#gothic narrative

[bluebeards-wife]

The merging of fear and desire is a staple of the Gothic narrative.

J. Halberstam, Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters (1995)

[thebubblytombstone]

They were never meant to be identical.

The left one was poured at dusk, stubborn, dramatic, a little too eager to hold its shape.

The right one was formed later, quieter, steadier, carrying more depth in its shadows.

They dried side by side.

They cracked at the same places.

They held anyway.

Some say they’re twin sentinels of the bath, guardians of the in-between hours when the water turns velvet and the air feels heavier than usual.

Others say they’re just proof that even imperfect things can stand shoulder to shoulder and look… intentional.

Drop them in together and watch:

One bleeds into plum.

One melts into rose.

Neither disappears alone.

They were never meant to be perfect.

They were meant to survive.

🖤🫧

Handmade bath bombs and ritual soaks inspired by the spooky, the cozy, and the beautifully undead. Small-batch creations with rich scent, co

[dyke-shoes]

just signed up for this year's classes!!!!

[divine-intentions]

So excited for my Gothic Narrative course this semester, Gothic short stories, Frankenstein, Dracula, can't wait!

[sabo-serrano-blog]

Gothic Narrative: My Sweet Adeline

Once upon a full, gleaming moon,

When sorcerers mingle their midnight mixtures;

A young maiden passed me by

Enclosed in a black carriage, its wheels entrenched with earth.

The click-clock, click-clock of the musky steeds’ hooves,

Awakened me from a dull life’s sleep:

For one brief moment she looked out with a timid face,

Her sad visage briefly met mine, this sweet girl called Adeline,

My life would continue not the same.

  Her dark tresses flew out glistening in the moonlight

Despite her attempts to hold them back beneath her bonnet

As thick as a winter’s night covering the sky

And violet hued eyes shined bright beneath the darkness of her eyelashes

Her sad pout could not detain her full, rubicund lips

Her skin shone fair with rosy cheeks;

I had ne’er seen a creature as alluring.

With one glance did my heart grow radically,

And a passion overruled me.

For after I laid my eyes upon the young maiden, Adeline,

My life would continue not the same.

  That winter season, day after day,

I would watch my fair Adeline pass by

With her black chariot in the dreary night,

Her black cloak covering her delicate breast

Her sweet scent covering the air with sublime radiance

My body shivered in response to her every move.

For after I laid my eyes upon the young maiden, Adeline,

My life would continue not the same.

  It was not enough to caress her, feel her beneath my touch

I wanted to breathe in her breath, with hearts joined as one,

Lying in bed sleeplessly anticipating her unreachable beauty

My ears and skin tensing to hear her approaching coach passing down my street.

Her carriage detained briefly, she had time to step out

Long enough for me to observe her quaint stature,

To turn in my direction with her pale hands on her hair

Reflecting the light of the heavy, blood red harvest moon

For after I laid my eyes upon the young maiden, Adeline,

My life would continue not the same.

  By the spring equinox, it ceased its nightly apparition-

The bustling carriage that carried

My beautiful, enchanting, young maiden Adeline.

Thus, I knew not what to do,

For if but a grim finger laid upon her head,

I would burn it and tear it till dead.

For after I laid my eyes upon the young maiden, Adeline,

My life would continue not the same.

  The white gleaming moon, which had first alighted on her frame, turned colour,

The killing moon came too soon;

For whence the news arrived that

My sweet Adeline had breathed her last and was no more,

My legs began to carry my throbbing head and heart straight to the cemetery

Searching for her soul among her bones

Through the sea of fog and restless spirits I reached her open grave fresh and deep.

For after I laid my eyes upon the young maiden, Adeline,

My life would continue not the same.

  Where did she go, this place is death, she cannot be here?

Her body and face swelling with beauty and life now swarming with worms

I bent down scratching at the soil

Swelled my fists with anger

For no trace was left of my sweet Adeline’s soul

She had departed ripping whatever joy or worth my life contained

For after I laid my eyes upon the young maiden, Adeline,

My life would continue not the same.

  My skin prickled as I felt the warmth on my neck forcing me to look up

A blood red moon stared at me through the forest of headstones

Shining sweetly mocking with its delightful moonbeams on her preciously carved name

This same moon which lit the way to her taunted me

“You will never see her again!”

Could it have been the moon,

That stole my sweet Adeline?

I sprung toward it in the misty night.

For after I laid my eyes upon the young maiden, Adeline,

My life would continue not the same.

  I turned and ran after its rays, past the cemetery gates

Towards the roaring sounds of its laughter

Its light only gaining more brilliance as I ran faster

Gasping for breath, I stopped short and found myself

At the tip of a cliff hanging so high

The moon swelled full and heavy satisfied returning my gaze

As I returned my expression of anguish and emptiness

The smell of death beneath my fingernails, around my hair, in my mouth

Of my sweet expired Adeline

For after I laid my eyes upon the young maiden, Adeline,

My life would continue not the same.

  At first glance the moon shone flat and smooth

 but as I swept back my tears

Blinking to sharpen my view I could see the shadows beneath its fluttering mass

Its face tattooed with the feminine silhouette of my Adeline

For I could not mistake its every detail with no other

 I cowered over this powerful vision lowering my body to the ground

A scream pierced the night, I leapt up to see the moon complete its torture

Encircled in red dripping with her blood crushing her inside its round chamber

With all my might, I leapt out scratching at the air flailing helplessly

Hoping to release her soul from the moon’s grasp

But all that met my efforts were the foaming sea and piercing rocks below

Lungs seething filling fast with burning water, losing consciousness, I die

For after I laid my eyes upon the young maiden, Adeline,

My life would continue not the same.

[catladycatharsis]

"Psycho"

One of my favorite songs, by the best darker duo, Amanda Palmer, and Neil Gaiman.

This never ceases to make me smile in strange moods.