In the Middle Between Human and Beast’: Symbiotic Terror in Reconsidering Nuclear Monstrosity within Post-Disaster Toxicity in Kat & Agnes Merikan & Lori A. Witt’s Werewolves of Chernobyl Cover Image

In the Middle Between Human and Beast’: Symbiotic Terror in Reconsidering Nuclear Monstrosity within Post-Disaster Toxicity in Kat & Agnes Merikan & Lori A. Witt’s Werewolves of Chernobyl
In the Middle Between Human and Beast’: Symbiotic Terror in Reconsidering Nuclear Monstrosity within Post-Disaster Toxicity in Kat & Agnes Merikan & Lori A. Witt’s Werewolves of Chernobyl

Author(s): Inna HÄKKINEN
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature, Comparative Study of Literature
Published by: Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai
Keywords: symbiotic terror; monsterization; biohorror; nuclear disaster; Chernobyl; werewolves;

Summary/Abstract: The article studies “symbiotic terror” as the dynamic interplay between social identities and more-than-human actors within eco-scenarios where humans become hosts for mutated organisms, regarded as a response to the emergent nature of human-nonhuman interactions. The paper envisions “symbiotic terror” via outlining the notions of individual identity and bodily autonomy, creating a sense of horror from the amalgamation of human and nonhuman agencies within the nuclear toxic locality in Kat & Agnes Merikan & Lori A. Witt’s Werewolves of Chernobyl. The article emphasizes “symbiotic terror” for exploring the complex and often frightening relationships between humans, nuclear trauma, and the environment, resonating deep-seated fears about loss of control and contamination. Such a perspective challenges the nuclear narratives on the potential for nature to turn in unpredictable and terrifying ways by emphasizing the long-term genetic impacts of the disaster, creating human and nonhuman entities, and re-valorizing the complex human-environment relationships in the face of crisis and uncertainty.

  • Issue Year: 12/2026
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 146-171
  • Page Count: 26
  • Language: English
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