Dr. Erica McCrystal, assistant professor of English, is a fascinating educator whose courses both teach and inspire by utilizing contemporary fiction case studies of the supernatural. Her classes engage a mostly young adult demographic, which redefine how students view English courses after high school.

She also hosts a podcast called Villains 101, wrote a novel, Gotham City Living: The Social Dynamics in the Batman Comics and Media, and is the event director for the annual Cyclone Con, which will be hosted on Saturday, April 5, 2025. 

Q: What fun English classes do you teach? 

A: I teach Vampires in the Modern World, and we have a lot of fun in that class. We host a Vampire Fair, and everyone sets up an exhibit at a table on a topic of their choice. In that class, we study vampire literature and film from World War II onward. 

I also teach Gothic and we look at gothic literature and film. We look at the origins of the gothic genre, as well as gothic settings and monstrosity from the late 18th century to the present day. So, we look at different gothic tropes and trace them. That class, I think, is a lot of fun as well. 

In Superheroes and Society, we cover various topics such as adolescence, race, ethnicity, and disability. We study different superheroes as case studies for those topics. 

Q: What can students expect from Spring 2025 Time Travel class?

A: I teach Time Travel for Contemporary Literature. We have a lot of fun because we talk about the literature in conversation with science and philosophy and also history, because, when characters travel back in time, they are out of their time period. So, we look at the setting and the historical context and the questions about what happens when you try to change something from history. 

Then, we also have conversations about the future and how that’s represented in different areas. We look at literature and film and have all these different intersecting topics that come into conversation. 

That's been a really fun class. I think we can expect to look at literature and film from an interdisciplinary perspective because we’ll be thinking through questions about history, physics, and philosophy, as well as literary and film analysis. 

Q: What plans do you have for the next Cyclone Con?

A: Cyclone Con planning is well underway. We already have a lot of exhibitors registered– vendors, artists, authors, and video game developers– and have another video game tournament. This year, we’re introducing another “Author Alley” in the library and invite authors to set up booths to sell their books.

We’re going to have panels and workshops. It was really successful last year, so we are going to bring back some of what we had last year and trying to get some new things, like food trucks– everybody likes food trucks! And, of course, cosplay; we had a fun catwalk last year, so we definitely want to have the cosplayers come back. 

We have a lot of fun things in the works, even right now in the early stages. 

Q: What inspired you to write your book? What drew you to superheroes? 

A: When I was in grad school, I was studying 19th-century British Literature and I was looking at crime fiction; I was studying detective fiction and gothic fiction. I recall having a moment where I had this image in my mind of Batman standing on top of a tower, looking over Gotham City as the city’s protector. He was written for Detective Comics to be a detective. That was his “job,” so to speak. 

This image of him as the protector of Gotham City– Gotham is such a gothic city– and I started making parallels to my studies in gothic fiction and urban gothic and detective fiction. As I was making these connections, I started thinking about the supervillains. Then, I started thinking about gothic monsters and I was making more connections between Jekyll and Hyde and Two-Face. 

When I was working on my PhD, that’s what I wanted to do; I wanted to bring together these two different areas of research interest. So, that’s what I wrote my dissertation on urban gothic in nineteenth-century London and Gotham City for the twenty and twenty-first century. 

Q: What is your favorite novel? What authors/ writers have inspired you throughout your career?

A: I have several favorite authors. Right now, I love reading Blake Crouch and I love reading Leigh Bardugo. So, I read a lot of fantasy, and I like the sci-fi elements of Crouch. I think that he’s really a masterful craftsman. But, then, I love 19th-century authors, like Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. So, those are some of my favorite authors. 

Sometimes, I read a book and say, This is now my favorite, or, This is now my favorite. So, I don’t know if I could just pick one. I love Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. I love the Count of Monte Cristo. Those stuck with me.

Q: What quote do you live by?

A: I have a quote that’s in the signature of my email that I’ve always had there and never changed it, because I’ve just always found it so inspiring. 

“Run if you can; walk if you have to; crawl if you must. Just never give up.” It’s by Dean Karnazes, an ultra-marathon runner. 

Q: What is something we might be surprised to know about you?

A: I was a Division 1 college athlete. I played softball. I got hurt my junior year and I decided I wanted to be a triathlete. So, for years, I competed in triathlons. I’ve run two marathons and I’ve run 16 half-marathons. 

Q: Is there anything we didn’t talk about that you’d like us to know?

A: I love having different perspectives in class, so, even if you’re not an English major, I hope you come take an English class and bring your background, your perspective, and your experiences. I love to have those conversations where the students are really contributing. 

I love when the students teach me things about vampires or superheroes, different characters, and different stories. So, I hope that I can continue to get to know students of different majors here at Centenary.

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College is all about trying new things, discovering passions, and finding a new educational path. Regardless of your major, if the supernatural piques your interest, consider looking into some of Dr. McCrystal’s classes, listening to her podcast, reading her book, or attending Cyclone Con.