The Moon:"The light that shines over all lands."🌙

 

I often wonder how many secrets the moon has already heard whispered into the night. How many stolen kisses, silent goodbyes, desperate prayers, and promises meant to last forever have risen towards her pale light? How many secret encounters has she witnessed? And how many forgotten creatures has she watched emerge from the darkness before disappearing again with the dawn?

No matter where we wander, she follows without judgement, illuminating forgotten roads, abandoned cemeteries, lonely rooftops, and restless souls. She reminds us that even in our most solitary moments, we are never truly alone. Someone or something has always been watching. Perhaps that is why the moon has become one of the oldest symbols in folklore. She has inspired lovers, poets, witches, and monsters alike. Under her glow, ordinary people have imagined impossible things, and legends have been born, out of fear, out of hope. 

      Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms And the autumn moon is bright.
-   Maria Ouspenskaya's  ("The Wolf Man" 1941)

The oldest Moon myth

Around 2100 BC, the Sumerians wrote myths explaining why the Moon waxes and wanes.

They believed Nanna sailed across the night sky every evening before disappearing into the underworld during the new moon. This is one of humanity's oldest recorded explanations for the Moon's phases.

🌙 Wear the Moon with you.

This is an ancient Moon passage that comes from a Sumerian hymn:

"Father Nanna, whose radiance fills the heavens, whose light covers the land."

Someone wrote those words over 4,000 years ago, and every night we are looking at the same Moon they were.

This is the oldest surviving photograph of the Moon,

It was captured on March 26, 1840, by American scientist and NYU professor John William Draper. He used the early daguerreotype process with a 5-inch reflecting telescope on a New York City rooftop, capturing the lunar image with a 20-minute exposure.

Before Draper’s success, French inventor Louis Daguerre (the pioneer of photography) reportedly attempted to capture the Moon on January 2, 1839. However, his attempt was blurry, and his entire laboratory burned down a few months later, destroying all of his original images. This left Draper's 1840 daguerreotype as the oldest one left in existence. Sorce: HERE

🌙 Inspired by the Moon? View this t-shirt on Amazon.

Last night I met the Moon because she, too, seemed lonely. I stayed with her for a while, and we spoke in silence. She told me she had seen you.She refused to tell me where you were.

Instead, she smiled and whispered that you were searching for me beneath the very same sky. That somewhere, under the same ancient Moon, you were looking upward, hoping the stars would answer the questions we have been asking for decades.

Pale ✝ Angel 

I

Beyond the Coffee Table: Style Your Space with Dark Academia Goth Decor books

 

There is a distinct shift happening in interior design right now. The sterile, ultra-bright minimalist look is quietly stepping aside for something much richer, warmer, and arguably more intellectual: Dark Academia. People don't want to be told anymore how to dress, how to style your closet and your home, we are tired of the algorithm and the trends. We are aiming to be again unique and different.

Centered around a love for literature, vintage details, and a moody palette, this aesthetic relies heavily on layers. And the most critical layer of all? Books. But you don't need a sprawling, floor-to-ceiling library from the 19th century to capture that energy. A curated stack of notebooks with the right visual edge can transform a flat surface into a vignette that tells a story.

Why Curated Notebooks Are the Ultimate "Secret Weapon" for Styling

We’ve all seen standard, mass-produced coffee table books. They are beautiful, but they often lack a certain personal bite. If your style leans toward the alternative, the elegant, or the slightly macabre, standard home decor stores don't always hit the mark.

That is where specialized  notebooks come in. Instead of just buying a book for its size, choosing notebooks with freaky-morbid titles and striking goth imagery serves two purposes at once:

• The Aesthetic Anchor: A bold, edgy cover acts as a conversation starter on a coffee table, a nightstand, or a media console. Stacking two or three horizontally builds height and structure in your room styling.

• Everyday Utility: Unlike traditional luxury coffee table books that sit untouched for years, these double as actual journals, sketchbooks, or daily planners. They look expensive from the outside, but they are fully functional on the inside.

Simple Ways to Style Your Gothic Aesthetic Books

If you are trying to lean into a moodier room setup, a few small styling tweaks can make a massive difference. Try using your notebooks as design accents in these high-traffic areas:

1. The Low-Profile Table Stack

Place a stack of three notebooks on your coffee table or entryway console. Place the largest book on the bottom and graduate to the smallest on top. To finish the look, place a brass candle holder, a small specimen jar, or a dried crystal cluster directly on top of the stack to add texture and variance.

2. Vertical Shelf Breathing Room

Bookshelves don't just have to hold books vertically. Break up long rows of novels by turning a few of your favorite gothic fashion notebooks face-out, displaying the cover art like a framed print. This adds breathing room to heavy shelving and catches the eye immediately.

