#generallygothicbookworm

"𝖂𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖘𝖆𝖞𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖚, 𝖌𝖔𝖔𝖉 𝕾𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖙 𝕱𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖎𝖘? '𝕷𝖎𝖙𝖙𝖑𝖊 𝕾𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕯𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍,' 𝖘𝖆𝖎𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖌𝖔𝖔𝖉 𝕾𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖙 𝕱𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖎𝖘." - William Faulkner 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ A few days ago @matt.lune tagged me in the #candycanebookstack challenge. My little Faulkner collection called out to me with their bright red spines. Already shelved beside their white-spined southern kin, I knew I had to present a saccharine stack of southern gothic reads... They may not be the most festive reads, and they definitely display far more death than decadence, but they really are very good so I've decided it doesn't matter! The recent #generallygothicbookworm readalong that @gothicbookworm & I hosted was itself a southern gothic novel - 'Little Sister Death', by William Gay. The novel opens with a quote from Faulkner (partially quoted above), showing the former's respect for the latter and the interconnection between various works within a genre. As well as other southern gothic authors, Gay also took inspiration from local lore. 📜 You can all about the 'true' haunting that influenced Gay's narrative at generallygothic.com now. 🔗: Link in bio to read 'Lore in "Little Sister Death'"'. There we are, that's the festive connection - we all know ghosts are a staple Christmas visitor... But more on that tomorrow! . #gothic #generallygothic #bookstack #bookstagram #bookstagramchallenge #bookworm #bookspines #williamfaulkner #williamgay #bookquote #quote #cormacmcarthy #flanneryoconnor #southerngothic #blogger #littlesisterdeath #spookynerd #readalong #blogpost #americangothic #americanliterature #christmas #decadenceandecay #candycane #winter https://www.instagram.com/p/B6ZISLBgebQ/?igshid=15ms6isa9e1kp

"𝕳𝖊 𝖜𝖆𝖘𝖓'𝖙 𝖘𝖚𝖗𝖊 𝖎𝖋 𝖎𝖙 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖌𝖔𝖔𝖉 𝖔𝖗 𝖇𝖆𝖉 𝖔𝖗 𝖎𝖓𝖉𝖎𝖋𝖋𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖙 𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖎𝖉 𝖐𝖓𝖔𝖜 𝖎𝖙 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖘𝖙𝖚𝖋𝖋 𝖔𝖋 𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖊𝖘." - William Gay 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ This composition, which was a coincidental, natural occurrence on placing my book down to grab something mundane from my pocket, pretty much sums up my opinion of William Gay's 'Little Sister Death'. It's an obscure association though, so stick with me! 💰The object hanging from the wall is a soil sieve or gold pan, and it represents the process with which I read this book. My copy (an ex-library book, which made it feel rather rebellious) is now covered in scribbles as I sought the gems in a sometimes messy collection of passages. Some stones shone brightly - others were fool's gold. The narrative is published posthumously from the author's notes and it's clear, on completion, that it's not a finished text. Some threads carry through wonderfully, others are left loose even in the final pages. 🍪The tin, or rather the text printed upon it (which always amuses me), describes the effect that the narrative had upon me. I was enraptured. I wanted to devour it like a whole tin of reading biscuits; they're superior, don't you know? In my own strange way, what I'm trying to express is that I enjoyed this book, even though it was far from perfect. Some scenes, symbols, and story lines were fantastic. Some caused me to gasp aloud. Others felt flat, and there were even some ridiculous mistakes in print that the editors should have picked up on. @gothicbookworm and I have both finished 'Little Sister Death' now, and are excited to publish spoiler-filled posts on our blogs soon, but that will come after Christmas (because some of you are still reading, and the holidays season has us busy with important things such as fireside cake and festive bookworming)... As will the announcement of our next short #generallygothicbookworm readalong! Thank you to everyone who got involved and read along with us. We hope you'll join us for the next one! If you have any requests, suggestions, or violent demands, let me know below. https://www.instagram.com/p/B6TLPB6Adqy/?igshid=18vua7gkdr0b2

"[𝕴]𝖋 𝖘𝖍𝖊 𝖌𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖉 𝖋𝖑𝖔𝖜𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝖆𝖙 𝖆𝖑𝖑, 𝖎𝖙 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖊𝖋𝖑𝖞 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖕𝖑𝖊𝖆𝖘𝖚𝖗𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝖒𝖎𝖘𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖊𝖋 - 𝖆𝖙 𝖑𝖊𝖆𝖘𝖙 𝖘𝖔 𝖎𝖙 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖈𝖔𝖓𝖏𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖊𝖉 𝖋𝖗𝖔𝖒 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖆𝖑𝖜𝖆𝖞𝖘 𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖋𝖊𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖘𝖊 𝖜𝖍𝖎𝖈𝖍 𝖘𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖇𝖎𝖉𝖉𝖊𝖓 𝖙𝖔 𝖙𝖆𝖐𝖊." - Jane Austen 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ We're stepping back to 1803 today, before Queen Victoria's reign in Britain, to celebrate Jane Austen who was born this day, 1775 (d. 1817). Though it is her first completed novel, 'Northanger Abbey' was published posthumously in 1817. Not exactly a gothic novel itself, it satirises the genre, through its central character, Catherine Morland, a quintessential reader of gothic romances. Before arriving at Northanger Abbey, Morland builds the place up in her mind, expecting the exciting, haunted gothic castles that she's read about. Whilst horror does not await Morland, she creates her own story and enjoys an unsettling time nonetheless. Read as a guide to the gothic literature of the time, and its readers, 'Northanger Abbey' is an invaluable and often amusing resource... Though not a favourite of mine, if I'm honest! 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ 📖The Readalong📖 Both @gothicbookworm & I have finished 'Little Sister Death' for the #generallygothicbookworm readalong, but as some of you are still reading & I have a lot to digest (*and* I am already in full holiday-mode☃️!), I will delay posting my full views a little longer. Don't forget to @ us & # any related posts of your own. Looking forward to bookish chats whenever you're ready! . #janeausten #otd #bornonthisday #onthisday #literaryhistory #history #northangerabbey #catherinemorland #gothicliterature #englishliterature #generallygothic #gothic #generallygothicbookclub #readalong #littlesisterdeath #williamgay #southerngothic #books #bookstagram #spookynerd https://www.instagram.com/p/B6IeQanggJC/?igshid=1dw5yvnt2zevz

