Amabie goes viral: the monstrous mercreature returns to battle the Gothic Covid‐19

This essay will focus on Amabie, a yōkai and mer-monster from Japan’s Edo Period (1,603-1868), who is being revived to ward off the Covid-19 virus in 2020, arguing that our understanding of crises is enhanced via the hybrid monsters they engender. The present essays focusses on the viral spread of the apotropaic image of Amabie via the internet, as well as positioning Amabie as a Gothic artefact – though one which invites a revision of some of the approaches to monstrosity prevalent in Gothic studies.