#spookynerd

𝕲𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖈 𝕸𝖚𝖘𝖊𝖘 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️ The beginning of the Gregorian year seems to me like the perfect time to return. Customarily, it is a time when people evaluate themselves, deciding upon ways in which to improve. My intended improvement is the return of the Generally Gothic. On the 21st day of the new year I am, as per usual, late. Perhaps next year I shall strive for promptness. For now, any form of return is enough for me. 🕯️ In what remains of January, I shall be continuing to explore the foundations of the gothic; a journey begun in years past under the title 'Gothic Muses'. Expect Ancient Classics & Shakespeare. Expect a post or 2, if you dare! 🕯️ I hope that your start to the year has been whatever you wanted it to be. Tell me tales down below. 💌 🕯️ #gothicorigins #gothicmuses #shakespeare #classics #gothicfiction #gothicnovel #darkacademia #gothicacademia #bookstagram #bookworm #spookynerd #blackmetalcover #gothic #generallygothic #literature #greekmythology #antiquebook #hardbackbook #oldbooks https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnr0ljwNC-j/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

There was a hearse at the last third Thursday kori went to and I couldn't help myself. One of the most cheyenne photographs ever taken lol . . . #dccosplay #dccomics #starfiresaturday #cosplayersofinstagram #starfire #hearse #spooky #goth #nerdgirl #spookynerd

"𝕳𝖊𝖑𝖎𝖔𝖘' 𝖉𝖆𝖚𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖊𝖗, 𝖗𝖆𝖎𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝖔𝖓 𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝖇𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖐𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖑𝖉." - Madeline Miller 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ Since the beginning of time and the birth of Kronos, death, dreams & nightmares, the supernatural, divinity, monsters, madness, and conflict have all found a home in Greek mythology. Living around 2500 years ago, the Ancient Greeks shared stories remarkably gothic in theme, long before the genre was conceived of. In an attempt to explore the 'gothicness' of the Greeks, this month I'm reading Madeline Miller's 'Circe', and you're all invited to read along with me! 🎞️: I'll share the book blurb in stories & more readalong info soon. In the meantime, let me know👇if you'd like to join me! To read of the Greek deities whilst flying amongst the clouds felt appropriate, and poetic... and explains the delay in posting (I was busy soaring through the sky, and then sleeping it off!). 🤔: What's your favourite place to read? What is your most synced book-to-location reading memory? . #circe #madelinemiller #greekmythology #mythology #classicalgreek #ancientgreece #gothicmuses #gothicliterature #englishliterature #spookynerd #bookstagram #bookish #books #flying #readalong #generallygothicbookclub #bookclub #bestseller #bookworm #booknerd #gothic #generallygothic #milehighbookclub #history #literarycriticism https://www.instagram.com/p/B66sffbA91l/?igshid=b7x67p03b0de

Born this day, 1717: Horace Walpole (d. 1797), the progenitor of the Gothic literary tradition. Walpole wrote in his letters that “a god, at least a ghost, was absolutely necessary to frighten us out of too much senses" (Vol. 3, 381). His ghost came to him in a dream - a giant armoured hand - and was the source of his work of fiction, the very first gothic novel, 'The Castle of Ortanto' (1764). The novel, which took just two months to write, was criticised for its flat characters and its return to barbaric (true, historical 'gothic') sensibilities. The reliance of the plot upon superstition contradicted the efforts of the Enlightenment - an intellectual movement which confined unfounded beliefs within contemporary religion. Walpole cared not for his critics; his public were captivated by his crazy tale, which influenced the direction of literature to follow. Writing from his homemade, pseudo-gothic castle, Strawberry Hill House (see stories), the tale looks back to medieval times and is set in the real, historical castle of Otranto (again, see stories). To this day, the absolute OG of the gothic canon is often overlooked. Why not celebrate his birthday by reading 'The Castle of Otranto (it's available to download free online)? If you do, let me know what you think! 📸: 1. Manfred's servants vs "the ghost's gigantic foot," Bertie Greathead. 2. The hand of the ghost, unknown. Anyone else getting major Monty Python vibes from these 2 illustrations?! . #generallygothic #gothic #glimpsesofghosts #ghost #haunting #haunted #spirits #thecastleofotranto #horacewalpole #gothicnovel #gothicfiction #progenitor #englishliterature #gothicliterature #literary #literarygenre #spookynerd #booknerd #academic #bornonthisday #bookish #bookstagram #illustration #religion #theenlightenment #giantghost #gothicghost #strawberryhillhouse #literaryhistory #politics https://www.instagram.com/p/B20Ock2A4mr/?igshid=1578apvubevio

