Personal profile
Biography
As an undergraduate I studied for a BSc (Hons) in Psychology and Philosophy at the London School of Economics. After this, I moved to the University of Nottingham where I completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology, then an MSc in Occupational Psychology. Moving into the field of American Studies, I gained an MA in American Studies (Lit.) and my PhD in Popular American Gothic Fiction is currently in the final stages of completion. Over the last few years, I have lectured on Hollywood Cinema and American Genres at the University of Winchester, as well as teaching on a range of undergraduate units on the Media and Film Studies degree programmes at the University of Portsmouth. I have held a permanent teaching position at Portsmouth since 2009 and have been Course Leader for the BA Film & Television Studies since 2011.
Research Interests
My PhD, entitled ‘Halfway Houses: Liminality and the Haunted House Motif in Popular American Gothic Fiction’, is due to be published by McFarland. In addition to presenting regularly at conferences, particularly in the USA on the topics of American Gothic and horror fiction. I have published work on authors including H. P. Lovecraft, Robert Bloch, Richard Matheson and Stephen King – in Extrapolation, U. S. Studies Online and The European Journal of American Culture, as well as in edited collections. My current research encompasses horror adaptations, for cinema and the comic arts, and I have several publications forthcoming in these areas.
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Pop Matters: Episode 11, “Portsmouth Comic Con 2024, the Revenge!"
Pugh, E., Geraghty, L. & Janicker, R., 2 May 2024Research output: Non-textual form › Digital or Visual Products
Open Access -
Pop Matters: Episode 12, "Halloween Horror!"
Pugh, E., Geraghty, L., Caro, J., Austin, E. & Janicker, R., 25 Oct 2024Research output: Non-textual form › Digital or Visual Products
Open Access -
Conveying cosmicism: visual interpretations of Lovecraft
Janicker, R., 10 Feb 2023, The Medial Afterlives of H. P. Lovecraft: Comic, Film, Podcast, TV, Games. Lanzendörfer, T. & José Dreysse Passos de Carvalho, M. (eds.). Palgrave Macmillan, p. 63-75 13 p. (Palgrave Studies in Adaptation and Visual Culture).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
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"It's my time now. The time of science": Mad Science in American Horror Story
Janicker, R., 1 Apr 2022, The Scientist in Popular Culture: Playing God and Working Wonders. Janicker, R. (ed.). Lanham, MD: Lexington Academic Books, p. 191-206 16 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
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Pop Matters: Episode 5, "The Scientist in Popular Culture"
Pugh, E., Geraghty, L., Janicker, R., Pank, D. & Gruner, O., 24 Nov 2022Research output: Non-textual form › Digital or Visual Products
Open Access
Activities
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Future Visions, Past Warnings
Austin, E. (Presented paper), Caro, J. (Presented paper) & Janicker, R. (Organiser)
29 Apr 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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The Years of Travelling Anxiously Book Launch and Research Reflection
Sykes, T. (Presented paper), Harper, S. (Presented paper), Janicker, R. (Presented paper), Harper, S. (Presented paper), Salgado, P. (Presented paper), Smith, M. (Presented paper), Ashton, L. (Presented paper), Habens, A. (Presented paper) & Sutton, W. (Presented paper)
23 Mar 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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Seed Talk - invited talk as part of the Seed Talks programme of events
Janicker, R. (Speaker)
28 Oct 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Millennial Horror - live talk at Ramaskrik Film Festival
Janicker, R. (Speaker)
18 Oct 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Talk to staff and students at NTNU
Janicker, R. (Speaker) & Geraghty, L. (Invited speaker)
15 Oct 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
Prizes
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Winner of SFRA 36th Annual Conference Graduate Essay Award
Janicker, R. (Recipient), 2005
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Winner of the Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA) 36th Annual Conference Graduate Essay Award, for a paper entitled “New England Narratives: Space and Place in the Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft”
Janicker, R. (Recipient), 2005
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Press/Media
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13 Stockwerke Angst. Hotels als Orte des Schreckens und Grusels.
31/10/25
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert comment
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