Colin Dickey

Colin Dickey is the author, most recently, of Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places (Viking), as well as Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius and Afterlives of the Saints: Stories from the Ends of Faith. He is also the co-editor of The Morbid Anatomy Anthology. He currently teaches creative writing at National University.

Articles

The Suburban Uncanny
Colin DickeyJun 10, 2019
Companion and Commodity: The Victorian Dog
Colin Dickey reviews two new books about the Victorian dog.
Colin DickeyFeb 4, 2019
- History
Beast Mode
Colin Dickey on Peter Sahlins’s “1668: The Year of the Animal in France”
Colin DickeyApr 15, 2018
Speak, Mongoose: On “Gef!: The Strange Tale of an Extra-Special Talking Mongoose”
Colin Dickey on the tale of a talking mongoose.
Colin DickeyOct 29, 2017
- History
Unnatural Selection: On Extinction and De-Extinction
Colin Dickey reviews two books on extinction and de-extinction.
Colin DickeySep 3, 2017
- Science & Technology
Making New Friends: The Genetics of Animal Domestication
The story of the Russian geneticists who domesticated the silver fox.
Colin DickeyJun 18, 2017
The Pets’ War: On Hilda Kean’s “The Great Cat and Dog Massacre”
Colin Dickey on Hilda Kean’s “The Great Cat and Dog Massacre: The Real Story of World War Two’s Unknown Tragedy.”
Colin DickeyApr 30, 2017
- History
Forging Nature: On “The Rhinoceros and the Megatherium”
Colin Dickey reviews Juan Pimentel’s “The Rhinoceros and the Megatherium: An Essay in Natural History.”
Colin DickeyApr 2, 2017
- History
- Science & Technology
Forgotten Accounts: Didion’s “South and West”
Didion's latest "South and West": irredeemably past, and yet speaking to the current impasse.
Colin DickeyFeb 19, 2017
- Cultural Studies
- Memoir & Essay
Tenure and Diversity: An Interview with Patricia Matthew
Colin Dickey talks to Patricia Matthew about her new essay collection, "Written/Unwritten: Diversity and the Hidden Truths of Tenure."
Colin DickeyFeb 8, 2017
- Cultural Studies
Up Out of the Darkness: A New History of Monsters
Colin Dickey reviews Leo Braudy’s “Haunted: Witches, Vampires, Zombies, and Other Monsters of the Natural and Supernatural Worlds.”
Colin DickeyDec 11, 2016
- History
- Literary Criticism
Oliver and Sarah: The Story of the Winchesters
A history of the Winchester family and fortune.
Colin DickeySep 28, 2016
- Cultural Studies
- History
The Case Against Cats
Are you a cat person or a bird person? Colin Dickey reviews Peter P. Marra and Chris Santella’s “Cat Wars: The Devastating Consequences of a Deadly Killer.”
Colin DickeySep 7, 2016
- Science & Technology
On Pictures of Ships
Colin DickeyApr 25, 2016
On Killing Dogs
Colin Dayan's book "With Dogs at the Edge of Life" attempts to mark out the territory of dogs in our lives.
Colin DickeyFeb 1, 2016
- Nonfiction
Saint Joan
"Much of Didion's writing about LA reads not as accurate description of the city but as penance for her great sin of leaving New York."
Colin DickeyAug 23, 2015
- Biography & Autobiography