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This archive gathers together resources relating to the 1992 cult horror film Candyman, from educational resources and academic works to online videos and an online creative art gallery. This archive was created alongside Candyman and the Whole Damn Swarm, an online, international conference organised by the Centre for the History of the Gothic at the University of Sheffield and University of California, Riverside from 7-9 October 2022 and that celebrated the 30th anniversary of Candyman and explored its legacy. Part of the archive also includes the Candyman and the Whole Damn Swarm Online Gallery that includes a range of artworks exploring Candyman including poetry and short fiction, photography and digital art, embroidery and videos.
Candyman and the Whole Damn Swarm
Candyman and the Whole Damn Swarm Online Gallery
[hosted by the University of California, Riverside]: https://ucrarts.ucr.edu/exhibitions/candyman/
Candyman and the Whole Damn Swarm Conference schedule
‘Blaxploitation, Black Gothic, and Black Agency in Horror’ - Lisa Wood, Shenandoah University
[recording of paper originally presented at Candyman and the Whole Damn Swarm] watch on YouTube.
‘The Object of Horror: Gaze and Voice in Candyman’ - Jack Black, Sheffield Hallam University
[recording of paper originally presented at Candyman and the Whole Damn Swarm] watch on YouTube.
‘APT HORROR PRESENTS From Rumor to Flesh: How Candyman Treats Tragedy in Villainy’ - Ava M Fields, The Horror Advocate
[project originally presented at Candyman and the Whole Damn Swarm] view the presentation here.
Articles and online resources
[Interview] ‘Rodney L. Jones III for CANDYMAN’: https://www.nightmarishconjurings.com/2021/09/09/interview-rodney-l-jones-iii-candyman/
‘Contending with “the Scraps”: The Fight for Direction of Black Women’s Horror Narratives’ - Dani Bethea: https://www.cinespeak.org/2021/10/28/contending-with-the-scraps-the-fight-for-direction-of-black-womens-horror-narratives/
‘Nia DaCosta’s “Candyman:” Isn’t Just “Black Trauma,” It’s Horror Triumph And Here’s Why’ - Interview with Kinitra Brooks: https://www.buzzfeed.com/daily/candyman-nia-dacosta-black-horror-trauma
‘Reflecting on the Man in the Mirror: What Lens Should We Use to Critique Candyman?’ - Kinitra D. Brooks: https://www.theroot.com/reflecting-on-the-man-in-the-mirror-what-lens-should-w-1847583419
'Candy Sampler: Candyman Samples In Underground Music’ - Nicholas Diak: https://nickdiak.com/2021/09/candy-sampler-candyman-samples-in-underground-music/
‘“Candyman” and the genesis of a haunting’ - Tananarive Due: https://theundefeated.com/features/candyman-and-the-genesis-of-a-haunting/
‘Race & Historical Memory in Candyman (1992)’ - Elizabeth Erwin: http://www.horrorhomeroom.com/candyman-2/
‘“Candyman” Review: The Writing on the Wall’ - Gretchen Felker-Martin: https://www.fanbyte.com/reviews/candyman-review-the-writing-on-the-wall/
‘What’s Wrong with Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh?’ - Dawn Keetley: http://www.horrorhomeroom.com/whats-wrong-with-candyman-farewell-to-the-flesh/
'The Candyman Companion Guide' - Langston League: https://dx35vtwkllhj9.cloudfront.net/universalstudios/candyman-social-impact/syllabus/Candyman_TheOfficialCompanionGuide_Final.pdf
‘Candyman: Say His Name’ - Patricia Neal (student blog post as part of the ‘A Women in Horror Research Project’): https://wihresearch.blogspot.com/2022/02/candyman-say-his-name.html
‘The Forbidden: Say His Name’ - Phil and Sarah Stokes: https://www.clivebarkerarchive.com/blog/tag/The+Forbidden
Possible inspiration from real Chicago news
‘They Came in Through the Bathroom Mirror: A Murder in the Projects’
https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/they-came-in-through-the-bathroom-mirror/‘Cause of Death: What killed Ruthie Mae McCoy-a bullet in the chest, or life in the projects?’ - Steve Bogira:
https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/cause-of-death/
Videos and films
Candyman - The Impact of Black Horror [roundtable on youtube]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VKtExlE_Ec&ab_channel=UniversalPictures
Candyman: Cabrini Green and The Fear of Public Housing [video on youtube]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87B3QvRYjf4&ab_channel=TheA.V.Club
The Impact of Black Horror Roundtable: https://www.candymanmovie.com/impact/
‘The Complete History Of Candyman’ - documentary, A Bryn Curt James Hammon Film [trailer on youtube]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5PoXhr_KIU
Books and book chapters
Stacey Abbott, ‘Candyman and Saw: Reimagining the Slasher Film through Urban Gothic’, in Style and Form in the Hollywood Slasher Film, ed. Wickham Clayton (London: Palgrave Macmillan: London, 2015), pp. 67–78
Michael J. Blouin, ‘Candyman and Neoliberal Racism’, in Magical Thinking, Fantastic Film, and the Illusions of Neoliberalism (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), pp. 81-107
Aviva Briefel and Sianne Ngai. ‘“How much did you pay for this place?” Fear, Entitlement, and Urban Space in Bernard Rose's Candyman’, in Horror Film Reader, eds. Alain Silver and James Ursini (Limelight Editions, 2000)
Brigid Cherry, ‘Imperfect geometry: Identity and culture in Clive Barker’s ‘The Forbidden’ and Bernard Rose’s Candyman’, in Monstrous adaptations: Generic and Thematic Mutations in Horror Film, eds. Richard J. Hand, Jay McRoy (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2015), pp. 48-66
Robin R Means Coleman, Horror noire : blacks in American horror films from the 1890s to present, (New York: Routledge, 2011) [especially chapter 7: ‘Black Is Back! Retribution and the Urban Terrain: 1990s’]
Bruce F Kawin, Horror and the Horror Film (London: Anthem Press, 2012) [especially chapter 5: ‘Supernatural Monsters’]
Jon Towlson, Candyman (Devil’s Advocates series) (Auteur / Liverpool University Press, 2018.)
Journal Articles
Aviva Briefel and Sianne Ngai, ‘“How much did you pay for this place?”: Fear, Entitlement, and Urban Space in Bernard Rose’s Candyman,’ Camera Obscura, Vol. 37 (1996), 71–91
Lucy Fife Donaldson, ‘The Suffering Black Male Body and the Threatened White Female Body': Ambiguous Bodies in Candyman’, The Irish journal of gothic and horror studies, Vol. 9 (2011)
Mikel J. Koven, ‘Candyman can: film and ostension’, Contemporary Legends, (1999), 155-173
Elspeth Kydd, ’Guess who else is coming to dinner: racial/sexual hysteria in Candyman’, CineAction, No. 36 (1996) 63-72
Adam Ochonicky, ‘“Something to be haunted by”: Adaptive monsters and regional mythologies in ‘The Forbidden’ and Candyman’, Horror Studies, Vol. 11, No. 1 (2020) 101-122
Laura Wyrick, ‘Summoning Candyman: The Cultural Production of History’, Arizona Quarterly: A Journal of American Literature, Culture, and Theory, Vol. 54, No. 3 (1998), 89–117