# Event Details - **Event Name**: Book Launch & Film Screening: MONSTROUS BITCH by Eleanor Johnson - **Event Start and End Date**: Fri, 09 Oct, 2026 at 07:30 pm – Fri, 09 Oct, 2026 at 10:30 pm - **Event Description**: Learn how ancient, baby-slaying, loudmouthed demonesses became the defining misogynistic archetype of Western civilization.About this EventThe Twisted Spine is so excited to welcome back one of Columbia University’s most popular professors, Eleanor Johnson (Scream with Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism)!Eleanor returns to The Twisted Spine to celebrate the release of her newest book, Monstrous Bitch: A History of Terrifying Women, a history of women (supposedly) behaving badly. Following the lecture and conversation, there will be a signing and a screening of The Witch (2016).About Monstrous Bitch: A History of Terrifying Women:For as long as human societies have been telling stories, the patriarchy has felt threatened by women. In this book, Eleanor Johnson provides an engaging cultural history of a figure she calls the “monstrous bitch,” the notorious female who has haunted the patriarchal imagination for centuries, feared for her sexual promiscuity, her exercise of reproductive agency and control, and her outspoken way of contesting patriarchal power.In a narrative brimming with insight, Johnson traces the origins of female monstrosity to the demoness Lamashtu of ancient Mesopotamia, showing how this infanticidal, hypersexual, loudmouthed monster appears in different guises throughout history. In classical Greece, she reemerges as the sorceress Medea, the child-devouring monster Lamia, and the vengeful Furies. In the medieval and early modern periods, she is an oversexed, baby-slaying, spellcasting witch; in the Romantic and Victorian eras, a vampiress; and in the modern age of psychoanalysis, a mental patient. After this longue durée history, Johnson shows how monstrous bitchery has been challenged and reinterpreted in contemporary cinematic popular culture, becoming an expression of heroism and resistance in films like Ginger Snaps, Jennifer’s Body, and The Witch. She demonstrates how deeply embedded the roots of misogyny have become, and why it is more critical today than ever that we expose and address them.An irreverent look at a pervasive trope that runs through four thousand years of Western culture, Monstrous Bitch reveals that while representations of the powerful woman have evolved over time, the fear and demonization of her remains the same. https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events3/banners/b230ed00-c13e-11f1-aa7e-893ff00ac3f2-rimg-w546-h740-dcf8f8f8-gmir.jpg About the Author:Eleanor Johnson is professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University. Her books include Scream with Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism (1968–1980); Waste and the Wasters: Poetry and Ecosystemic Thought in Medieval England; Staging Contemplation: Participatory Theology in Middle English Prose, Verse, and Drama; and Practicing Literary Theory in the Middle Ages: Ethics and the Mixed Form in Chaucer, Gower, Usk, and Hoccleve.Event guidelines:Each ticket includes either a hardcover copy of Monstrous Bitch: A History of Terrifying Women or a $15 Twisted Spine gift card.Additional copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event.A signing will follow the lecture.If you have any questions about the guidelines or to request accessibility accommodations, please contact info@twistedspinebooks.com. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/brooklyn/book-launch-and-film-screening-monstrous-bitch-by-eleanor-johnson/100001994631781352 - **Event Categories**: entertainment, art, womens-history-month, literary-art, performances, theatre - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 - **Event Highlights**: - Duration: 3 hours - Location: The Twisted Spine - Languages: English ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 17.85, max: 36.84, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: Brooklyn - **state**: NY - **country**: United States - **location**: The Twisted Spine - **lat**: 40.7127873 - **long**: -73.957273 - **full address**: The Twisted Spine, 306 Grand Street, Brooklyn, United States ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Book Launch & Film Screening: MONSTROUS BITCH by Eleanor Johnson - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events10/banners/a3ae8c645aedb825369ce9c564953dcacbb35b7536535554b6aae596c7340692-rimg-w1200-h600-dc181818-gmir.jpg?v=1789380064 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Book Launch & Film Screening: MONSTROUS BITCH by Eleanor Johnson being held? - **A:** Book Launch & Film Screening: MONSTROUS BITCH by Eleanor Johnson takes place on Fri, 09 Oct, 2026 at 07:30 pm to Fri, 09 Oct, 2026 at 10:30 pm at The Twisted Spine, 306 Grand Street, Brooklyn, United States. - **Q**: Who is organizing Book Launch & Film Screening: MONSTROUS BITCH by Eleanor Johnson? - **A:** Book Launch & Film Screening: MONSTROUS BITCH by Eleanor Johnson is organized by The Twisted Spine. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** Book Launch & Film Screening: MONSTROUS BITCH by Eleanor Johnson is ideal for art lovers, collectors, creatives, and anyone inspired by visual arts, installations, and exhibitions. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Brooklyn, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. If Book Launch & Film Screening: MONSTROUS BITCH by Eleanor Johnson sounds like your kind of event, don't wait - spots fill up fast. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "Book Launch & Film Screening: MONSTROUS BITCH by Eleanor Johnson", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events10/banners/a3ae8c645aedb825369ce9c564953dcacbb35b7536535554b6aae596c7340692-rimg-w1200-h600-dc181818-gmir.jpg?v=1789380064", "startDate": "2026-10-09", "endDate": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://allevents.in/brooklyn/book-launch-and-film-screening-monstrous-bitch-by-eleanor-johnson/100001994631781352", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "The Twisted Spine", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "306 Grand Street", "postalCode": "11211", "addressLocality": "Brooklyn", "addressRegion": "NY", "addressCountry": "US" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "40.7127873", "longitude": "-73.957273" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "Learn how ancient, baby-slaying, loudmouthed demonesses became the defining misogynistic archetype of Western civilization.", "offers": [ { "@type": "AggregateOffer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-10-12", "availabilityEnds": "2026-10-09", "validFrom": "2026-10-12", "lowPrice": "17.85", "highPrice": "36.84", "price": "17.85", "url": "https://allevents.in/brooklyn/book-launch-and-film-screening-monstrous-bitch-by-eleanor-johnson/100001994631781352" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-10-12", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-10-12", "url": "https://allevents.in/brooklyn/book-launch-and-film-screening-monstrous-bitch-by-eleanor-johnson/100001994631781352", "price": "36.84", "name": "Ticket & Book - MONSTROUS BITCH" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/SoldOut", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-10-12", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-10-12", "url": "https://allevents.in/brooklyn/book-launch-and-film-screening-monstrous-bitch-by-eleanor-johnson/100001994631781352", "price": "17.85", "name": "Ticket & $15 Gift Card" } ], "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "The Twisted Spine", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/the-twisted-spine/26621106", "description": "NYC's first bookstore for Horror and Dark Literature. 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