3. The Moody Nightstand Vignette

Pair a single, beautifully dark notebook with a dim lamp and a ceramic mug. It immediately evokes that late-night, studious dark academia vibe—giving you a beautiful view right before bed and an easy place to write down your thoughts or dreams.

Check out these notebooks ! 

• Get it here:The Single Corpse

• Get it here: Blood Stains

• Get it here:Deadly Tea Time 

• Get it here:Grave Digging

• Get it here:Witchcraft

• Get it here:The Victorian book

Post-Mortem Photography: A Historical and Cultural Ritual of Grief ( Pt 4 )

To read Victorian Mourning and Post-Mortem Photography: A Cultural History Pt. 1 HERE

By Pale Angel

The Desire for Lasting Connection

I have always believed in the importance of preserving memories—of holding onto a tangible piece of those we have lost to feel closer to them. For me, that "piece" is often a photograph. When we look at modern society, there appears to be a greater detachment from the reality of death than in previous centuries. It raises an important question: Have we become more afraid of mortality than our ancestors were?

The Shift in Grieving Traditions

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when this detachment began. Today, the grieving ritual often feels like a task to be completed as quickly as possible, frequently under the guise of "sparing the family further pain." Yet, for some, there is a deep-seated need to spend time with the deceased, offering a final, lingering goodbye to the physical presence of their loved one before the burial or cremation.

The Evolution of the Image

While I respect any family’s decision to commission post-mortem photography, I recognize that the practical necessity for it has diminished. The advent of the Kodak Brownie and subsequent portable cameras revolutionized how we record life. As photography became accessible and common, the "need" for a final portrait faded.

In the modern age, we often have thousands of digital images of our loved ones captured throughout their lives. Perhaps having such a vibrant record of their living years has made the post-mortem portrait feel unnecessary to most, shifting our focus from the moment of passing back to the journey of life.

Super Blood Moon Playlist

 If you got other songs about the moon, please leave the name and artist.

Creedence clearwater revival- bad moon rising

Echo and the Bunnymen - The Killing Moon (Official Music Video)

MoonSpell - FullMoon Madness

CONCRETE BLONDE Mexican Moon

Type O Negative - Wolf Moon - Underworld

Grateful Dead - Standing on the Moon (Studio Version)

The Magnetic Fields - I Have the Moon

The Moon Song (from "Her") - The Hound + The Fox

Antonin Dvorak - Rusalka - Song To The Moon

This Is Ivy League - You and Me and The Moon (Magnetic Fields Cover)

Ozzy Osbourne - "Bark at the Moon"

Morrissey - Moon River (Live)

Neko Case - I Wish I Was the Moon

Electric Light Orchestra - Ticket To The Moon

Death Cab For Cutie Meet me on the Equinox (+ Lyrics)

Fleetwood mac - sisters of the moon (SCARCE HQ DEMO)

I’ve fallen in love with a man on the run.

 

Devil's Backbone" by The Civil Wars

 

Oh Lord, Oh Lord, what have I done?

I've fallen in love with a man on the run

Oh Lord, Oh Lord, I'm begging you please

Don't take that sinner from me

Oh don't take that sinner from me

Oh Lord, Oh Lord, what do I do?

I've fallen for someone who's nothing like you

He's raised on the edge of the devil's backbone

Oh I just wanna take him home

Oh I just wanna take him home

Ooooooooooo

Ooooooooooo

Oh Lord, Oh Lord, he's somewhere between

A hangman's knot, and three mouths to feed

There wasn't a wrong or a right he could choose

He did what he had to do

Oh he did what he had to do

Ooooooooooo

Ooooooooooo

Give me the burden, give me the blame

I'll shoulder the load, and I'll swallow the shame

Give me the burden, give me the blame

How many, how many Hail Marys is it gonna take?

Don't care if he's guilty, don't care if he's not

He's good and he's bad and he's all that I've got

Oh Lord, Oh Lord, I'm begging you please

Don't take that sinner from me

Oh don't take that sinner from me

At One O'Clock In The Morning - by Charles Baudelaire and Me

Alone, at last! Not a sound to be heard but the rumbling of some belated and decrepit cabs. For a few hours

we shall have silence, if not repose. At last the tyranny of the human face has disappeared, and I myself shall be the

only cause of my sufferings.

At last, then, I am allowed to refresh myself in a bath of darkness! First of all, a double turn of the lock. It

seems to me that this twist of the key will increase my solitude and fortify the barricades which at this instant

separate me from the world.

