About
Justin Mullis is an independent scholar who writes about the intersection of speculative fiction and Forteana (mostly cryptozoology).
Justin holds a PhD in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University (2024). His dissertation, Thomas Jefferson, Cryptozoologist: The Intersection of Science and Folklore in Early America, reframes Jefferson’s search for living mastodons, giant moose, and other hypothetical North American megafauna as an early chapter in the history of cryptozoology. He earned his B.A. and M.A. in Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he focused on the intersection of religion and popular-culture.
He has lectured at both universities on various topics including depictions of dinosaurs and apes in popular-culture, the role of religion in horror films, and cryptozoology in American culture.
Research
His work has appeared in edited volumes from Routledge, Lexington Books, Palgrave Macmillan, and Punctum Books, as well as academic journals like the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts and Interdisciplinary Science Reviews. Subjects range from the religious dimensions of H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos to the “little people” stories of Arthur Machen, Japanese kaijū and vampire films, and the history of cryptozoology as the "scientification of folklore."
Publications
A full list of Justin's publications is on the Publications page as well as his Academia.edu page.