"[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

"𝕳𝖊 𝖋𝖊𝖑𝖙 𝖆 𝖌𝖗𝖔𝖜𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖔𝖇𝖘𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖎𝖔𝖓 𝖙𝖔 𝖚𝖓𝖘𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖘𝖊𝖈𝖗𝖊𝖙𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖊 𝖍𝖊𝖑𝖉, 𝖙𝖔 𝖚𝖓𝖗𝖆𝖛𝖊𝖑 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕲𝖔𝖗𝖉𝖎𝖆𝖓 𝖐𝖓𝖔𝖙 𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖒𝖞𝖙𝖍 𝖍𝖆𝖉 𝖔𝖓𝖑𝖞 𝖙𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖉." - William Gay 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ On Monday, @gothicbookworm & I invited you to join us for a fortnight-long readalong of William Gay's 'Little Sister Death'. In that first post, I promised to share my preliminary thoughts today, from around the halfway point of this short novel. To avoid any spoilers for those of you not on the very same page as me(!), I have decided not to discuss the plot itself, but have instead included a brief introduction to the author, the book, and my general thoughts from this point in reading. I'd love to hear how you're getting on, how our opinions compare, and anything else you'd like to share - please @ us & # the readalong so we don't miss anything! And if you've not yet joined the #generallygothicbookworm readalong, there's absolutely still time to do so! You can find my initial response, entitled '#generallygothicbookworm Readalong: Midway Musings on "Little Sister Death"', at generallygothic.com. 🔗: Link in bio! I'd love to hear your thoughts! 🔆: Find a whole host of fun templates in the ☠️Readalong highlight to share your progress. 💌: Oh, and follow the blog to get new posts hurtled directly into your inbox. 🏷️: Tagged those who've expressed their interest, but as I said, the readalong is still open to you all! . #williamgay #littlesisterdeath #readalong #bookstagram #bookclub #southerngothic #americangothic #horrorfiction #horrornovel #gothicnovel #generallygothic #gothic #notetaking #generallygothicbookclub #spookynerd #academic #literaryreview #blogger #newblogpost #bookreview #church #decadenceanddecay #christmas #gothicarchitecture #books #annotations #marginalia https://www.instagram.com/p/B5vtLqQgNk6/?igshid=mh85chmo4k5q

"𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖞 𝖍𝖆𝖘 𝖍𝖊𝖑𝖉 𝖚𝖘, 𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖋𝖎𝖗𝖊, 𝖘𝖚𝖋𝖋𝖎𝖈𝖎𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖑𝖞 𝖇𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖑𝖊𝖘𝖘, 𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝖊𝖝𝖈𝖊𝖕𝖙 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖔𝖇𝖛𝖎𝖔𝖚𝖘 𝖗𝖊𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖎𝖙 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖌𝖗𝖚𝖊𝖘𝖔𝖒𝖊, 𝖆𝖘 𝖔𝖓 𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖒𝖆𝖘 𝕰𝖛𝖊 𝖎𝖓 𝖆𝖓 𝖔𝖑𝖉 𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖊 𝖆 𝖘𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖌𝖊 𝖙𝖆𝖑𝖊 𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖞 𝖇𝖊" - Henry James 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ Published in 1898, Henry James' 'The Turn of the Screw' is a classic gothic novella which begins with the old Victorian tradition of sharing ghost stories on Christmas Eve. A ghost story itself, it has been adapted for the screen many times, and is set to appear again soon. On the small screen, Netflix's 'The Haunting of Hill House' series, which was initially a reimagining of Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel of the same name, is returning for another season in anthology form. Season two, 'The Haunting of Bly Manor,' will take James' haunting tale as its inspiration. On the big screen, a film entitled 'The Turning' will also be appearing in the new year. Just as the Victorians had a tradition of telling ghost stories, it seems we have a tradition of remaking this one over and over again... 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ 📖The Readalong📖 Thank you & welcome to those who're joining @gothicbookworm & I for our #generallygothicbookworm readalong of William Gay's southern gothic novel, 'Little Sister Death'. 👉: Swipe for a glimpse of my thoughts so far... 🎞️: ...head to stories for the full image, and find the template in the readalong highlight to share your own progress. I'd love to know how you're getting on (just give us both an @ & #generallygothicbookworm so we don't miss anything!). And fear not, the doors are still wide open if you want to join us! In fact there are no doors... But come on in anyway. . #theturnofthescrew #henryjames #ghoststory #ghoststories #ghost #victoriangothic #victorianliterature #englishliterature #gothic #generallygothic #gothicfiction #bookstagram #bookreview #currentlyreading #williamgay #littlesisterdeath #southerngothic #thehauntingofhillhouse #film #theturningmovie #victorianchristmas #christmas #spookynerd #academic #bookclub #readalong #shirleyjackson https://www.instagram.com/p/B5oI228gUfn/?igshid=1wdumtkxcvirq

"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