Falmouth Horror & Gaming 2026
7th, 8th and 9th July 2026
It has long been accepted that video games and horror go together like “a match made in hell” (Rouse III, 2009) and this delightful expression paves a road for continual investigation into the complex relationship between video games and horror.
This conference seeks to provide a space in which academics and practitioners can share scholarship, creative outputs and performances centred around the complex and wide-ranging field of video games intersecting with horror. Whether work is hyper-local, global, or interstellar we welcome imaginative, creative, ethical, and diverse discussions from all disciplines and subject areas.
As well as traditional papers, creative practice work is also invited in whatever form – written, film, audio, performance, exhibitions etc.
Hosted by Falmouth University, with a follow-up special issue in The Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds, the Falmouth Horror and Gaming conference will be held in Cornwall at Falmouth’s Penryn University Campus, which is set in lush, tropical gardens with easy transport into Falmouth’s picturesque town and beaches.
As the first in what we hope to become an annual affair, we’re keen to kick off with the spookiest of bangs! Please consider submitting an abstract and joining us for this exciting meet up of knowledge exchange.
Abstracts should be 300 words and should be submitted to: falmouthhorrorandgaming@gmail.com
The deadline for abstracts is 1st April 2026.
Keywords/Possible Topics include (but are not bound by):
- Agency
- AI (affects and effects)
- Bosses & Enemies
- Cyber Spirituality
- Games & Mental Health
- Games & Physical Health
- Game Architecture
- Game Ghosts
- Game Mechanics
- Game Spaces
- Game Story Telling
- Horror & Gender in Games
- Horror Icons
- Interactive Fiction
- Lasting Impacts of Play
- Nostalgia
- Online Multiplay
- Queerness
- Representation
- The Weird
- Trauma
