"[𝕳]𝖊 𝖜𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖓𝖔𝖙 𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓 𝖔𝖓𝖈𝖊 𝖚𝖕𝖔𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖊𝖆𝖉 𝖒𝖆𝖓[. 𝕿]𝖆𝖐𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖚𝖕 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖌𝖔𝖑𝖉 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖕𝖚𝖗𝖕𝖑𝖊 𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖌, 𝖍𝖊 𝖋𝖑𝖚𝖓𝖌 𝖎𝖙 𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖕𝖎𝖈𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖊." - Oscar Wilde 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ On publication in 1890, Oscar Wilde's (Irish author, 1854-1900) short story 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' was deemed suitable "for none but outlawed noblemen and perverted telegraph boys" by the Scots Observer. Reviewers were unanimous - Wilde's fiction was decadent, a disgraceful thing to be by conservative Victorian standards. The story, which many of you will be familiar with, is about a vain & hedonistic man named Dorian who makes a Faustian pact to ensure eternal outward youthfulness whilst a portrait in his likeness grows aged and ghastly instead. Along with a disapproval of the perceived effiminancy and 'Frenchness' of the narrative (exposing the casual homophobia, xenophobia, & gender prejudices of the Victorian era), critics were shocked by the decadent deceit which it promoted. This is because Victorians, early in their understanding of human science, believed that 'badness' of character (eg. immoral behaviour, ungodly sins) exposed itself in an individual's appearance(!). 🤔: Perhaps this ludicrous stereotyping is in part to blame for our continued portrayal of 'baddies' as monstrous & monsters as evil in contemporary fiction (literature, films, TV) and society... What do you think? Can you summon more 'normal-looking' or grotesque villains to mind? 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ 📖The Readalong📖 It's week of 2 the 'Little Sister Death' #generallygothicbookworm readalong hosted by @gothicbookworm & myself. 👆: Info & templates in the highlight. How are you getting on? 🎞️: I'll update my progress in stories later today; til then my thoughts are on the blog. 🔗: Link in bio! . #decadenceanddecay #oscarwilde #victorianliterature #thepictureofdoriangray #doriangray #victoriangothic #englishliterature #gothic #generallygothic #gothicliterature #books #bookstagram #literarycriticism #spookynerd #readalong #williamgay #littlesisterdeath #southerngothic #littlesisterdeath #decadent #williamgay https://www.instagram.com/p/B52ZEQ6gbie/?igshid=1k6ienm8p17ey

"𝕲𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖈 𝖆𝖗𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖙𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖊 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖆𝖑𝖜𝖆𝖞𝖘 𝖒𝖊𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖈𝖆𝖑[;] 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖗𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖉𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖔𝖋 𝖌𝖊𝖓𝖚𝖎𝖓𝖊 𝖔𝖑𝖉𝖊𝖗 𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖘𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖈𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖉𝖗𝖆𝖒𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖞𝖉𝖆𝖞 𝖑𝖎𝖛𝖊𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖈𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖞." - Clive Bloom 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ Just as the wider gothic is, 'Victorian gothic' is understood as both a literary movement and an architectural style. In the Victorian era a desire for both decadence and preservation (against decay) lead to the repurposing of grand old castles into modern homesteads and the construction of ornate homes that towered loftily, and 'pointely', above the lowly poor. Buildings are often symbolic in gothic literature, a custom which began with 'The Castle of Ortanto' (the first gothic story, by Horace Walpole, 1764) and which greatly developed in the Victorian era thanks to the popularity of Freud's new psychoanalytical theories of the 1890s. 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ 📖The Readalong📖 All this is hard to keep out of mind whilst reading 'Little Sister Death' for the #generallygothicbookworm readalong, which @gothicbookworm & I are hosting... But I won't say any more as I'd love for you to read along with us & find out for yourselves! 🎞️: I'll share my progress with the novel in stories before the day is done. 🏷️: Please tag us both & #generallygothicbookworm in your own posts (there's a template in the readalong highlight if you fancy it!) - I'm excited to know what you think of the book so far! 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ 📸: This stunning beauty is the Governor's Mansion in Sacramento, California, USA, built 1887, showing the widespread influence of the gothic style, under the reign of Queen Victoria, across the ocean. . #gothic #decadenceanddecay #victorianliterature #victoriangothic #victorianarchitecture #gothicarchitecture #generallygothic #generallygothicbookclub #readalong #bookstagram #gothicliterature #williamgay #littlesisterdeath #currentlyreading #southerngothic #spookynerd #academic #architecture #gothicmansion #sacramento #california #literaryhistory #theory #history https://www.instagram.com/p/B5qI0DbAwkv/?igshid=1bmqvo5oqnmvm

"𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖘 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖇𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖊𝖉 𝖎𝖓 𝖆 𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖎𝖆𝖓 𝖆𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖒𝖕𝖙 𝖙𝖔 '𝖇𝖎𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕯𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖑' 𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝖆𝖌𝖆𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖞 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖇𝖊 𝖆 𝖗𝖊𝖒𝖓𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖕𝖆𝖌𝖆𝖓 𝖎𝖓𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 𝖗𝖎𝖙𝖊𝖘." - Maurice Bruce 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ Gruß vom Krampus, to all you little sinners! On the evening of December 5th a cloven-hooved creature creeps out of the woods in the Alpine towns of mainland Europe... Working alongside St. Nicholas (akin to Father Christmas and Santa Claus), Krampus has the pleasurable job of punishing those of us who've made the naughty list. Though likened to the devil in folklore, Krampus likely predates Christianity with roots in our pagan past. Either way, he perpetuates the Christmas tradition of passing judgement in an attempt to teach children right from wrong, with decadent rewards or devilish retribution. 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ 📖The Readalong📖 I'm delighted to see lots of you joining @gothicbookworm & I for the #generallygothicbookworm readalong of William Gay's 'Little Sister Death' (you can find info in the Readalong highlight above; there's still plenty of time to join us)! 🎞️: I'll share my progress in stories later today, and would love to know how you're getting on (below, on your own page, in stories, on the original post, wherever)! 🏷️: The template I'm using is available in highlights; just tag us both and #generallygothicbookworm so we don't miss a thing! 📸: Krampuskarte, early C20th, via Wiki Commons. . #krampus #krampusnacht #christmas #decadenceanddecay #gothic #generallygothic #spookynerd #tradition #folklore #pagan #germany #germanfolklore #austria #alpine #thealps #nature #devil #christianity #religion #bookstagram #readalong #generallygothicbookclub #littlesisterdeath #williamgay #southerngothic #europeanhistory #europeanfolklore https://www.instagram.com/p/B5s-wVxgkhd/?igshid=bd5yhgcbdwzf

"𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖘 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖇𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖊𝖉 𝖎𝖓 𝖆 𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖎𝖆𝖓 𝖆𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖒𝖕𝖙 𝖙𝖔 '𝖇𝖎𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕯𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖑' 𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝖆𝖌𝖆𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖞 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖇𝖊 𝖆 𝖗𝖊𝖒𝖓𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖕𝖆𝖌𝖆𝖓 𝖎𝖓𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 𝖗𝖎𝖙𝖊𝖘." - Maurice Bruce 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ Gruß vom Krampus, to all you little sinners! On the evening of December 5th a cloven-hooved creature creeps out of the woods in the Alpine towns of mainland Europe... Working alongside St. Nicholas (akin to Father Christmas and Santa Claus), Krampus has the pleasurable job of punishing those of us who've made the naughty list. Though likened to the devil in folklore, Krampus likely predates Christianity with roots in our pagan past. Either way, he perpetuates the Christmas tradition of passing judgement in an attempt to teach children right from wrong, with decadent rewards or devilish retribution. 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ 📖The Readalong📖 I'm delighted to see lots of you joining @gothicbookworm & I for the #generallygothicbookworm readalong of William Gay's 'Little Sister Death' (you can find info in the Readalong highlight above; there's still plenty of time to join us)! 🎞️: I'll share my progress in stories later today, and would love to know how you're getting on (below, on your own page, in stories, on the original post, wherever)! 🏷️: The template I'm using is available in highlights; just tag us both and #generallygothicbookworm so we don't miss a thing! 📸: Krampuskarte, early C20th, via Wiki Commons. . #krampus #krampusnacht #christmas #decadenceanddecay #gothic #generallygothic #spookynerd #tradition #folklore #pagan #germany #germanfolklore #austria #alpine #thealps #nature #devil #christianity #religion #bookstagram #readalong #generallygothicbookclub #littlesisterdeath #williamgay #southerngothic #europeanhistory #europeanfolklore https://www.instagram.com/p/B5s-wVxgkhd/?igshid=1qn3vd7082c6t

"𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖘 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖇𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖊𝖉 𝖎𝖓 𝖆 𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖎𝖆𝖓 𝖆𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖒𝖕𝖙 𝖙𝖔 '𝖇𝖎𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕯𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖑' 𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝖆𝖌𝖆𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖞 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖇𝖊 𝖆 𝖗𝖊𝖒𝖓𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖕𝖆𝖌𝖆𝖓 𝖎𝖓𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 𝖗𝖎𝖙𝖊𝖘." - Maurice Bruce 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ Gruß vom Krampus, to all the little sinners! On the evening of December 5th a cloven-hooved creature creeps out of the woods the Alpine towns of mainland Europe. Working alongside St. Nicholas (akin to Father Christmas and Santa Claus), Krampus has the pleasurable job of punishing those of us who've made the naughty list. Though likened to the devil in folklore, Krampus likely predates Christianity with roots in our pagan past. Either way, he perpetuates the Christmas tradition of passing judgement in an attempt to teach children right from wrong, with decadent rewards or devilish retribution. 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ 📖The Readalong📖 I'm delighted to see lots of you joining @gothicbookworm & I for the #generallygothicbookworm readalong of William Gay's 'Little Sister Death' (you can find info in the Readalong highlight above; there's still plenty of time to join us)! 🎞️: I'll share my progress in stories later today, and would love to know how you're getting on (below, on your own page, in stories, on the original post, wherever)! 🏷️: The template I'm using is available in highlights; just tag us both and #generallygothicbookworm so we don't miss a thing! 📸: Krampuskarte, early C20th, via Wiki Commons. . #krampus #krampusnacht #christmas #decadenceanddecay #gothic #generallygothic #spookynerd #tradition #folklore #pagan #germany #germanfolklore #austria #alpine #thealps #nature #devil #christianity #religion #bookstagram #readalong #generallygothicbookclub #littlesisterdeath #williamgay #southerngothic #europeanhistory #europeanfolklore https://www.instagram.com/p/B5s-wVxgkhd/?igshid=1d6yd9elnk8k2

"𝕲𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖈 𝖆𝖗𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖙𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖊 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖆𝖑𝖜𝖆𝖞𝖘 𝖒𝖊𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖈𝖆𝖑[;] 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖗𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖉𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖔𝖋 𝖌𝖊𝖓𝖚𝖎𝖓𝖊 𝖔𝖑𝖉𝖊𝖗 𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖘𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖈𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖉𝖗𝖆𝖒𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖞𝖉𝖆𝖞 𝖑𝖎𝖛𝖊𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖈𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖞." - Clive Bloom 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ Just as the wider gothic is, 'Victorian gothic' is understood as both a literary movement and an architectural style. In the Victorian era a desire for both decadence and preservation (against decay) lead to the repurposing of grand old castles into modern homesteads and the construction of ornate homes that towered loftily, and 'pointely', above the lowly poor. Buildings are often symbolic in gothic literature, a custom which began with 'The Castle of Ortanto' (the first gothic story, by Horace Walpole, 1764) and which greatly developed in the Victorian era thanks to the popularity of Freud's new psychoanalytical theories of the 1890s. 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 All this is hard to keep out of mind whilst reading 'Little Sister Death' for the #generallygothicbookworm readalong, which @gothicbookworm & I are hosting... But I won't say any more as I'd love for you to read along with us & find out for yourselves! 🎞️: I'll share my progress with the novel in stories before the day is done. 🏷️: Please tag us both & #generallygothicbookworm in your own posts (there's a template in the readalong highlight if you fancy it!) - I'm excited to know what you think of the book so far! 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ 📸: This stunning beauty is the Governor's Mansion in Sacramento, California, USA, built 1887, showing the widespread influence of the gothic style, under the reign of Queen Victoria, across the ocean. . #gothic #decadenceanddecay #victorianliterature #victoriangothic #victorianarchitecture #gothicarchitecture #generallygothic #generallygothicbookclub #readalong #bookstagram #gothicliterature #williamgay #littlesisterdeath #currentlyreading #southerngothic #spookynerd #academic #architecture #gothicmansion #sacramento #california #literaryhistory #theory #history https://www.instagram.com/p/B5qI0DbAwkv/?igshid=bbo9wbyjtab9

