The Hauntology and Spectrality Research Group: Haunted Soundscapes Symposium CFP [Announcement] Sam Pheby-McGarvey Location United Kingdom October 22nd, 2025 York St. John University Submission Deadline: 20th June 2025 The creak on the stair. The whisper on the wind. The melody in the dark. Ghostly sounds have been an integral part of horror and gothic fiction since its inception. In recent years ideas of Hauntology have emerged and gained popularity, particularly in the area of music. In a recent edition on ‘Spectral Sounds’ for the British Library Tales of the Weird series, editor Manon Burz-Labrande noted the uncanniness inherent in the “ambiguity of the aural” - if seeing is believing, that which is heard but unseen has a particular capacity for terror.1 This symposium seeks to explore the eerie nature of sound, or its absence, through an interdisciplinary exploration of haunted soundscapes in literature, film, music, and more. We invite scholars, researchers, artists, and practitioners from diverse disciplines—including literature, history, creative writing, media studies, musicology, philosophy, and more—to contribute to a vibrant discussion of sound, music, horror, and hauntology. [1] Manon Burz-Labrande, ed., Spectral Sounds: Unquiet Tales of Acoustic Weird (London: British Library, 2022), 8. This symposium is organised and led by postgraduate researchers at York St. John University. Our aim is to get more the postgraduate community involved in the exciting and developing world of Hauntology, and so we particularly encourage submissions from postgraduate researchers. Priority will be given to PGRs at York St. John, but we welcome submissions from the wider postgraduate community as well as academics and the general public Possible topics include, but are not limited to: Soundscapes of Ghost Stories: The use of sounds to invoke fear in gothic and horror literature, repeated singular noises or cacophonies of terror Hauntological Music: music with an eerie or ghostly aspect, songs about ghosts, songs performed by ghosts, haunted musical instruments or sound systems, ghostly tape decks and record players Soundtrack to Horror: musical soundtracks to horror movie and tv soundtracks, songs in horror films, sound effects and soundscapes on film Performance: Musical or theatrical performances inspired by haunted soundscapes, multimedia performances using sound to induce horror Sound, Memory, and Place: The soundscapes of particular places and how these can be used to access or remember its history; location-specific sound and its ability to inspire terror by its absence or appearance in an unexpected environment Unknowable Noise: Cosmic horror and sound beyond human comprehension Aural Narratives of Horror: Horror podcasts, and how they use both voice and sound to create terror, the aural nature of the telling of ghost stories Haunted Silence and the Absence of Sound: Exploring silence as a medium for fear, dread, and terror We welcome proposals for traditional academic papers, roundtable discussions, creative performances, artwork, and multimedia presentations. Submissions should engage critically with the themes of the symposium while encouraging cross-disciplinary dialogue. Submission Guidelines: Abstracts should be 250-300 words and include the paper title, author's name, affiliation (if applicable), and email address. Please indicate if your submission is for a paper, panel discussion, performance, or alternative format presentation. A short biographical statement (100 words max) should accompany the submission. Please indicate in the body of the email which institute you are based at, and the year and level of study if applicable. Send proposals to: Sam Pheby-McGarvey ([email protected]) and Lowen Frampton ([email protected]) by Friday 20th June 2025. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by the end of July. Selected papers may be considered for publication in a special symposium proceedings issue or edited volume. We look forward to conducting a vibrant and thought-provoking exchange on the haunting potential of sound from a diverse range of scholars and artists. For inquiries, please contact: Sam Pheby-McGarvey ([email protected]) and Lowen Frampton ([email protected]). Contact Information For inquiries, please contact: Sam Pheby-McGarvey ([email protected]) and Lowen Frampton ([email protected]). Contact Email [email protected]