If you were a fan of R. L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” series growing up, a Missouri State University professor has just the book for you.

Associate professor Dr. Heidi Backes recently published a book on gothic fiction. The title is a mouthful: “Spectral Spain: Haunted Houses, Silent Spaces and Traumatic Memories in Post-Franco Gothic Fiction,” but Backes promises it will give you those all too familiar goosebumps again.

The Spanish literature professor at Missouri State University says haunted houses are more than just spooky fun at Halloween. In this case, they’re a commentary on women in Spanish history. Historically, the matriarch is the heart of the home. But Backes says when Spanish women became marginalized under the dictatorship, that home became haunted.

“Spectral Spain” can be found in the Missouri State Library or through online book retailers.

Haunted, but not by ghosts

Read the full transcript