Lorna Piatti-Farnell is Academic Dean at SAE Creative Media Institute in Auckland, New Zealand.

• AcknowledgementsIntroduction: A Matter of Life and DeathLorna Piatti-Farnell (SAE Creative Media Institute, New Zealand)Part I: Historical Echoes and Iconographic Recurrences1. Poison and Toxicity in 1950s Hollywood Cinema: Bigger Than Life (1956) Wendy Haslem (University of Melbourne, Australia) 2. The Leprous Distilment: Poison and the Film Noir NarrativeRobert Singer (CUNY Graduate Center, USA) 3. Roald Dahl's Femme Fatales and Their Weapon of Choice: PoisonRosie Gailor (Queen Mary University of London, UK) 4. The Needle and the Snake: Tracing the Historical Echoes of Cleopatra’s Poisons in the Popular ImaginationLorna Piatti-Farnell 5. Killer Fashion: Clothes that Poison in History, Media, and Popular CultureLisa J. Hackett (University of New England, Australia), Jo Coghlan (University of New England, Australia) and Huw Nolan (University of New England, Australia)6. Devious Beauty and Deadly Betrayal: Poison as a Multifaceted Symbol in Asian Genres of CinemaKyoung-suk SUNG (National Research Foundation of Korea, South Korea)Part II: Popular Representations and Evolving Meanings7. Constitution Checks, Agency and Dice Rolls: Poison in the Tabletop Role-Playing Space Matthew Thompson (University of Southern Queensland, Australia) 8. Body Transformation and the Cycle of Death and Rebirth: Poison and Scarlet Rot in the Elden Ring VideogameMartin Charvát (Metropolitan University Prague, Czech Republic) and Michaela Fikejzová (Metropolitan University Prague, Czech Republic)9. Sex, Poison, and Control in Comics: The Evolving Representation of DC’s Poison IvyCarl Wilson (Independent Scholar, UK)10. “Even Stopper Death”: Harry Potter, Potions, Poisons, and Plants Jenny Wise (University of New England, Australia) and Lesley McLean (University of New England, Australia)11. Poison as Allegorical to Loss and Grief in Eiichiro Oda’s One PieceRuairí Kennedy (University of Galway, Ireland)12. Growing in Nightshade: Toxic Culture and Healing Horror in Netflix’s WednesdayLindsey Scott (University of Suffolk, UK)Notes on ContributorsIndex

This collection is truly a wicked pleasure for any reader interested in the fascinating strands of poison’s cultural history. From the alluring aesthetics of fairy-tale poison to the political intricacies of toxic consumption throughout film, videogames, literature and more, these essays throw light on the most insidious and elusive of substances.

Lorna Piatti-Farnell is Academic Dean at SAE Creative Media Institute in Auckland, New Zealand.

• AcknowledgementsIntroduction: A Matter of Life and DeathLorna Piatti-Farnell (SAE Creative Media Institute, New Zealand)Part I: Historical Echoes and Iconographic Recurrences1. Poison and Toxicity in 1950s Hollywood Cinema: Bigger Than Life (1956) Wendy Haslem (University of Melbourne, Australia) 2. The Leprous Distilment: Poison and the Film Noir NarrativeRobert Singer (CUNY Graduate Center, USA) 3. Roald Dahl's Femme Fatales and Their Weapon of Choice: PoisonRosie Gailor (Queen Mary University of London, UK) 4. The Needle and the Snake: Tracing the Historical Echoes of Cleopatra’s Poisons in the Popular ImaginationLorna Piatti-Farnell 5. Killer Fashion: Clothes that Poison in History, Media, and Popular CultureLisa J. Hackett (University of New England, Australia), Jo Coghlan (University of New England, Australia) and Huw Nolan (University of New England, Australia)6. Devious Beauty and Deadly Betrayal: Poison as a Multifaceted Symbol in Asian Genres of CinemaKyoung-suk SUNG (National Research Foundation of Korea, South Korea)Part II: Popular Representations and Evolving Meanings7. Constitution Checks, Agency and Dice Rolls: Poison in the Tabletop Role-Playing Space Matthew Thompson (University of Southern Queensland, Australia) 8. Body Transformation and the Cycle of Death and Rebirth: Poison and Scarlet Rot in the Elden Ring VideogameMartin Charvát (Metropolitan University Prague, Czech Republic) and Michaela Fikejzová (Metropolitan University Prague, Czech Republic)9. Sex, Poison, and Control in Comics: The Evolving Representation of DC’s Poison IvyCarl Wilson (Independent Scholar, UK)10. “Even Stopper Death”: Harry Potter, Potions, Poisons, and Plants Jenny Wise (University of New England, Australia) and Lesley McLean (University of New England, Australia)11. Poison as Allegorical to Loss and Grief in Eiichiro Oda’s One PieceRuairí Kennedy (University of Galway, Ireland)12. Growing in Nightshade: Toxic Culture and Healing Horror in Netflix’s WednesdayLindsey Scott (University of Suffolk, UK)Notes on ContributorsIndex

