Guest Post: Wicked Women and the Female Gothic, Du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’ & ‘My Cousin Rachel’

As the sun in the northern hemisphere gains strength, many of us seek the coast. Always geographically close, on this island as I am, the coast I seek is literary: Du Maurier’s sharp and unforgiving coastline, haunted by traumas past and present. Though born in London in 1907, Du Maurier is intrinsically linked to the… Read More Guest Post: Wicked Women and the Female Gothic, Du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’ & ‘My Cousin Rachel’

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Bram’s Birthday Bite: ‘A Gothic Cookbook’ Recipe

Autumn is wholeheartedly upon us. October, has been and gone. Now, nestling comfortably into the second week of November, I have a long-promised treat to share with you: a new, sneak-peek recipe from A Gothic Cookbook. On this day, 1847, Mr Abraham ‘Bram’ Stoker erupted into existence, in Dublin, Ireland. Synonymous with the gothic, Stoker… Read More Bram’s Birthday Bite: ‘A Gothic Cookbook’ Recipe

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That Very Special Gingerbread: ‘A Gothic Cookbook’ Recipe

When Ella Buchan, co-author of A Gothic Cookbook, reached out to me, I was excited for the opportunity to test any recipe in her and Alessandra Pino’s forthcoming gothic literature-inspired cookery book. When she offered “that very special gingerbread” from Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 classic, Rebecca, it felt fated. I love ginger and Rebecca with… Read More That Very Special Gingerbread: ‘A Gothic Cookbook’ Recipe

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Raising Ghosts: ‘The Haunting of Hill House’

To those who don’t follow along on Instagram and have been wondering where I’ve been, I will quickly catch you up. So far this year, I have:danced with Lolly and the devil,escaped the lab with Algernon,picnicked at Hanging Rock, witnessed Bloody torture in unending Chambers,followed Snowman seeking Crake across a desolate wasteland,heard the Crawdads Sing,felt… Read More Raising Ghosts: ‘The Haunting of Hill House’

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Love Letters to Poe: A Convergence of Wonder and Terror

“[D]iscover a convergence of wonder and terror, romance and horror within its pages.” This is the introduction and invitation offered by Sara Crocoll Smith, publisher and editor-in-chief of Love Letters to Poe. In its first issue, the new gothic fiction magazine brings six short pieces together, each inspired by the life and works of Edgar… Read More Love Letters to Poe: A Convergence of Wonder and Terror

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Guest Post: ‘Geek Love’, An Intimate Portrait of a Nuclear Family

Before the dust of the departing circus train settles, there is time for a post or two more. June, which was dedicated to the Circus of Horrors (that is, the horror of the circus) certainly lived up to the name. Rather than head into July leaving no trace of the circus behind, I’m bending time… Read More Guest Post: ‘Geek Love’, An Intimate Portrait of a Nuclear Family

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Hawai’i, History, & the Unexpected Gothic: ‘The Hala Tree Walks in Darkness’

As if by magic it is barely June any longer, but one witch flies, still, through the sky. The month may have turned long ago – whilst I was soaring through the night myself, as it happens – but I have one last tale to discuss before May’s Season of the Witch fades completely. Today’s… Read More Hawai’i, History, & the Unexpected Gothic: ‘The Hala Tree Walks in Darkness’

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Curate a Library to Help You See: in Maya’s Words

With a light brightly shining on the ugly face of police brutality and racial inequality in the United States of America, the whole world has stood up, has begun to question systemic racism across the countries of the world, has pledged to stay standing until we achieve an anti-racist normality. Against the bleak backdrop of… Read More Curate a Library to Help You See: in Maya’s Words

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Aesthetically Hoarded Guest Post: Witches of Western Art

The Season of the Witch is half over and there is so much yet to explore. Soon I hope to take you on a literary journey of the witch as character, but in the meantime, I have enlisted some help. 𝕬𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖙𝖎𝖈𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖞 𝕳𝖔𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖉 I could think of no one better to dive deep into the canvas… Read More Aesthetically Hoarded Guest Post: Witches of Western Art

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Devon is a Devon is a Burton: The Anatomy of Melancholy and the Artist

Today I am delighted to bring to your attention the incomparable creator of tiny cartoon tube socks, known around the internet as Devon is a Devon. Artist Devon Sherman brings colour and comedy to the black bile of Burton’s Melancholy, and explains why it is not as depressing an endeavour as it may sound! Robert… Read More Devon is a Devon is a Burton: The Anatomy of Melancholy and the Artist

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The Physician, the Philosopher, the Poet: Ode on Melancholy

Millennia ago in ancient Greece a medical system evolved, out of even earlier Egyptian and Hindu beliefs, which aimed to understand the inner workings of the human body. At the hands of Hippocrates, (Greek physician, and ‘Father of Medicine’, c.460-370BC), the four humours were born. Hippocrates believed that the human body was composed of four… Read More The Physician, the Philosopher, the Poet: Ode on Melancholy

