Call for Papers:

Obscura. International Conference on Horror and Contemporary Media Culture
October 28-30, 2026
University of Seville
Seville, Spain
Organized by the LIGAINCOM Research Group (SEJ694)
https://eventos.us.es/go/obscura2026
https://eventos.us.es/154666/detail/obscura-congreso-internacional-sobre-terror-y-cultura-mediatica-contemporanea.html

Deadline for submissions: July 10, 2026

Horror has established itself as one of the defining modes of contemporary storytelling, extending its influence across a wide range of media, including film, television, and video games. Its enduring relevance has fostered growing academic interest, revealing the genre’s rich cultural significance and the multiple interpretative possibilities its narratives offer from social, political, and ideological perspectives. While horror is often defined primarily by the emotional effects it elicits in audiences (Carroll, 1990; Losilla, 1993; Roma, 2009), its narratives also function as distorted mirrors through which cultural meanings surrounding identity, gender, social conflict, and other pressing concerns are reflected, contested, and reconstructed.

Although cinema has been closely associated with horror since its inception, the genre has long occupied a marginal position within academic and critical discourse—aside from canonical exceptions such as Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960), The Exorcist (Friedkin, 1973), and The Shining (Kubrick, 1980). In recent years, however, horror has undergone a substantial reassessment, assuming a central place in contemporary cultural and scholarly debates. This renewed recognition has been driven by increasing appreciation of the genre’s artistic potential, political and social dimensions, and formal sophistication, particularly in relation to the phenomenon commonly referred to as elevated horror. The work of filmmakers such as Robert Eggers, Ari Aster, Jordan Peele, and Jennifer Kent exemplifies this development. At the same time, horror has expanded well beyond cinema, as demonstrated by the success of television series such as The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix, 2018) and From (MGM+, 2022–), as well as video game franchises including Resident Evil (Capcom, 1998–) and Silent Hill (Konami, 1999–), which have become enduring landmarks within contemporary popular culture while exploring innovative narrative, aesthetic, and immersive possibilities.

Against this backdrop, Obscura. International Conference on Horror and Contemporary Media Culture seeks to establish itself as an international forum for the interdisciplinary study of these cultural manifestations, bringing together theoretical reflection, critical analysis, and professional practice. The conference responds both to the need for a systematic examination of cultural phenomena with significant social and commercial impact and to the relative lack of dedicated scholarly spaces devoted to horror studies, particularly within the Spanish academic context.

From an international perspective, the conference aims to foster dialogue between academia and industry while encouraging the development of collaborative networks and future research initiatives. To this end, the programme will combine traditional academic activities—including keynote lectures, paper sessions, and roundtable discussions—with practical and public-facing events. These activities will provide opportunities for collective reflection on significant contemporary audiovisual works, promoting dialogue between researchers and practitioners and encouraging critical engagement across theoretical analysis, cultural reception, and audiovisual production processes.

We welcome contributions from Film Studies, Media Studies, Cultural Studies, Communication Studies, Game Studies, Gender Studies, and related disciplines.

Key topics (included but not limited to):

• Ethics, politics, and social discourse in audiovisual horror
• Aesthetics and poetics of contemporary horror
• Narratives of violence in film, television, and digital platforms
• Elevated horror, authorship, and cultural legitimisation
• Horror, identity, and gender
• Horror and historical memory
• Audience reception of horror and audiovisual violence
• Representations of trauma, fear, and psychological violence
• Monsters, bodies, and otherness
• Explicit violence, suggestion, and the limits of representation
• Horror and mental health
• Video games, immersive experiences, and interactive horror
• Emerging trends in audiovisual horror
• Professional practices in horror screenwriting, directing, and production
• Diversity, equity, inclusion, and representation in horror media

The conference is organised within a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) framework, and a range of measures will be implemented to ensure a safe, respectful, and welcoming environment for all participants. We particularly encourage submissions from scholars belonging to historically marginalised or underrepresented groups who continue to face systemic barriers within academia, including racialised communities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community (with particular attention to trans, non-binary, and intersex identities), people with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions, individuals with caring responsibilities (a dedicated quiet room will be available), and researchers and practitioners from developing countries or precarious economic backgrounds, among others. Recognising that these realities frequently intersect, the conference offers partial fee waivers for participants from these groups, as well as for students and independent researchers.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Abstracts of individual papers or panel proposals should be submitted through the website: https://eventos.us.es/go/obscura2026

Submissions may consist of either individual papers or panel proposals comprising no more than five participants or co-authors. Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary contributions are particularly welcome, and submissions from early-career researchers are strongly encouraged. We also welcome video essays as a format of participation. A video essay is a short audiovisual work that develops a theoretical argument or presents an empirical analysis through the expressive resources of audiovisual language, including editing, voice-over, music, and the use of images and audiovisual excerpts from films, television series, animation, and related media. Video essays should be between 4 and 10 minutes in length and must include English subtitles when the audio is in Spanish, and vice versa.

The individual proposal should include the following information:

• Title of the proposal
• Abstract (200–250 words)
• Keywords (3–5 keywords)
• Full name(s), institutional affiliation(s), and a brief biographical note of approximately 100 words for each author

The panel proposal should include the following information:

• Panel abstract (250–300 words)
• A maximum of five presentations, each including:
• Paper title
• Abstract (100–150 words)
• Keywords (3–5 keywords)
• Full name(s), institutional affiliation(s), and a brief biographical note of approximately 100 words for each author

Note: All participants must register individually once the panel is accepted.

Abstracts should clearly outline the research topic, its relevance to the conference theme, the main objectives and research questions and/or hypotheses, the methodology employed, and the expected findings or contributions. Proposals may be submitted in either English or Spanish.

The organising committee is currently in discussion with academic journals and publishers regarding potential publication opportunities arising from the conference. Further information will be made available on the conference website in due course.

A language selector can be found in the upper-right corner of the conference website. In the “Proposal Submission” section, you will be able to complete the submission form and upload your abstract. To access the form, you must either log in through your university credentials or create an account as an external user.

For further information, please contact us via the “Contact” section of the website or by email at obscura@us.es.

SUBMISSION AND REGISTRATION DEADLINES

Early Submission Deadline: 10 July (inclusive)

• Notification of acceptance: by 31 July

Extended Submission Deadline: 10 September (inclusive)

• Notification of acceptance: by 25 September

Please note: Abstracts will be reviewed on a rolling basis as they are received, with every effort made to provide decisions as quickly as possible.

For information regarding registration fees and deadlines for both reduced-rate and standard registration, please consult the “Registration” section of the conference website.

ORGANISERS

The conference is organised by the LIGAINCOM Research Group (SEJ694) [Research League in Communication and Culture: Genre(s), Narrative, Ideology, and Visual Studies (SEJ694)] and supported by the Universidad de Sevilla (Seville, Spain).

Conference directors: Víctor Hernández-Santaolalla e Irene Raya.