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
Hello, yes, it’s really me… alive and well* and with new offerings. I shall allow a moment for the shock to wear off… Over on Instagram I recently asked whether you, dear consumer of multimedia content, preferred when I post under monthly themes or not. The majority vote was for a hybrid – a Dr… Read More Audio and Irony: ‘The Heart is a Lonely Hunter’
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’
With summer somewhere between full swing and distant memory depending on where you were on the globe, in August we retreated from the sunshine of the Southern Gothic to the dimly lit cityscapes and natural wilds of 19th century Europe. As you may have read here, August was all about monsters and the monstrosity of… Read More Duality: ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’
It seems rather apt that the sun is absent today, as the Southern Spell fades and a new season is welcomed in. This month is Of Monsters and Men – it is an exploration of the monstrous in gothic fictions and realities. Before I reveal The Seven Gothic Signs you can use to easily identify… Read More Identifying the Gothic: The Seven Gothic Signs
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
With Jane Eyre on my mind, I picked Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) up on a whim at the library. I opened it one evening. I was hooked. I paused to sleep. Awoke. Opened it again. And was done. This is easily a one-sitting read if you have the time, or don’t favour sleep… Read More Everything was Brightness, or Dark: ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’
Warning! The following review includes spoilers; if you’re yet to watch the Dracula (2020) miniseries, I would recommend saving this post and coming back to it once you have.Now, on with the show… [Reading note: Dracula refers to the character, Dracula to the novel, and Dracula (2020) to the TV series in question.] “đť•´ 𝖆𝖒… Read More But One Word: Dracula (2020)
“In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Circe is strange – not powerful and terrible, like her father, nor gorgeous and mercenary like her mother. But she has a dark power of her own: witchcraft. When Circe’s gift threatens the gods, she is banished… Read More Generally Gothic Book Club Readalong: ‘Circe’
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
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
Generally Gothic 