Factory Gothic / Bridget Marshall

Do you teach courses or modules on the Gothic? @jendeavour.bsky.social and I would love to hear from you for an edited collection we're developing: New Approaches to #Teaching the #Gothic! Full info here: call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2026/07/... Message or email us with queries or proposals!

An exciting Gothic conference that I'm co-organising with Strawberry Hill House and a few other organisations, to be held at Strawberry Hill next June. Please circulate the CFP far and wide: www.strawberryhillhouse.org.uk/gothic-confe...

CFP 📢 *New Approaches to Teaching the Gothic*, co-edited by myself & @factorygothic.bsky.social Critical practice; pedaogical reflections; case studies; times/spaces of crisis; much more. Deadline 10th Nov. More info 👇👇 call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2026/07/...

Interested in witchcraft trials? I've just finished revising my @omeka.org site containing primary documents related to Mary Parsons of #Northampton, Massachusetts, who was accused of #witchcraft in 1674. Relaunch features new documents & updated transcripts. Enjoy! umlmaryparsonsarchive.omeka.net

What was #Lowell like in 1891? Apparently we had 59 clergymen, 70 lawyers, & 9 undertakers. Hungry? There were 33 bakeries & 27 restaurants! Bored? How about 11 bands of music, 2 banjo/violin makers, & 4 dancing academies. Thanks & credit to Center for Lowell History: libguides.uml.edu/archives

Not really happy that stores are already pushing Halloween in August, but we decided to take advantage of the opportunity at this dog-friendly big box store to start working on getting our puppy prepared for Spooky Season decorations. Percy seems OK with (even interested in?) this giant skeleton.

CFP 📢📢📢 *New Approaches to Teaching the Gothic*, co-edited by myself & @factorygothic.bsky.social Critical practice; pedaogical reflections; case studies; particularly in a relation to these times/spaces of crisis. VERY broad cfp. Qus welcome 👇👇👇 call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2026/07/...

Delighted to find reciprocard.com for more Libby access. For #Massachusetts folks: anyone who lives in or is a student anywhere in Massachusetts can get a Boston Public Library @bpl.boston.gov e-card, which gives access to some great historic newspaper databases, too! www.bpl.org/your-library...

We want hear about your critical practice, your pedaogical reflections, your case studies, your collabs, particularly in a relation to these times/spaces of crisis. You can be a "traditional" HE/FE lecturer, work in a prison, work in community centres, outreach, online, in-person - a very broad cfp!

Are you in New England and in need of a delightful dog companion? Check out Gigi, currently in Kentucky but ready to move north. She's currently with @kassiejo.bsky.social who can give you more details. Get this pup! www.petfinder.com/dog/gigi-had...

Spent yesterday enjoying the diary that mill girl Susan Moore Wetherbee kept from 1836 to 1841. She notes that her family includes father, mother, 8 children, grandmother and "two boarders" (though she names three). The diary is in the collection of #Lowell National Historical Park. A treasure!

July 4th options: 1. Is it 1882? Check out the Balloon on Boston Common! 2. Is it 1840 - 1856? Visit the Lowell Museum, first opened on July 4th 1840. Mill Girl Susan Brown visited on July 4th 1843. 3. Are you Nathaniel Hawthorne? Happy Birthday! Go eat gingerbread & see a monkey, as per your diary.

Today's charming letter from 1867: woman in Wisconsin writes to her mother in Vermont saying that her husband bought her a "new delaine dress" (fancy!) which she sold to subscribe to The Atlantic: "I had rather have a good book, and a common, plain gingham dress, than a nice dress without the book."

Thoughts on whether this letter's date is 1847 or possibly 1849? She writes "I expect to be married Tuesday morning if nothing happens to prevent." Records indicate she was married in November of 1849. So curious to know if something (and what!) happened in 1847, or if the letter is from 1849.

Excited about this Nov 1849 letter from someone in Lowell in which they explain "I got Currer Bell's Shirley this morning -- its more voluminous than Jane Eyre, containing 296 pages." Brontë's Shirley, which features Luddite uprisings, had just been published 26 October 1849. Looking for more info!

