Table of Contents

• Introduction—Unpacking Supernatural: What's in the Box?
• Part One: "As meta as meta gets"
• The Reality of Text Is Manifold: Performances of Writerliness in Supernatural's "The Real Ghostbusters"
• "I so miss being an atheist": God, the Darkness and the Show That Wouldn't Die
• "There is no singing in 'Supernatural'!" The Meta as Narrative Device
• Part Two: "A cruel, cruel, capricious god"
• God Is Dead and the Death of the Author: Theorizing Divine Absence in Supernatural Season Five
• The Author, the Audience and the Almighty: Supernatural's Chuck Shurley as Metatextual Mirror
• "You don't have to be a monster. You have a choice": Supernatural, Free Will and the Deterministic Concept of Monstrosity
• Part Three: "Our lives are not for public consumption"
• "Where's the pie?" Nostalgic and Apocalyptic Foodways in Supernatural
• A Cicatricial Romance: Metanarrative, the Textual Wound and a Grotesque View in Supernatural
• "I have my version and you have yours": Folklore, Narrative and the (Re)Telling of Supernatural
• Part Four: Breaking Out of the Box
• "Why are you the boy who hates Christmas?" "A Very
• Supernatural Christmas" as Nostalgic Holiday Special
• Strap In for the Scariest Hour in the History of Television: "Ghostfacers" as Parody of Paranormal Investigative Show
• Not All Monsters Are Universal: Gothic Parody in "Monster Movie"
• Pamela Barnes as Pastiche: Supernatural's Rock Muse and Blind Seer
• Appendix One: Episodes Cited
• Appendix Two: Main and Major Characters
• About the Contributors
• Index

About the Author

Lisa Macklem has been writing about Supernatural since the first season. Her main research area is in copyright law and its intersection with the entertainment and media industry and how that industry influences access to culture and users' rights, including fans. She was recently cited in the Canadian government's review of its Copyright Statute. She lives in London, Ontario, Canada.

Dominick Grace, a professor of English at Brescia University College, has published numerous articles on subjects ranging from medieval and early modern literature to contemporary popular culture. He lives in London, Ontario, Canada.