What haunts the city? Why is there so much pessimism in our urban lives? And how does this physical and psychological insecurity of relentless competition and a desire to succeed against all odds proliferate into cinema? Dark Fear, Eerie Cities analyses a wide array of films made in the early 21st century to offer a philosophical and psychoanalytical critique of the transforming cinematic imaginary—from the pre-1990s feudal family ideal to the contemporary construction of the new middle class’s subjectivities in the postcolonial context. Keeping in mind the effects of globalization, market liberalization, and the emergence of new forms of media and its consumption, the book proposes a theoretical engagement with cinematic transformations. Paunksnis presents an interdisciplinary study of a genre of cinema in which crime thrillers and horror films are aimed at answering some of the fundamental questions of our contemporary times.

This book offers interdisciplinary examination of gender representations in cinema and SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) platforms in India. This book will identify how the so-called feminist enunciations in twenty-first century film and SVOD content in India are marked by an ambiguous entanglement of feminist and postfeminist rhetoric. Set against the backdrop of two significant contemporary phenomena, namely neoliberalism and the digital revolution, this book considers how neoliberalism, aided by technological advancement, re-configured the process of media consumption in contemporary India and how representation of gender is fraught with multiple contesting trajectories. The book looks at two types of media—cinema and SVOD platforms, and explores the reasons for this transformation that has been emerging in India over the past two decades. Keeping in mind the complex paradoxes that such concomitant process of the contraries can invoke, the book invites myriad responses from the authors who view the shifting gender representations in postmillennial Hindi cinema and SVOD platforms from their specific ideological standpoints. The book includes a wide array of genres, from commercial Hindi films to SVOD content and documentary films, and aims to record the transformation facilitated by economic as well as technological revolutions in contemporary India across various media formats.

The Power of Darkness: 560+ Supernatural Thrillers, Macabre Tales & Eerie Mysteries is a formidable anthology that charts the shadows and intricacies of the human psyche across epochs, geographies, and literary styles. This collection traverses the eerie corridors of Gothic horrors, delves into the enigmatic depths of psychological thrillers, and ventures into the heart of cosmic mysteries, showcasing the rich tapestry of humanity's confrontation with the unknown and the supernatural. The diversity of the narratives, from the haunting isolation of a ghost story to the complex intricacies of a mystery unwinding in a seemingly mundane setting, highlights the anthology's remarkable scope. Standout pieces within the collection push the boundaries of the genre, offering fresh perspectives on fear, the uncanny, and the struggle between light and darkness, without being tethered to a single authorial voice. The contributing authors and editors, ranging from literary giants like Edgar Allan Poe and Charlotte Brontë to lesser-known figures who have carved deep impressions in the realms of the supernatural and the surreal, bring a multiplicity of cultural backgrounds, philosophical insights, and narrative techniques. Their collective works, enriched by historical contexts and cultural influences, illustrate the evolution of supernatural and mystery literature through time, uncovering how societal fears and aspirations have been projected onto the canvas of the unknown. This anthology not only serves as a confluence of varied literary movements but also as a dialogue between generations of storytellers, weaving together a complex web of thematic explorations that transcend temporal and geographical boundaries. The Power of Darkness is an essential compendium for readers eager to explore the labyrinthine depths of supernatural fiction. Offering not merely tales of intrigue and horror but a nuanced window into the human condition through the lens of the eerie and the macabre, this anthology invites readers on a journey through the specters of the collective human imagination. It is recommended for its educational value, the breadth of insights into the evolution of literary horror and mystery, and the rich dialogue it fosters between the myriad authors interpretations of darkness and light. Delve into this collection to experience the full spectrum of night's power to both terrify and enlighten.

In this book Tiya Miles explores the popular yet troubling phenomenon of "ghost tours," frequently promoted and experienced at plantations, urban manor homes, and cemeteries throughout the South. As a staple of the tours, guides entertain paying customers by routinely relying on stories of enslaved black specters. But who are these ghosts? Examining popular sites and stories from these tours, Miles shows that haunted tales routinely appropriate and skew African American history to produce representations of slavery for commercial gain. "Dark tourism" often highlights the most sensationalist and macabre aspects of slavery, from salacious sexual ties between white masters and black women slaves to the physical abuse and torture of black bodies to the supposedly exotic nature of African spiritual practices. Because the realities of slavery are largely absent from these tours, Miles reveals how they continue to feed problematic "Old South" narratives and erase the hard truths of the Civil War era. In an incisive and engaging work, Miles uses these troubling cases to shine light on how we feel about the Civil War and race, and how the ghosts of the past are still with us.

This book explores the consequences of unbridled expansion of neoliberal values within India through the lens of popular film and culture. The focus of the book is the neoliberal self, which, far from being a stable marker of urban, liberal, millennial Indian identity, has a schizophrenic quality, one that is replete with contradictions and oppositions, unable to sustain the weight of its own need for self-promotion, optimism, and belief in a narrative of progress and prosperity that has marked mainstream cultural discourse in India. The unstable and schizophrenic neoliberal identity that is the concern of this book, however, belies this narrative and lays bare the sense of precarity and inherent inequality that neoliberal regimes confer upon their subjects. The analysis is explicitly political and draws upon theories of feminist media studies, popular culture analyses, and film studies to critique mainstream Hindi cinema texts produced in the last two decades. Rele Sathe also examine a variety of other peripheral ‘texts’ in her analysis such as the film star, the urban space, web series, YouTube videos, and social media content.

