Date of Graduation

Spring 2023

Degree

Master of Arts in English

Department

English

Committee Chair

Michael Czyzniejewski

Abstract

The following thesis is an excerpt from a novel depicting Caleb Warring and his employer, Mr. Phineas Pruitt, in their business of running a funeral home. It’s been a year since Caleb started working for Mr. Pruitt and since the bodies they had been embalming and preparing started coming back to life. After researching and careful planning, the two decide to embark on a trip to discover the solution to their problem, accompanied by Caleb’s best friend and Mr. Pruitt’s sister. Through the technique of agential constellations, the use of the uncanny, and a distinction between horror and terror, this novel explores what it means to die and how to connect with people in the midst of grief and loss.

Keywords

dying, agential constellations, funeral homes, horror, terror, uncanny

Subject Categories

Fiction

Copyright

© Sarah E. Lewis

Available for download on Tuesday, April 01, 2025

Open Access

Included in

Fiction Commons

Share

COinS