season 2 is on the way…
Season 1
Premiering in 2021, Season 1 of Hysteria focused on short fiction written by female authors. Each episode takes a look at the author and her relationship to the story as well as her wider body of work. And each story is read by a different female performer.
The Striding Place
Welcome to Episode 1 of Hysteria. Today we are reading The Striding Place by Gertrude Atherton, published in 1896. Gertrude Atherton was born in 1857 and was raised by her paternal grandfather, Stephen Franklin. Franklin insisted that his granddaughter - a notably bright and rebellious young woman...
In The Dark
Welcome to Episode 2 of Hysteria. Today we are reading In the Dark by Edith Nesbit, published in 1910. Edith Nesbit was born in 1858. She was no stranger to death, losing both her father and sister before the age of 14. She was married twice and died of lung cancer in 1924. Nesbit was credited...
The Hall Bedroom
Welcome to Episode 3 of Hysteria. Today we are reading The Hall Bedroom by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, published in 1905. In 1852, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman was born into a strict orthodox Congregationalist household and found herself consistently restrained by religion. She was a fairly rebellious...
The Flowering Evil
Welcome to Episode 4 of Hysteria. Today we are reading Flowering Evil by Margaret St. Clair, published in 1950. Margaret St. Clair was born in 1911 and lived a very unconventional life for a woman of the early 20th century. She was raised without siblings, relying mostly on books for company. She...
Each Man Kills
Welcome to Episode 5 of Hysteria. Today we are reading Each Man Kills by Victoria Glad, published in 1951. Startlingly little is known about author Victoria Glad. Each Man Kills is by far her most popular story, published in Weird Tales in March of 1951. Each Man Kills has been included in dozens...
In The Closed Room
Welcome to Episode 6 of Hysteria. Today we are reading In the Closed Room by Frances Hodgson Burnett, published in 1904. Frances Eliza Hodgson was born in 1849 to a wealth family. With the sudden death of her father when she was four, Frances, her pregnant mother and 4 siblings were thrust into a...
The Cold Embrace
Welcome to Episode 7 of Hysteria. Today we are reading The Cold Embrace by Mary E. Braddon, published in 1860. Mary Elizabeth Braddon was born in 1835 and was a popular novelist during the Victorian era. She was step-mother to five children and gave birth to six herself. She wrote 80 novels in her...
The Yellow Wallpaper
Welcome to Episode 8 of Hysteria. Today we are reading The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gillman. Published in 1892 in The New England Magazine. Charlotte Perkins Gilman lived an extraordinarily unique and difficult life for a woman living in the 19th century. She has had at least two...