Cemeteries are either fascinating monuments to social history, or eerie gardens populated by the dead. The decline in the popularity of burial and the relocation of post-death practices to undertakers rather than families has created an aura of mystery around death, particularly nowadays. Cemetery superstitions still hold sway, even now. But earlier eras had a different […]
the gothic
Is Victorian death photography creepy or just sad?
The Victorians could certainly be a weird bunch. They invented the modern seance and picnicked in cemeteries. Talented taxidermists turned the craft into an art form, particularly involving anthropomorphised animals. They made jewellery out of the hair of their loved ones. It’s hardly surprising that they’d also invent death photography. As we’re in the build-up […]
Is spirit photography even possible or is it just fraud?
We live in an age in which we’re used to edited imagery and special effects. But such visual trickery predates Photoshop and other software by a good century and a half. The field of spirit photography relied on a mixture of belief, photographic gimmicks, and new technology to ‘capture’ the dead. Is it really all […]
Who or what is the Vampire Rabbit of Newcastle upon Tyne?
Newcastle sometimes gets a raw deal here in the UK. Nearly all talk of the so-called ‘Northern Powerhouse’ forgets there’s still a whole swathe of England north of Manchester. People form their opinion of its inhabitants based on photos of scantily-clad clubbers tottering through the snow in 6-inch heels. It completely ignores our Roman history, […]
3 Classic Ghost Stories Perfect For Halloween
Ghost stories have quietly sneaked into the 21st century. They made their presence felt as the Woman in Black stalked Daniel Radcliffe around a peeling Edwardian pile back in the 2012 movie by Hammer Films. I’m not talking about the Paranormal Activity model of low-budget demonic visitations dressed up to look like ghosts. I’m talking about supernatural spectres capable of […]
Skulls: A Free Short Horror Story
I stumbled across the window full of skulls quite by accident. Indeed, one should never seek out such a window with the explicit purpose of doing so. I discovered them whilst walking through the university grounds, passing a small nook beside the art gallery. Having passed that way many times previously, I wondered that I […]
