Archaeological, industrial and biological dimensions of subterranean horror in L.T.C. Rolt's The Mine

Subterranean settings are common in horror: the buried realms of darkness, demons and the dead have long and rich cultural histories. In this paper I explore three distinct themes in underground horror: the archaeological, where ancient buried mysteries meet modern interference; the industrial, wher...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTime and mind Vol. 17; no. 3-4; pp. 295 - 303
Main Author Moshenska, Gabriel
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 01.10.2024
Subjects
Antiquarianism
folklore
speleobiology
uncanny
underground
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Summary:Subterranean settings are common in horror: the buried realms of darkness, demons and the dead have long and rich cultural histories. In this paper I explore three distinct themes in underground horror: the archaeological, where ancient buried mysteries meet modern interference; the industrial, where the arrogance of extractive modernity must be humbled; and the biological, where new forms of life - pale, blind, predatory - evolve in isolated darkness. To illustrate these themes I examine the 1948 short horror story The Mine by industrial historian L.T.C. Rolt, and consider how these three dimensions of the subterranean uncanny are weaved together into a striking and original tale. These are just three amongst many other cultural, literary and folkloric forms in underground horror, and this paper is intended as a starting point for further exploration of these intertwined themes.
ISSN:1751-696X
1751-6978
DOI:10.1080/1751696X.2024.2431020