An experiment known as the Pandora Project or Kat escapes the corporation, which had been experimenting on her, trying to create the perfect killing machine. Kat runs into Kim, the Phoenix a Life Closer or Legal Assassin. At first, Kim is going to kill Kat for seeing her face while on a Closing, but she finds out that Kat is the key. The key to what, Kim does not know, but until she does, Kim will let Kat live, and so they form a shaky partnership. Kat has no memory beyond a year ago, and she wants to discover who she is. Kim discovers that her mother was murdered, and she wants to find out who killed her and end their life with her own hands. Shades Of Gray #1 Noir, City Shrouded By Darkness 2024 Edition: Noir was a mega-city plagued by a sun-blocking mass called Dry Clouds that had mysteriously appeared three decades earlier. The Dry Clouds covered half the planet and forced those living under them to live in endless night. In this world, corporations were in charge, and breaking your contract with them could mean the termination of your life. Kimberly Griffin a.k.a. the Phoenix existed in a world of death. She closed people for a living. It was a lonely demeaning existence, though, she wouldn't admit it. There was nothing to drive her in the bleak reality until one day she ran into Kat. Kat, also known as the Pandora Project, was hunted by bio-mechas called Un-Men. She was an experiment of the Sphinx Corporation, and they were testing her to see if she could become the ultimate weapon. Kat refused to be a killer and tried to discover the truth behind her existence. Could she be a new form of bio-mechas? Pandora of ancient times opened a box and let all good escape. Would Pandora be the hope the planet needed? Or would she destroy the world? **Shades of Gray Science Fiction Serial Series ** 1. Noir, City Shrouded By Darkness 2. From Moscow, With Love 3. Cerberus Versus Pandora 4. Sisters Enter this dystopian world where corporations rule the people like kings and queens and personal freedom is an unheard-of concept. The Earth is slowly dying as mile-thick clouds known as Dry Clouds prevent the sun from shining down on half the planet. They mysteriously appeared one day and slowly spread across the remaining planet, and if they are not stopped, the Earth is doomed. Many mysteries abound in this apocalyptic science fiction series. Where did the Dry Clouds come from and how can they be stopped? Who is Kat? And who killed Kim's mom? These are just a few of the unanswered questions that start this sci-fi action-adventure series. Prologue: On a parallel Earth, thick puffy barriercumulus also known as Dry Clouds covered the sky and prevented the glimmer of twilight from shining on the city of Noir. For three decades, the polluted high-troposphere looming clouds covered half the planet and left part of the world to live in endless night. The mile-thick clouds yielded petroleum-based contaminated water dubbed Tainted Rain and polluted the air, so they were named Dry Clouds for leaving half the planet without drinkable water. At first, scientists believed pollution caused the great cloud barrier but that theory proved to be false. What caused the Dry Clouds to form baffled scientists, and how to reverse them eluded reason, and only technology's constant battle with nature has kept the dark city alive. Man's need for conquest expanded Noir to cover more than half a continent of what would have been called North America, and Noir became a Mega-city. It was the only one in the world. Over the last twenty years, Transgenics and bio-mechas evolved at a breakneck pace. Transgenics were genetically modified organisms with an extra-genome and were mostly plants produced to survive without the sun. Bio-mechas were robots resembling living things. In this world, corporations not governments ruled the people, creating a society where profit set policy and dictated life. Those who resided in Noir were touched by darkness, and the light of goodness seemed a forgotten memory and they... they lived in the gray —Shades of Gray.

10th Anniversary Ebook Edition... The Shades of Gray series follows the adventures of Kat and Kim. Start by reading the first book of this serial series and be introduced to this world of danger and mystery. Noir was a mega-city plagued by a sun blocking mass called Dry Clouds that had mysteriously appeared three decades earlier. The Dry Clouds covered half the planet and forced those living under them to exist in endless night. On this world, corporations were in charge and breaking your contract with them could mean the termination of your life. Kimberly Griffin, a Life Closer (legal assassin) existed in a world of death. She Closed people for a living. It was a lonely demeaning existence, though she wouldn't admit it. There was nothing to drive her in the bleak reality until one day she ran into Kat. Kat, also known as the Pandora Project, was hunted by bio-mechas called Un-Men. She was an experiment of the Sphinx Corporation, and they were testing her to see if she could be the ultimate weapon. Kat refused to be a killer and tried to discover the truth behind her existence. Could she be a new form of bio-mecha? Kim discovered someone close to her had been murdered. Is Kat the key to finding out who did it? Or will her association with Kat only cause her more grief? Pandora of ancient times opened a box and let all good escape. Would Pandora be the hope the planet needed? Or would she destroy the world? **Shades of Gray Series** 1. Noir, City Shrouded By Darkness 2. From Moscow, With Love 3. Cerberus Versus Pandora 4. Sisters

Haunted America & Other Paranormal Travels allows the reader to discover haunted venues in every state in America and even some abroad. Creepy tales from celebrities, ghost-riddled trains and highways, eerie phenomena, and unexplained anomalies. Its all here if you dare.

From haunted mine shafts to inexplicable lights in the northern sky, there are strange things afoot in the peaceful northern municipality of Sudbury; eerie phenomenon that will amaze, give you pause, make you wonder, and have you looking twice at what might first appear to be innocent shadows.