Associate professor Dr. Heidi Backes has published her first book, “Spectral Spain: Haunted Houses, Silent Spaces and Traumatic Memories in Post-Franco Gothic Fiction,” through the University of Wales press.

“Spectral Spain” uses Spanish Gothic fiction to explore the connections between historical memory and the effects of twentieth-century Spanish fascism under Francisco Franco.

First published in the United Kingdom in May, the book will appear in North America in August through the University of Chicago Press, which is an affiliate of the University of Wales Press.

Backes said she felt “quite humbled” when she learned her book had been accepted for publication.

“The Gothic Literary Studies series at the University of Wales Press is one of the best academic series in the world for studies of Gothic fiction, and to have my scholarship selected to form part of that series has been a tremendous honor,” she said.

“Spectral Spain” incorporates Backes’ research and teaching at Missouri State University. She presented her initial research for the book in 2023 at the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Symposium.

Backes has taught at MSU for eight years in the Department of Languages, Cultures and Religions.

A fascination with Gothic fiction

Ever since she was a child reading R. L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” series, Backes has been fascinated by Gothic literature.

That fascination translated into an academic career. Backes earned her master’s and doctorate degrees in modern Spanish literature, specializing in Spanish Gothic fiction and twentieth century Spanish history.

“I am especially interested in twentieth century history and the Francisco Franco dictatorship (1939-1975),” she explained. “Many Gothic authors in Spain have written novels that take on the traumatic past in monstrous, ghostly forms.”

Backes is also drawn to how Gothic fiction explores themes of human psychology.

“There is something particularly meaningful about the way that the Gothic uses human psychology to teach us about ourselves and our societies — things that we may choose to ignore because they are too painful to acknowledge, things that frighten us, things that make us question the reality around us,” Backes said. [Read more…] about Dr. Heidi Backes publishes book on Spanish Gothic fiction