I’m excited to announce that in 2016 we will be publishing a new book from Ian ‘Cat’ Vincent on the development of new, strange, myths and religions in the modern world. Darklore readers will no doubt be familiar with Cat’s fascinating explorations of the modern Slenderman mythos and ‘hyper-real religions’ in our recent releases – but now we’ll be getting a full-length book treatment from Cat – titled New Gods and Monsters – that will surely blow all of our minds.
Here’s a précis of New Gods and Monsters:
“To a new world of gods and monsters!’
-Dr. Pretorius, in The Bride Of FrankensteinDespite the predictions (and hopes) of some, the early 21st Century of the Common Era is not a time of less religion than before – 85% of the planet’s population profess to hold some religious belief. But… some of those beliefs are a long way from orthodoxy.
As a result of the rise in popular culture in the last century and the increasing speed and density of communications media to carry it, the modern world has a plethora of stories – avowed fictions among them – about religion, myth and magic to chose from. Increasingly, peoples’ beliefs are directly affected by these stories. Some believers take metaphorical comfort and confirmation of their own orthodox beliefs from them, some incorporate part of pop culture into their belief system… and some even take these fictional tales and treat them as the basis of their own new religions.
New Gods And Monsters is the story of these stories – how they began, how they became popular, the influence they can have on us and what they imply for a future seemingly ridden with religious strife.
Super excited about this, can’t wait to get it into your hands next year! For a taster of the themes that Cat will be riffing on in New Gods and Monsters, see the embedded talk below on “Science Fiction’s Gifts to Paganism” and the ‘Sample Articles’ page at the Darklore website for his essays on Slenderman and hyper-real religions.