"𝕵𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖓𝖊𝖞𝖘 𝖊𝖓𝖉 𝖎𝖓 𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝖒𝖊𝖊𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌; ... 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖞 𝖆𝖎𝖗 𝖙𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖘 𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖜𝖎𝖓𝖊." 🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯 The floorboards beat around us; we are at the heart of spooky season. October is in full, fall glory and I have been haunting the periphery, experiencing autumn irl whilst maintaining a steady absence here. 🥂 There was a readalong planned for September; the Spooky Nerds bookclub reuinted again... and then: silence. I'm sorry. We will return & I'd love for you to join us for a rearranged November readalong. 🥂 And now for my excuse; I hope you'll agree it's a good one! This week, I am wedding [verb]. My love & I have been enjoying a delightfully festive time in preparation for our Halloween-weekend wedding. 🥂 I will post peeks of the celebrations spanning the coming days - belatedly, no doubt. I will aim to return to posting once we finish celebrating; I am always quietly gathering generally gothic goodness to share. Once again, I shall return! 🥂 📸: Taken at Arnos Vale Cemetery; the perfect place for burials... and a meandering hen-do stroll 🤓🐓. . #generallygothic #spookynerd #bookstagram #bookclub #return #gothic #arnosvale #cemetery #October #autumnwedding #wedding #pumpkin #shirleyjackson #tweetphoto #thehauntingofhillhouse #readalong #November #Halloween #halloweenwedding https://www.instagram.com/p/CkLghp0ILSH/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

"𝕬𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖓, 𝖜𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝕵𝖆𝖉𝖊 𝖍𝖆𝖘 𝖆𝖑𝖜𝖆𝖞𝖘 𝖐𝖓𝖔𝖜𝖓 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊 𝖆 𝖑𝖎𝖊 [...] 𝖜𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖙𝖘 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖙 𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖘𝖆𝖜 𝖎𝖙 𝖎𝖘..." - Stephen Graham Jones 🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯 I didn't know, when I began this book on audio in June, that 'My Heart is a Chainsaw' would be the perfect tale to finish today, on the flag-flying 4th of July - celebrated as Independence Day in the United States. But, sadly, it is. 🪚 'My Heart is a Chainsaw' pays homage to the slasher movie, climaxing at an all-American fourth of July extravaganza. On one hand it relies heavily on pop-culture referencing and genre tropes. On the other, it smashes stereotypes; it is horrifically grounded in the realistic experience of an innocent American girl. Her tale is made only more terrifying by the current state of our shared reality. 🪚 This street art provided the backdrop to the final series of photos I took whilst living stateside (bar a few covert snaps of a bizarre, Blade Runner-esque airport experience). I left during the very early days of the pandemic. Having lived a little of the American life, I feel stronger emotional investment in the current political climate of the country than I did before. I feel at once entitled to outrage and utterly powerless. I feel scared for the friends that I made, the people I spoke to, swapped a smile with, stood beside in line... I am fearful of the influence of the US, but mostly *for* the US. 🪚 I don't have anything astute to say. I just hope that, however you are spending the 4th today, you are safe and well. I hope that you continue to be so. . #generallygothic #spookynerd #4thofjuly #myheartisachainsaw #nativeamericanliterature #horror #bookstagram #newhorror #bookreview #americanhorror #stephengrahamjones (at Indian Lake) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfmn1KPr6HY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

