ghoulnextdoor

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But… books actually are my entire personality. – Unquiet Things I shared something on my blog tonight that I have quite literally been noodling on since 2019.There were a few hot take think pieces going around asserting that "Liking books isn't a personality." But what about those of us for whom books were survival tools, not status symbols? Some of us were formed by stories we escaped into as scared, lonely kids who needed somewhere safe to hide. We didn't choose books to build an identity - books built us. Books taught me how to be alone without being lonely. They built my entire interior universe. They taught me about being human! But apparently, that's not a "real" personality? Anyway, I have been trying to write this for six years. I didn’t know exactly what I was trying to say but I knew I had to finally get it out of my system! The first comment on the post was "so much navel gazing." Like, five minutes after it was published! Wow. Someone's already mad I examined my own experiences on my own blog. Imagine reading a personal essay and being shitty about the fact that it's... personal. But honestly, yes! That's exactly what I pay for webspace to do. Twenty years of unmonetized premium navel-gazing, baby Image credit: Reflections, Ethel Porter Bailey

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My Summer Folk Horror Survival Guide – Unquiet Things

Time is running out to finalize my summer folk horror survival guide before Florida's subtropical apocalypse begins (too late; it's begun.) On the blog today: my arsenal of music, movies, books: wrathful catharsis, hauntological immersion, and landscapes with long memories that hold violent grudges. But there are catastrophic holes in my strategy...I still need literally everything else to survive this season's elemental punishment. Perhaps that's where you come in? Read more on the blog today! Image credit: Ellen Rogers

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The Sacred Slime of Ignorance – Unquiet Things

I’ve been thinking about green slime. Not in a weird way—well, maybe in a weird way. Specifically, I’ve been thinking about a particular moment from You Can’t Do That on Television, a low-budget Canadian sketch show that aired on Nickelodeon in the ’80s. For those too young to remember: if any character said “I don’t know,” they got a bucket of green slime dumped on their head. Peak television, truly!

This relationship we have with uncertainty and not knowing has been rattling around in my head for years—it shows up in so much of my writing and honestly feels more urgent now than ever. We’re drowning in information while starving for wisdom. Fake news spreads faster than actual news. Even real news comes at us so relentlessly that if you don’t know how to think critically, you’re basically defenseless against the chaos.

Here’s the good news: no one’s going to dump slime on your head for saying “I don’t know.” Read more...

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Supernatural Field Notes And Incomprehensible Eldritch Frequencies: The Art Of Ed Binkley – Unquiet Things

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Supernatural Field Notes And Incomprehensible Eldritch Frequencies: The Art Of Ed Binkley – Unquiet Things

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Friends, I have some exciting news to share! My article “She Died As She Lived: Deliciously (Notes From A Death Café)” is published in the current issue of Rue Morgue Magazine, and I’m thrilled to announce that this piece marks the beginning of my new column for this beloved publication! I’ve been sitting on this news until I could hold a physical copy in my hands, but now it’s here, so I guess it is official!

My journey with Rue Morgue has been a series of is-this-real-life??? moments. First came the thrill of being interviewed about my book The Art of Darkness—seeing my thoughts and work featured in a publication I’d treasured for so long felt surreal. When the opportunity arose to contribute a piece on horror-inspired perfumes for their March/April 2025 issue, I poured my heart into examining how scent artists capture the essence of fear in fragrance. But becoming a regular columnist? That’s a dream I hardly dared to imagine.

My Ghoul Next Door column debuts with an exploration of Death Cafés - those gatherings where strangers meet over tea and cake to discuss mortality. Some longtime readers might remember my blog posts about hosting these events in Orlando from 2014-2016, and I’m thrilled to revisit the topic for a wider audience.

I am ecstatic to think that this column will feature a wild, wonderful brew of the weird things I’ve long been passionate about - a space for exploring oddities and curiosities, weaving together the beautiful and the macabre, the morbid and the melancholy. I’m looking forward to sharing these explorations with Rue Morgue’s readers!

The current issue with my contribution is now available, and I’d love to hear what you think if you get a chance to read it!

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(via Is MerMay still a thing? – Unquiet Things) Water Nymphs, Gaston Bussière as seen in The Art of Fantasy: A Visual Sourcebook of all that is Unreal

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Is MerMay still a thing? – Unquiet Things

Sunfish, Boris Vallejo as seen in The Art of Fantasy: A Visual Sourcebook of all that is Unreal

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Is MerMay still a thing? – Unquiet Things

Jeune Naiade, Paul Émile Chabas as seen in The Art of Fantasy: A Visual Sourcebook of all that is Unreal

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Is MerMay still a thing? – Unquiet Things

The Mermaid, Howard Pyle

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 Is MerMay still a thing? – Unquiet Things

Mermaids, Gustav Klimt

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Is MerMay still a thing? – Unquiet Things

The Little Mermaid, Nadezhda Illarionova

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 April Perfume Reviews – Unquiet Things

On the blog today, a gathering of thoughts on all the perfumes I sniffed during the month of April. Explore fragrances that trigger a nostalgic, aching void that’s perpetually lurking at your experience’s periphery, the cosmic chords of Alice Coltrane’s harp arpeggios, a sensitive Nosferatu and his book of pressed flowers, and the pitiless cackle of the most terrifying Sailor Moon villain who never existed. Art: Armand Point, The Golden Legend, from “L’Estampe Moderne”

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Marie Laurencin’s Gauzy Macaron Dreamscapes: A Taurus Season Meditation – Unquiet Things

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Notes from an empty world: TANIS at 5AM – Unquiet Things

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The Eternal Cocktail Hour And Midnight Splendor Of Federico Beltrán Masses – Unquiet Things

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The Eternal Cocktail Hour And Midnight Splendor Of Federico Beltrán Masses – Unquiet Things