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A SEPARATE WORLD | ‘Break This Chrysalis Open and Extract My Embryonic Soul’ by E. Vegvary

Today I am delighted to share with you the poetry of E. Vegvary. Intriguingly entitled ‘Break This Chrysalis Open and Extract My Embrionic Soul’, it is a striking snapshot of long spanning conflict, filled with gothic imagery and the dirty fingerprints of religion. You will find the piece below, accompanied by a small gallery of… Read More A SEPARATE WORLD | ‘Break This Chrysalis Open and Extract My Embryonic Soul’ by E. Vegvary

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A Poet’s House, Pleasure’s Temple: Keats’ Gothic, Epic, & Sublime

Born on Halloween, 1795, John Keats (d. 1821) was a tragic character, a romantic, and a poet. Considered a key figure amongst the second generation of British Romantic poets following in the footsteps of William Wordsworth, William Blake, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Keats and his young contemporaries were more open to exploring the space in… Read More A Poet’s House, Pleasure’s Temple: Keats’ Gothic, Epic, & Sublime

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A SEPARATE WORLD | ‘Head Full of Horrors’

With a headful of horrorsI pack sleeplessnessinto bags heavyserried in rows sagging,like Poe’s. Nightmares seep through the seamsroll over, romantically,the landscape of waking lifeto fancifully fog reality where I sit. Enrobed in blanketsin daylightenrobed in relentless memories inventedby nighttime blowing steam from hot tea.Dissipating particles finelyinto airI dilute fantastical flashbacks with reality weakened into nothingbut… Read More A SEPARATE WORLD | ‘Head Full of Horrors’

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Deliriously Glorious: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Leaving the modern glass front on Evans Way, Boston, behind, a dimly lit tunnel transports its visitors deep into an inner-city oasis. An opulent garden blooms under a glass roof far above. Walls rise on every side with windows and archways beckoning to the inside beyond. Everything is lavish, palatial, and foreign to Massachusetts. This… Read More Deliriously Glorious: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

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Medical Men and Murderers: The Barber-Surgeons, Burke & Hare

In the Middle Ages, medical physicians favoured academia and aristocracy, working at universities or in private residence for the castle-dwelling wealthy. They offered consultations, but turned their noses up at surgery. With Europe frequently in battle during this long era, however, soldiers required more than consultation. 𝕭𝖆𝖗𝖇𝖊𝖗-𝕾𝖚𝖗𝖌𝖊𝖔𝖓𝖘 Out of necessity, barbers, with their steady hands… Read More Medical Men and Murderers: The Barber-Surgeons, Burke & Hare

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Generally Gothic Book Club Readalong: ‘The Masque of the Red Death’

As the world’s population becomes increasingly locked away indoors, many of us are feeling panic or anxiety in the face of change and uncertainty. Whilst we all strive to maintain our collective physical well-being, it’s important not to let our mental health slip. The Bookstagram community thrives on indoor activity and online connection, but it’s… Read More Generally Gothic Book Club Readalong: ‘The Masque of the Red Death’

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A Dream Dreaming Itself: ‘Hiraeth’ Author Interview

In her ambitious debut novel, Sabina Lungeanu builds a deliciously gloomy gothic world, at once familiar and entirely new. Set along the rugged coastline of rural Scotland, with the almost mythical Merriver mental institution at its core, Hiraeth (2020) expands into a poetic portrait of the human psyche. Initially focused upon the interconnecting stories of… Read More A Dream Dreaming Itself: ‘Hiraeth’ Author Interview

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An Unutterable Wretchedness of the Mind: ‘Jane Eyre’

Born in Yorkshire, England, on the 21st of April, 1816, Charlotte Brontë was the third of six Brontë children, and the longest surviving. Along with her younger sisters Emily (1818-1848) and Anne (1820-1849), Charlotte remains a popular author to this day. She completed four novels in her lifetime, three of which she saw published (the… Read More An Unutterable Wretchedness of the Mind: ‘Jane Eyre’

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Stone upon Stone: ‘Circe’ Readalong

Madeline Miller’s 2018 international number 1 bestseller, Circe, takes classical Greek literature, in turn based upon classical Greek mythology, as its subject. The title character is perhaps most famous for her appearance in Homer’s ancient epic poem, The Odyssey. This original text follows a war hero named Odysseus on his journey home after ten years… Read More Stone upon Stone: ‘Circe’ Readalong

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Decadence and Dark Ages’ Guest Post: Medieval Gothic