This collection is truly a wicked pleasure for any reader interested in the fascinating strands of poison’s cultural history. From the alluring aesthetics of fairy-tale poison to the political intricacies of toxic consumption throughout film, videogames, literature and more, these essays throw light on the most insidious and elusive of substances.

Lorna Piatti-Farnell is Academic Dean at SAE Creative Media Institute in Auckland, New Zealand.

• AcknowledgementsIntroduction: A Matter of Life and DeathLorna Piatti-Farnell (SAE Creative Media Institute, New Zealand)Part I: Historical Echoes and Iconographic Recurrences1. Poison and Toxicity in 1950s Hollywood Cinema: Bigger Than Life (1956) Wendy Haslem (University of Melbourne, Australia) 2. The Leprous Distilment: Poison and the Film Noir NarrativeRobert Singer (CUNY Graduate Center, USA) 3. Roald Dahl's Femme Fatales and Their Weapon of Choice: PoisonRosie Gailor (Queen Mary University of London, UK) 4. The Needle and the Snake: Tracing the Historical Echoes of Cleopatra’s Poisons in the Popular ImaginationLorna Piatti-Farnell 5. Killer Fashion: Clothes that Poison in History, Media, and Popular CultureLisa J. Hackett (University of New England, Australia), Jo Coghlan (University of New England, Australia) and Huw Nolan (University of New England, Australia)6. Devious Beauty and Deadly Betrayal: Poison as a Multifaceted Symbol in Asian Genres of CinemaKyoung-suk SUNG (National Research Foundation of Korea, South Korea)Part II: Popular Representations and Evolving Meanings7. Constitution Checks, Agency and Dice Rolls: Poison in the Tabletop Role-Playing Space Matthew Thompson (University of Southern Queensland, Australia) 8. Body Transformation and the Cycle of Death and Rebirth: Poison and Scarlet Rot in the Elden Ring VideogameMartin Charvát (Metropolitan University Prague, Czech Republic) and Michaela Fikejzová (Metropolitan University Prague, Czech Republic)9. Sex, Poison, and Control in Comics: The Evolving Representation of DC’s Poison IvyCarl Wilson (Independent Scholar, UK)10. “Even Stopper Death”: Harry Potter, Potions, Poisons, and Plants Jenny Wise (University of New England, Australia) and Lesley McLean (University of New England, Australia)11. Poison as Allegorical to Loss and Grief in Eiichiro Oda’s One PieceRuairí Kennedy (University of Galway, Ireland)12. Growing in Nightshade: Toxic Culture and Healing Horror in Netflix’s WednesdayLindsey Scott (University of Suffolk, UK)Notes on ContributorsIndex

This collection is truly a wicked pleasure for any reader interested in the fascinating strands of poison’s cultural history. From the alluring aesthetics of fairy-tale poison to the political intricacies of toxic consumption throughout film, videogames, literature and more, these essays throw light on the most insidious and elusive of substances.