Brandon Grafius

Brandon R. Grafius is a visiting assistant professor of religious studies for the 2026-27 academic year. Brandon comes to MSU from Ecumenical Theological Seminary, Detroit, where he is academic dean and professor of biblical studies. Brandon graduated from MSU with a BA in English, and has also earned an MA in English from the University of California at Davis, an Mdiv from Ecumenical Theological Seminary, and a PhD in Bible, Culture, and Hermeneutics from Chicago Theological Seminary.

Brandon has published widely on the connections between horror, religion, and politics in both academic and popular spaces. He has written for publications such as Salon, the Metropolitan Review, and the Christian Century. His work has been profiled in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Rue Morgue, and Horizons in Biblical Theology. His most recent books include Concerning Dust and Ashes: Affects of Horror in the Hebrew Bible (Oxford University Press, 2026) and Scared by the Bible: The Roots of Horror in Scripture (Morehouse Publishing, 2025). His co-edited volume (with John W. Morehead) The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Monsters was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award.