Archive work today: letter sent to a #Lowell mill girl: Miss Matildia Chandler, who worked on the Suffolk Corp, received a letter in Dec 1843 from family back home in Contoocookville, NH. It recounts illness, asks her to send 24 yards of calico fabric, and informs her of the deaths of many locals.

I worked at the Center for #Lowell History yesterday, transcribing some mill girl letters, but I know the content you really want to see: Early photos of Percy suggest he's at least partly an Australian cattle dog; he seemed unimpressed by the cow statue at the vet yesterday. He's doing great!

Important personal announcement: I'd like to introduce Percy, who joined our family last night. He is a delight. He came from Great Dog Rescue New England (gdrne.com), and we are grateful to them and to Percy's foster family.

This Saturday May 9th is Doors Open #Lowell: www.doorsopenlowell.org Check out the map to see which weird buildings are going to be open. I recommend the Masonic Temple, Moody Street Feeder Gatehouse plus all the churches, plus the Tremont Yard for creepy tunnels. It's a great event

In "May-Day Musings" Lowell Offering contributor Serena wrote that "My ramblings are limited to the walls of a factory; yet, in thought, I wander to far other fields and other forms and scenes surround me." Although "buried deep within the walls of a factory," she thought of flowers & friends.

I have been thinking about this issue a lot lately, and it impacts the kind of work I can do going forward. One of my own past digital archive projects disappeared (I'm still working on recovering). I've abandoned a plan I had for a DH project even though I think it would be fun and useful.

*Very* excited that vol.1 of New Directions in the Ghost Story, edited by myself, @henrybartholomew.bsky.social & @joanpassey.bsky.social is out! Well done to all the contributors, and thanks for bearing with us! :) Please recommend to your academic libraries! link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

10 April 1880 the National Police Gazette reported on Sarah Hallock of Middletown, NY who received "a hair-pulling that nearly proves fatal" when her hair caught in the belts at the factory where she worked. "One more revolution would have broken her neck," but she survived.

Loving these fashion ideas from 1886. Tag your choice. I'm "Vampire Mantle," but I think all of these are fantastic. From "Fun" magazine, a competitor to Punch.

#OTD 27 March 1869, the Sporting Times reported that a "pretty factory girl" in Manchester NH responded to a "worthless loafer" catcalling her by spitting on him, knocking off his hat w/ her parasol, and saying "I'll teach you to insult young ladies, you puppy, move off."

On the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, John Sloan's searing March 1911 illustration for the New York Call, a Socialist newspaper, responding to the tragic event

Reading 1840s "flash press" for hilarious #Lowell content that ranges from "when is C.H. going to pay I.B. that five dollars he lent him" to "Bill B." was seen "with a young lady of notorious character" to a threat to "M" to stop reporting on "certain young men" or he "will get a flogging."

Many thanks to the organizers of the #SSAG @ssag.bsky.social conference! I saw tons of great panels & loved meeting other Gothic folks. If you're still in #Salem I highly recommend you stop by the Peabody Essex Museum #PEM to see the Edmonia Lewis exhibit. It's wonderful. www.pem.org/exhibitions/...

Anyone have recommendations of tools or tricks to organize research photos taken during #archive trips? My (many) photos of multi-page material from various archives are sitting around in google photos and I think there has to be a better way.

Inspired by several threads sharing sources for public domain images, I looked for "factory" at the Public Domain Image Archive and was delighted to find this French illustration by Albert Robida: "Our Rivers and Atmosphere — The Multiplication of Various Pathogens, Microbes, and Bacteria" (1890).

Tomorrow! 7pm Irish time! Join us for a fab deep dive into the world of Irish spooky podcasting! All welcome: you just need to register via the link below:

FYI, Academia.edu has changed its terms of service to give an irrevocable worldwide license for anything uploaded to its site to be used for generative AI. I do not consent to this and have pulled all my papers.

Disability and the Gothic has now been published and is available online FOR FREE for the next 2 weeks. www.cambridge.org/core/element...