From the candlelit corridors of Victorian fiction to the dim glow of digital screens, the ghostly woman figure endures. This illustrated talk explores the evolution of the “spectral feminine”—figures of grief, repression, revenge, and return—from literary Gothic heroines into the haunted women of modern cinema. Drawing on works by Shirley Jackson and Daphne du Maurier through to cinematic portrayals, including The Haunting (1963) to I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2018) and more, Jennifer Brough will trace how female ghosts continue to embody buried histories, trauma, and the persistence of the past in the present.

Tickets: £6.50

Purchase a pass to attend multiple events at the UK Ghost Story Festival 2026 at a significant discount. These are priced at £80 (full festival) or £35 (Saturday events only)