Colin Dickey (born September 3, 1977) is an American author, curator, and critic whose work deals with ghosts, death, and haunting, and explores how these symbols function as metaphors. He was the Managing Director of the Morbid Anatomy Museum and is a member of The Order of the Good Death. He currently teaches at National University
Books
- The Unidentified: Mythical Monsters, Alien Encounters, and Our Obsession With the Unexplained
- Ghostland (2016), an exploration of America's haunted mansions.
- Tiya Miles, writing in The New York Times, calls Ghostland "a capacious geographical synthesis that is both intellectually intriguing and politically instructive."
- NPR named Ghostland one of the best books of 2016
- Dickey appeared on All Things Considered, where he spoke about the Winchester Mystery House
- The Morbid Anatomy Anthology (co-edited with Joanna Ebenstein), a collection of works by "scholars, artists and writers working along the intersections of the history of anatomy and medicine, death and the macabre, religion and spectacle."
- Afterlives of the Saints: Stories from the Ends of Faith
- Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius, stories of notable grave robberies, including Haydn and Beethoven
- Failure! Experiments in Aesthetic and Social Practices (edited with Nicole Antebi and Robby Herbst)
References in popular culture
- A quote from Ghostland appears in Robert Greene's upcoming film Bisbee '17.
- Musician Dave Heumann cites Dickey as one of his literary influences.
Education
Dickey has an MFA in Critical Studies from California Institute of the Arts, and a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Southern California.
External links
- "Interview with Colin Dickey - How the ghost stories we tell reveal a lot about society" (Audio with transcript). Science History Institute 'Distillations' Podcast Episode 278. 13 Jul 2021.
References
- "A Spellbinding Tour of America's Haunted Places". Bloomberg. 27 October 2016.
- Mansky, Jackie. "Morbid Anatomy Museum Closes Its Doors".
- ^ "Colin Dickey - National University". www.nu.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-08-11. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
- Blum, Deborah (2020-07-21). "Remembering the Time Meat Fell From the Sky". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- "Ghostland by Colin Dickey - PenguinRandomHouse.com".
- Zoellner, Tom (14 October 2016). "Colin Dickey explores American's haunted mansions in 'Ghostland'". Los Angeles Times.
- Miles, Tiya (27 October 2016). "Haunted Houses Are About More Than Just Ghosts". The New York Times.
- "NPR's Book Concierge".
- "Skeletons In The Closet: What Ghost Stories Reveal About America's Past". NPR.
- "Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius by Colin Dickey". 11 November 2009.
- "Real It So Fake: "Bisbee '17" and the Shape-Shifting Cinema of Robert Greene". 29 June 2018.
- "How Dave Heumann Made Existential Despair Sound Dreamy on His New Solo Album". 23 October 2015.