Abstract

The myth of Lamia is a story of frustrated mother who never becomes one. This article will examine how modern fiction has recreated this tragedy. I will analyse the novels “By the Pricking of My Thumbs” and “The Woman in Black” and the films “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,” “À l’intérieur,” and “Mama.” All these works have an antecedent in Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” where miscarriage and revenge also play a central role. The myth of Lamia still fulfils a social function nowadays, explaining the disturbances that child loss and a frustrated motherhood may cause.