Guillermo del Toro is one of the most interesting people currently involved in genre in its various expressions. He is an artist who embodies his art that comes as a result of his creative passions and deep reflection. One of the elements that make him so interesting is critical reflection on various elements that contribute to his approach at bringing genre to life. This includes his interests in monsters, myth, archetype, metaphor, Carl Jung, the paranormal, and even religion in the form of reactions against his Catholic upbringing. This volume will explore these and other facets that inform and shape del Toro’s approach to genre. I am seeking the submission of abstracts for chapters for this proposed volume. Possible topics may include the following in connection with Guillermo del Toro:

*Medieval Catholicism and its iconography

*Relationship between del Toro’s self-professed atheism/agnosticism and interests in monstrous transcendence

*Monsters as metaphor

*Jungian archetypes

*Joseph Campbell’s mythology

*Gods and monsters as overlapping and co-existing concepts

*Mexican folk creatures

*Lovecraft’s Cthulu mythos

*Faerie

*Paranormal experiences (particularly ghosts)

*Concept of the monstrous sacred

*Beauty of the monstrous (e.g., grotesques and gargoyles, medieval bestiaries)

*Primal storytelling on the fantastic as spiritual function

*Fantasy as high art form

*Influence of Mexican culture

*Life experiences (e.g., his work in a morgue, the kidnapping of his father, and his reflections on the Spanish Civil War), and how this relates to his negative views of Catholicism and organized religion

*Bleak House “man cave” memorabilia and grotesque collection as inspiration for imagination

Abstracts of up to 350 words should be sent to my attention as the volume’s at johnwmorehead@msn.com. Submissions will be accepted through November 30. This book is not a scholarly one, but will include thoughtful interactions with del Toro’s work. Once contributors are identified a proposal will be submitted to potential publishers. A major genre publisher has already expressed an interest in this volume. No definite timeframe has been established, but contributors may be identified by the end of the year, and a goal may be to have chapter drafts completed by the end of April for submission to a publisher in May.

Background on John Morehead

I work as a scholar, editor, writer, and commentator on the fantastic in pop culture. I am co-editor and contributor to The Undead and Theology (Pickwick Publications, 2012), and co-editor of Joss Whedon and Religion (McFarland, 2013). I have written essays on genre for various books and journals, book reviews for the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts and Extrapolation. I have contributed a chapter on Matrixism to the Handbook of Hyper-Real Religions (Brill, 2012).  I am a contributor to Cinefantastique Online and my blog TheoFantastique, and sit on the editorial board for GOLEM: The Journal of Religion and Monsters.