From the Uncanny to the Weird and the Eerie: Mark Fisher and the Thresholds of Cultural Reality and Liminality in Ritual and Real-Life Contexts

ABSTRACT

The article explores Mark Fisher’s concepts of the Weird and the Eerie as interpretive tools for unsettling experiences in both cultural texts and lived contexts. Building on Sigmund Freud’s Uncanny and Rudolf Otto’s Numinous, it situates Fisher’s framework within psychoanalytic, philosophical, and anthropological debates, incorporating Slavoj Žižek, hauntology, and ritual theory. Case studies from Greek urban folklore and contemporary ritual practice demonstrate how the Weird and the Eerie manifest in architecture, liminal spaces, and ceremonial encounters. Through theoretical elaboration and autoethnographic reflection, the article highlights the adaptability of Fisher’s categories for understanding estrangement, presence, and absence in contemporary cultural life.