𝕭𝖔𝖉𝖞 𝕻𝖆𝖗𝖙 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖈𝖐 🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯 @decadence.and.dark.ages tagged me, many moons ago, in a body part book stack challenge. As I scanned my many shelves, I was surprised at how few book titles included body parts. I guess this one's best suited to the body horror and thriller readers... I was, however, pleased with the vague and visceral connotations of my resulting stack. 🦴 I present: 🩸'Under the Skin', Michel Faber 🩸'Wise Blood', Flannery O'Connor 🩸'Thus Were Their Faces' Silvina Ocampo 🩸'Psyche and Symbol', C. G. Jung 🩸'A Mouthful of Air', Anthony Burgess 🦴 I know I'm late to the game, so apologies if those of you I tag have done it/declined already. Consider this an open invite - get involved if you want to, tag or not! 🦴 Spot any faves here? My stack is a combination of fic & non-fic, faves & tbrs, contemporary & Southern gothic, science fiction and psychoanalysis! . #bookstack #bookstagram #books #bookchallenge #spookynerd #booknerd #sundayshelfie #bookish #anthonyburgess #carljung #silvinaocampo #flanneryoconnor #southerngothic #scifi #undertheskin https://www.instagram.com/p/CZopKd9rE-j/?utm_medium=tumblr

"𝕵𝖎𝖒 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖂𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖌𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖓𝖊𝖉 𝖆𝖙 𝖊𝖆𝖈𝖍 𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗. 𝕴𝖙 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖘𝖔 𝖌𝖔𝖔𝖉, 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖘𝖊 𝖇𝖑𝖔𝖜𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖖𝖚𝖎𝖊𝖙 𝕺𝖈𝖙𝖔𝖇𝖊𝖗 𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖑𝖎𝖇𝖗𝖆𝖗𝖞 𝖜𝖆𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖎𝖓𝖘𝖎𝖉𝖊 𝖓𝖔𝖜 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖎𝖙𝖘 𝖌𝖗𝖊𝖊𝖓-𝖘𝖍𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖉 𝖑𝖆𝖒𝖕𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖕𝖆𝖕𝖞𝖗𝖚𝖘 𝖉𝖚𝖘𝖙." - Ray Bradbury 🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯 Halloween season is steeped in tradition, new and old. Right here in this dark enclave of the internet, spooky stories are integral to celebrations for many of us - though, let's be honest, spooky stories are integral to our very existence all year long. Whether in word, image, motion or music, tale-telling is an established October ritual... But whence did it appear? 📖 Horror tales in the late modern period were, originally, a yuletide tradition. Victorians would gather around the Christmas hearth to share ghost stories designed to chill to the bone... just like the winter weather. Though we now associate Christmas with joy and indulgence, the Victorians viewed the end of the year as a time to look back, remembering the dearly departed and contemplating the thin line between the living and the dead. 📖 When Samhain celebrations emigrated from Ireland in the 1800s, they took just one story with them: The Tale of Jack O'Lantern (have a read at 🔗in bio). Linked to the autumn harvest, Samhain activities explored themes akin to those traditional ghost stories, treading between the lands of the living and the dead. Over time, Halloween became host to all things spooky, absorbing these stories and freeing Christmas time up from ghostly scares! 📖 🕯Which stories do you associate with Halloween? 🕯Are there any you return to year after year? Whether tales new or old, it cannot be denied: Octobers are for reading! 📖 🎃Thank you to those of you who've offered pumpkin recipes for me to share! If you have one of your own, please let me know (DM, previous post, or below) 🖤. . #Halloweenreads #spookynerd #spookyseason #bookstagram #ghoststories #raybradbury #halloweentree #fall #samhain #autumn #generallygothic #gothic #october #pumpkinrecipes https://www.instagram.com/p/CVgUwX_rdDh/?utm_medium=tumblr