Horrible life! Horrible town! Let us recapitulate the day: seen several men of letters, one of whom asked me

whether one could go to Russia by a land route (no doubt he took Russia to be an island); disputed generously with

the editor of a review, who, to each of my objections, replied: 'We represent the cause of decent people,' which

implies that all the other newspapers are edited by scoundrels; greeted some twenty persons, with fifteen of whom I

am not acquainted; distributed handshakes in the same proportion, and this without having taken the precaution of

buying gloves; to kill time, during a shower, went to see an acrobat, who asked me to design for her the costume of a

Venustra; paid court to the director of a theatre, who, while dismissing me, said to me: 'Perhaps you would do well to

apply to Z------; he is the clumsiest, the stupidest and the most celebrated of my authors; together with him, perhaps,

you would get somewhere. Go to see him, and after that we'll see;' boasted (why?) of several vile actions which I

have never committed, and faint-heartedly denied some other misdeeds which I accomplished with joy, an error of

bravado, an offence against human respect; refused a friend an easy service, and gave a written recommendation to a

perfect clown; oh, isn't that enough?

Discontented with everyone and discontented with myself, I would gladly redeem myself and elate myself a

little in the silence and solitude of night. Souls of those I have loved, souls of those I have sung, strengthen me,

support me, rid me of lies and the corrupting vapours of the world; and you, O Lord God, grant me the grace to

produce a few good verses, which shall prove to myself that I am not the lowest of men, that I am not inferior to

those whom I despise.

 

Goth Problems

• Melting in the sunlight
• Summer
• Having no money in October
• When you run out of black makeup
• When your blacks don’t match
• People calling you emo
• When people assume you’re a satanist
• When your favorite band isn’t available on iTunes

I'm dead and I'm here ! Headstones: Why Cemeteries Are the Last Witnesses of Our Existence

The headstone/gravestone marks the place where a grave or tomb is placed. They are traditionally used by most religious people and they became part of the funerary tradition and business. The gravestone is the way a family honors the deceased by putting this eternal memorial on“the last place to rest”. This is a tradition that I think we should keep alive.

Just think about it, from here to a hundred years, future generations will probably find our destroyed coffins, our bodies… bones and wonder if we were male or female?, who we were?, when did we died? and more. Part of the objective of the gravestones is not only for ID purposes (so the family can visit the body without forgetting the place) but because the human being has a fear to be forgotten. For most of us, documentation and a gravestone will be the only proof for the next generation that we existed once upon a time.

Most of the world’s population won’t enjoy a massive popularity, not even in their hometown but we will have a family that will remember and have us present in every important milestone in their life but if we are truly lucky, there will be someone who will want to know more about us even after we are gone.

When people started to make headstone, they started out by making them from simple materials and simple designs with symbolisms. From pieces of stone to carved wood, we manage to level up this important cemetery piece. In the old, old days when body snatching was fashionable; families even built cages on top of the graves.

Headstones nowadays are made from different materials: Fieldstones, Granite, Marble and Slate.  In the beginning all tombs had a stone lid, if the coffin was completely made of stone or not, this stone lid was placed over the grave. Stones were used to mark where a body was buried; they were placed around the grave and just marked with a name or initials (that's sad).

One important element on a headstone is the identification of the deceased person, the day of birth and death, a prayer or specials words by the family, a photo and finally a place to put flowers. Most people decides to put a little fence or something to surround the grave this way other cemetery visitors won’t step on a person’s last resting place.

Having a gravestone was and still is a symbol of wealth, the bigger the better. Some people used to buy expensive material and used designs that become traditional but were very symbolic, like skulls, birds, angels, flowers, praying hands, crosses, etc. The headstone evolved into pieces of art. Big or small, the sculptures that some graves have are beautiful and incredible. If you take a walk on a graveyard you will see sculptures of angels, Saints, hands, books, beds, Greek columns and more.

Photos by: www.7fotos.blogspot.com

Sadly, there are more and more people going for cremation “Today, nearly all of the deceased receive some sort of burial or cremation even if it is paid for by the state. The cost of land and the current overcrowding in cemeteries, along with changes in perception, have made people consider cremation.  Cremations are less expensive than the cost of caskets and plots.” -247wallst . 

 I say sadly because XXI century people are opposite to the way The Victorians were during the 1800’s (Click to read more) ; people now hate death, they don’t want to talk about it, it’s scary and a morbid issue that shouldn’t be a topic of conversation…at all! So with that mindset, the sooner a body goes underground and if people don’t have to deal with a corpse THE BETTER! Cremation means that families won’t have to set a foot on a graveyard and that means that there will be one less proof of a person existing or worst; the neglect of cemeteries. Let’s face it, yes…we will have photos, facebook profiles and documents but none of them will truly express the love of a mourning family for the decease the way a headstone does. It will have a direct effect on people's way to see death; probably it will make people colder. Where our feelings will go if we cannot mourn in a place made for that?