January has been dedicated (half-absently, thanks to a vicious virus) to the exploration of the Gothic Muses, to historical and artistic influences on our beloved genre. For today’s post, I am delighted to hand the keyboard over to the delectable Decadence and Dark Ages; a professional spooky nerd and devout medieval gothicist! I am particularly… Read More Decadence and Dark Ages’ Guest Post: Medieval Gothic

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Words Curling Round Me: 2020 Reading List

Welcome to 2020! It is the year of the rat, and so I begin by rummaging through the dark corners of my bookcase for the texts that I have hoarded this past year, but not yet read. “𝓦𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓘 𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓼𝓮𝓮 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓭𝓼 𝓬𝓾𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓼𝓶𝓸𝓴𝓮 𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓮 𝓘 𝓪𝓶 𝓲𝓷 𝓭𝓪𝓻𝓴𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼 – 𝓘… Read More Words Curling Round Me: 2020 Reading List

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Generally Gothic Bookworm Readalong: Lore in ‘Little Sister Death’

Whilst some of you are still making your way through Little Sister Death for the #generallygothicbookworm read-along which Gothic Bookworm and I have been hosting throughout December, we’ve decided to postpone our final, spoiler-filled blog posts until after Christmas… Having finished the novel ourselves, however, we’re both too filled with feelings to stay silent until… Read More Generally Gothic Bookworm Readalong: Lore in ‘Little Sister Death’

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Generally Gothic Bookworm Readalong: Midway Musings on ‘Little Sister Death’

“𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓻𝓲𝓯𝔂𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵 𝔂𝓸𝓾’𝓵𝓵 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝔂𝓮𝓪𝓻.” Now there’s a claim that’s hard to refuse! During the summer I spent a month, entitled 🥀 Southern Spell 🥀 , exploring the southern gothic. I first posted (on Instagram) about William Gay’s Little Sister Death then. Some of you praised the novel, or declared adoration for… Read More Generally Gothic Bookworm Readalong: Midway Musings on ‘Little Sister Death’

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Into that Eden of Poisonous Flowers: ‘Rappaccini’s Daughter’ Readalong

Welcome to the very second Generally Gothic Book Club read-along, and thank you for your patience as this week’s read-along turned into this fortnight‘s read-along… As explained over on Instagram, November, dubbed ‘Nature is Gothic’, has been dedicated to exploring the – you guessed it – gothic within our natural world. Whilst many of us are… Read More Into that Eden of Poisonous Flowers: ‘Rappaccini’s Daughter’ Readalong

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Flickering… in the Middle of Nowhere: ‘The Wind’

“𝓘𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔀𝓮 𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓶; 𝓪 𝓵𝓲𝓽𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓯𝓵𝓲𝓬𝓴𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓲𝓭𝓭𝓵𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓷𝓸𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮?” – Lizzy, The Wind The bleak and blustering narrative of The Wind takes place during the pioneer days in a wild western state of America. Lizzy and her husband Isaac live alone, in a simple cabin surrounded by… Read More Flickering… in the Middle of Nowhere: ‘The Wind’

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Generally Gothic Book Club Readalong: ‘Rappaccini’s Daughter’

“𝕲𝖎𝖔𝖛𝖆𝖓𝖓𝖎 𝖘𝖙𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖋𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉 𝖓𝖔 𝖇𝖊𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖔𝖈𝖈𝖚𝖕𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖓 𝖙𝖔 𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝖉𝖔𝖜𝖓 𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖔 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖌𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖓 𝖇𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍 𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖜𝖎𝖓𝖉𝖔𝖜.” This week, I will be reading the short story, RAPPACCINI’S DAUGHTER, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and you are invited to read with me. Born in Salem, Massachusetts with direct connections to the historic American witch trials, Hawthorne is famously the… Read More Generally Gothic Book Club Readalong: ‘Rappaccini’s Daughter’

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The Ecstasy of Admiration: ‘The Flowering of the Strange Orchid’ Readalong

Welcome to the very first Generally Gothic Book Club read-along! As explained over on Instagram, November, dubbed ‘Nature is Gothic’, has been dedicated to exploring the – you guessed it – gothic within our natural world. Whilst many of us are enjoying dark, drawn-out evenings in the arms of autumn, and the weather is getting… Read More The Ecstasy of Admiration: ‘The Flowering of the Strange Orchid’ Readalong

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The Uncanny as we Picture it: Freud and the Photographer

Describing himself as “a fetishist for reflections, saturated colors, details and religious icons,” Seigar is a photographer, a high school teacher, and an English philologist. His ‘Plastic People’ series is “a study on anthropology and sociology that focuses on the humanisation of the mannequins he finds in the shop windows all over the world.” There… Read More The Uncanny as we Picture it: Freud and the Photographer

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‘True Detective’: The Eternality of the Gothic