"𝕲𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖈 𝖆𝖗𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖙𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖊 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖆𝖑𝖜𝖆𝖞𝖘 𝖒𝖊𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖈𝖆𝖑[;] 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖗𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖉𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖔𝖋 𝖌𝖊𝖓𝖚𝖎𝖓𝖊 𝖔𝖑𝖉𝖊𝖗 𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖘𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖈𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖉𝖗𝖆𝖒𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖞𝖉𝖆𝖞 𝖑𝖎𝖛𝖊𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖈𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖞." - Clive Bloom 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ Just as the wider gothic is, 'Victorian gothic' is understood as both a literary movement and an architectural style. In the Victorian era a desire for both decadence and preservation (against decay) lead to the repurposing of grand old castles into modern homesteads and the construction of ornate homes that towered loftily, and 'pointely', above the lowly poor. Buildings are often symbolic in gothic literature, a custom which began with 'The Castle of Ortanto' (the first gothic story, by Horace Walpole, 1764) and which greatly developed in the Victorian era thanks to the popularity of Freud's new psychoanalytical theories of the 1890s. 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 All this is hard to keep out of mind whilst reading 'Little Sister Death' for the #generallygothicbookworm readalong, which @gothicbookworm & I are hosting... But I won't say anymore as I'd love for you to read along with us & find out for yourselves! 🎞️: I'll share my progress with the novel in stories before the day is done. 🏷️: Please tag us both & #generallygothicbookworm in your own posts (there's a template in the readalong highlight if you fancy it!) - I'm excited to know what you think of the book so far! 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ 📸: This stunning beauty is the Governor's Mansion in Sacramento, California, USA, built 1887, showing the widespread influence of the gothic style, under the reign of Queen Victoria, across the ocean. . #gothic #decadenceanddecay #victorianliterature #victoriangothic #victorianarchitecture #gothicarchitecture #generallygothic #generallygothicbookclub #readalong #bookstagram #gothicliterature #williamgay #littlesisterdeath #currentlyreading #southerngothic #spookynerd #academic #architecture #gothicmansion #sacramento #california #literaryhistory #theory #history https://www.instagram.com/p/B5qI0DbAwkv/?igshid=12re7unozz1ak

"𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖆𝖎𝖗 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖋𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖊𝖉 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖕𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖔𝖒𝖘..." - Charles Dickens 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ With Christmas on the mind for many at this time of year, I've decided to dedicate December to 🎩Decadence & Decay🎩. Many contemporary Christmas traditions observed today, pagan & European in origin, were cultivated in Victorian England. The Victorian era was a wonderful period of history for the gothic, in literature, architecture, and art...and a wonderful time for ghosts! You can expect all of the above this month, with a sprinkling of dark festive cheer! 📖: As well as a couple of short story read-alongs, @gothicbookworm 🖤 and I have also decided to buddy read William Gay's 'Little Sister Death'. Whether I find decadence amongst its pages is yet to be determined, but I'm sure there'll be more than enough decay! 📣: Tomorrow we'll announce full details - we'd love for you to read along with us! . #decadenceanddecay #generallygothic #gothic #december #achristmascarol #dickens #charlesdickens #readalong #bookstagram #christmas #victoriangothic #victorian #victorianliterature #englishliterature #victorianarchitecture #victorianhistory #englishhistory #buddyread #gothicliterature #williamgay #littlesisterdeath #generallygothicbookclub #books #spookynerd #ghost #ghoststory https://www.instagram.com/p/B5ix43sgnI4/?igshid=1unzt4gopf61e