Original artwork, Carol Qin, Class of 2029
Spooky Season 101: Courses to Get You in the Mood for Halloween
As Halloween creeps closer, Duke students have more than just costumes and candy to look forward to — Trinity has a cauldron of classes brewed for spooky‑season scholars.
If you’re ready to trade your pumpkin spice latte for something a little more spooky, gather your study group coven and prepare to summon your inner ghoul, because these classes prove that learning at Duke can be delightfully haunting.
Radical Magic
Writing 120 with Cheryl Spinner
Explore the intersection of writing and the occult, tracing the cultural evolution of witchcraft from the Salem Witch Trials to today’s witchcraft revival in pop culture. Study the literary and symbolic power of tarot, spells and incantations, questioning the boundaries between art and magic. The class examines how writing, performance and books themselves can function as mystical and transformative.
Horror: Monsters, Vampires, and Ghosts in Film and Literature
Cinematic Arts 278 with Mert Bahadir Reisoglu
What do stories about monsters and ghosts teach us about the human psyche, history and aesthetics? By analyzing an array of texts and films that combine elements of the supernatural with dread and anxiety, students explore questions like: Why do we experience pleasure in reading horror stories? and Why do we keep dreaming about unexpected and incomprehensible threats to our lives?
"I love connecting course materials to everyday experiences and contemporary media. This year, I’m especially excited to teach A Nightmare on Elm Street and explore how students relate it to the theories we’ve discussed and the enduring relevance of the modern monster."
– Mert Bahadir Reisoglu
Gods, Monsters & Superheroes: The Beings of the Cosmos
Religion 104CN with Michael Domeracki
Offered in Spring 2026 as part of the First-Year Experience, this course explores the dynamic nature of the beings of the cosmos, drawing from ancient to present mythologies to illuminate ethical and social considerations. Students will consider existential questions of humanity while wrestling with self-understanding and the human relationship to the cosmos and the beings who live there.
American Hauntings: From Poe to Pop Culture
English 267S with Michael D’Alessandro
Are you curious about tales of the supernatural, including the occult, mesmerism, mad science, ESP, body invasion and witchcraft, along with dark psychology like suppressed memories and traumatic dreamscapes? Students in this class will learn how literature and modern media demonstrate the shadow realm that hides beneath the surface of America’s New World facade.
“Each class, my students and I explore how Gothic novels and horror films communicate something profound about their respective historical moments. Whether discussing the mad murderers of Poe’s tales or the tragic vampires of Sinners, we use these narratives to help us examine the mysteries and sins of our nation's past.”— Michael D’Alessandro