Season 1 Analysis, Part 2 True Detective is an HBO anthology series made up, currently, of 3 seasons. The initial eight-part mini-series (now known as season 1), which aired in 2014, is set in Louisiana, USA. Season 1 follows a pair of homicide detectives, Rustin Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson), as they… Read More ‘True Detective’: The Eternality of the Gothic

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Between One Cap and One Period: Reading William Faulkner

In an interview in the spring of 1956, Southern Gothic author William Faulkner was asked to advise readers who remained unable to understand his writing after two or three attempts. His response was simple: “Read it four times.”“I am trying to say it all in one sentence,” he continued, “between one cap and one period.”… Read More Between One Cap and One Period: Reading William Faulkner

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The Gothic History of the Great, American Freakshow

P. T. BARNUM The name Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) is synonymous with the circus. He is, after all, the Barnum of Barnum & Bailey which, upon merging with Ringling Bros. following the deaths of both Barnum & Bailey, became America’s longest running circus, pitching up for the final time in 2017. On the contemporary popularity… Read More The Gothic History of the Great, American Freakshow

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Beneath the Big Top: Interview with a Circus Artist

Have you ever been dazzled by the shining lights and daring feats performed beneath the big top? Have you ever, even just for a moment, wanted to run away with the circus? Having done just that, Alia Ripley, touring circus performer, actor, and aspiring director, joins Generally Gothic to discuss the role of social commentary… Read More Beneath the Big Top: Interview with a Circus Artist

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‘Sawdust & Sequins: The Art of the Circus’

The story begins “250 years ago, on an abandoned patch of land near London’s Waterloo, [when] showman, entrepreneur and equestrian rider Philip Astley drew out a circle in the ground and filled it with astounding physical acts. This spectacle was the world’s very first circus. […] Every circus, anywhere, began at this moment in 1768.”… Read More ‘Sawdust & Sequins: The Art of the Circus’

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Found Circus Photographs: Forgotten in the Mitten Interview

Forgotten in the Mitten is an online shop filled with “forgotten or discarded” items, based in Michigan, USA – nicknamed the ‘Mitten State’ after the shape created on mapping its outline. Everything, including found photographs, oddities, and antiques, is handpicked by treasure-collector and shop-owner, Erica, who joins Generally Gothic to discuss her obsession with the… Read More Found Circus Photographs: Forgotten in the Mitten Interview

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Enamoured with ‘The Love Witch’

If you’re able to overlook the background modern cars, the stickers on the soles of Elaine’s black boots, and Trish’s mobile phone, ‘The Love Witch’ (2016) could easily be mistaken for a psychedelic, Italian giallo horror, or tantalising technicolour melodrama of the 1950s and 60s, to which it pays otherwise flawless homage. Written, directed, composed,… Read More Enamoured with ‘The Love Witch’

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Stoker’s Muse: The Blood Countess

Cited alongside Vlad the Impaler as an inspiration for Bram Stoker’s eponymous vampire, Dracula, the blood-thirsty version of ‘The Blood Countess’ is the one most ingrained in the collective memory. Some scholars, however, now question the validity of numerous accusations, suggesting that rather than a murderer, as a powerful & recently widowed female figure, Bathory… Read More Stoker’s Muse: The Blood Countess

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Understanding Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’, Part 1

The Truth about Frankenstein PART ONE OF TWO Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus is victim to a whole host of misconceptions. As we began this year with the 200th anniversary of the first publication of the novel (which took place on January 1st, 1818), and as today, February 1st, is the anniversary of Mary Shelley’s (1797 –… Read More Understanding Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’, Part 1

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‘Death: The Human Experience’ Exhibition

Let’s Talk about Death Last month, a shocking pink banner circulated Bristol. Adorned with a colourful moth and an unthreatening green skull, ‘Death: The Human Experience’, it read. Advertising Bristol Museum and Art Gallery’s most recent exhibition, the colourful design attempted to rebrand the morose subject of death. Outside, as tulips began to emerge in… Read More ‘Death: The Human Experience’ Exhibition

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‘Strange Worlds: The Vision of Angela Carter’ Exhibition

Neither Porridge nor Clog-Dancing: The Virago World of Angela Carter [Castle Sarah Woodfine, 2005. Photo credit: Hannah, Generally Gothic, 2017] The white walls of Bristol’s Royal West of England Academy art gallery are lined with mystical, dark, dream-like artwork. A giant snow-globe, twin baby heads in a gravy dish, and a sculpture of a girl sleeping… Read More ‘Strange Worlds: The Vision of Angela Carter’ Exhibition

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The Gothic: What?

An Ongoing Attempt to Define the ‘Gothic’ In terms of the arts (particularly literature, but also film and music, as well as static visual art – you know, ‘art proper’), the gothic is commonly considered a trope, rather than a genre. A genre is a broad classification based on qualifiers such as subject matter, style,… Read More The Gothic: What?

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