Claire Hackett

My research is situated at the intersection of Gothic and horror narratives and the evolving field of sequential art, with a strong emphasis on visual narrative theory, stylistic analysis, and genre-driven storytelling strategies. I am particularly interested in how Gothic and horror traditions are reshaped through multimodal forms, including illustration, comics, and interactive media, and how these forms generate distinctive affective, psychological, and aesthetic experiences. Central to this inquiry is an exploration of how meaning is constructed through the interplay of text, image, and visual style within sequential narratives.

A key focus of my work is stylistic duality: the use of contrasting visual and textual modes operating in tension within a single narrative system. I investigate how shifts in visual register, tone, or representational logic can signal changes in subjectivity, temporality, or emotional intensity, and how these strategies unsettle readers and destabilise conventional narrative expectations. Through close stylistic analysis and practice-led experimentation, I examine how dual or hybrid styles guide interpretation, intensify atmosphere, and subvert established Gothic and horror tropes.

My research also addresses the role of multimodality in shaping reader and player experience. I explore how the combination of visual, textual, and spatial elements in sequential art produces meanings that cannot be reduced to language alone, and how these interactions generate unique emotional responses such as dread, ambiguity, and psychological unease. This interest extends to the crossover between comics and interactive gameplay, particularly within indie digital games, where sequential and graphic techniques are adapted into interactive narrative structures. Here, I examine how player agency, visual design, and fragmented storytelling disrupt linear narrative progression in favour of non-verbal, environmental, or visually driven forms of meaning-making.

My core research questions ask how sequential forms adapt and extend Gothic and horror conventions; how multimodal storytelling reconfigures affect, immersion, and interpretation; and how hybrid narrative strategies challenge linear, text-dominant storytelling models. I am especially concerned with how fragmentation, ambiguity, and visual excess operate as productive strategies within these genres, allowing artists and designers to explore themes of instability, liminality, and the uncanny.

Methodologically, my research is practice-led and interdisciplinary, combining creative production with critical analysis. Through illustration and sequential art projects, I test theoretical concepts in material form, using creative practice as a mode of inquiry. These projects are complemented by scholarly writing that situates my work within broader debates in comics studies, visual culture, and horror and Gothic scholarship.

My research outputs currently span creative works, peer-reviewed articles, conference papers, and panel discussions. These include practice-led sequential art projects, critical writing on Gothic and horror aesthetics, and contributions to edited collections and exhibitions focused on graphic narrative experimentation. Alongside these outputs, I engage in curatorial work, conference organisation, and collaborative research with artists and writers exploring multimodal and hybrid narrative forms. Together, these activities reflect an ongoing commitment to advancing both scholarly and creative understandings of sequential art, stylistic duality, and genre-based visual storytelling.