"I only love them" : Dorothy Scarborough and the supernatural in literature.
type: CreativeWork
description: This thesis examines the life and accomplishments of Emily Dorothy Scarborough, graduate of both Baylor University and Columbia University and professor of English, as they relate to her interest in the supernatural. Born on 27 January 1878, Scarborough developed a love of literature at an early age and spent the majority of her childhood at Baylor University. Constant contact with African-American culture became a profound influence on Scarborough's writing, particularly Conjure and other occult traditions. World War I also constituted a significant influence on her work, as well as her views on supernatural literature in general. Although elements of the supernatural are present in all of Scarborough's work, her most famous novel, The Wind, represents her best expression of the subject and had generated the most critical interpretations. Scarborough's simplistic appreciation of the supernatural led to her accurate prediction that public interest in the subject would persist indefinitely.
abstract: This thesis examines the life and accomplishments of Emily Dorothy Scarborough, graduate of both Baylor University and Columbia University and professor of English, as they relate to her interest in the supernatural. Born on 27 January 1878, Scarborough developed a love of literature at an early age and spent the majority of her childhood at Baylor University. Constant contact with African-American culture became a profound influence on Scarborough's writing, particularly Conjure and other occult traditions. World War I also constituted a significant influence on her work, as well as her views on supernatural literature in general. Although elements of the supernatural are present in all of Scarborough's work, her most famous novel, The Wind, represents her best expression of the subject and had generated the most critical interpretations. Scarborough's simplistic appreciation of the supernatural led to her accurate prediction that public interest in the subject would persist indefinitely.
author: Fair, Jean M.
language: en
keywords: Dorothy Scarborough., Texas authors., Texas women., Texas folklore., Supernatural., Early twentieth century Texas., Waco, Texas., Education in Texas., African American religion.
date published: 2010-05
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:08:19Z
provider: Baylor University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Baylor University.

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/2104/7967