Ruins of Despair
@ruinsofdespair.bsky.social
A weary pilgrim on the grave of the Romantic Hero, a forlorn eulogist cast upon the desolate shore of the exquisite agony that is The Gothic.
#books #art #gothic #romanticism
'Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' (P.B. Shelley)
#books #art #gothic #romanticism
'Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' (P.B. Shelley)
Pinned
I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone.
– Lord Byron
– Lord Byron
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
This is Leonard Bernstein's score of Schumann’s “Manfred” Overture, Op. 115. He wrote at the top, “Who’s read Byron lately?”
September 15, 2025 at 2:41 PM
This is Leonard Bernstein's score of Schumann’s “Manfred” Overture, Op. 115. He wrote at the top, “Who’s read Byron lately?”
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Max Schreck durante as filmagens de Nosferatu, 1922.
September 9, 2026 at 12:29 AM
Max Schreck durante as filmagens de Nosferatu, 1922.
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
"The spirits I have raised abandon me,
The spells which I have studied baffle me,
The remedy I recked of tortured me
I lean no more on superhuman aid;"
(Lord Byron "Manfred")
🎨 John Martin "Manfred on the Jungfrau" (1837)
#BookwormSat
The spells which I have studied baffle me,
The remedy I recked of tortured me
I lean no more on superhuman aid;"
(Lord Byron "Manfred")
🎨 John Martin "Manfred on the Jungfrau" (1837)
#BookwormSat
September 5, 2026 at 6:36 PM
"The spirits I have raised abandon me,
The spells which I have studied baffle me,
The remedy I recked of tortured me
I lean no more on superhuman aid;"
(Lord Byron "Manfred")
🎨 John Martin "Manfred on the Jungfrau" (1837)
#BookwormSat
The spells which I have studied baffle me,
The remedy I recked of tortured me
I lean no more on superhuman aid;"
(Lord Byron "Manfred")
🎨 John Martin "Manfred on the Jungfrau" (1837)
#BookwormSat
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
The Bat was turned into several film adaptations and a novel. It pioneered the trope of setting comedic mysteries in old, dark houses which seem to be haunted.
#illustration #coverart
Unsurprisingly, it also inspired Batman.
#illustration #coverart
Unsurprisingly, it also inspired Batman.
August 29, 2026 at 9:12 AM
The Bat was turned into several film adaptations and a novel. It pioneered the trope of setting comedic mysteries in old, dark houses which seem to be haunted.
#illustration #coverart
Unsurprisingly, it also inspired Batman.
#illustration #coverart
Unsurprisingly, it also inspired Batman.
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
"Between me and the moonlight flitted a great bat, coming and going in great, whirling circles."
Bram Stoker 'Dracula' (1897)
🎨 'The Bat' (see ALT)
#BookWormSat
Bram Stoker 'Dracula' (1897)
🎨 'The Bat' (see ALT)
#BookWormSat
August 29, 2026 at 7:53 AM
"Between me and the moonlight flitted a great bat, coming and going in great, whirling circles."
Bram Stoker 'Dracula' (1897)
🎨 'The Bat' (see ALT)
#BookWormSat
Bram Stoker 'Dracula' (1897)
🎨 'The Bat' (see ALT)
#BookWormSat
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
There was a full moonlight, and I could see that the noise was made by a great bat, which wheeled around, doubtless attracted by the light... and every now and again struck the window with its wings…
Dracula
Bram Stoker
#BookWormSat 🦇
Dracula
Bram Stoker
#BookWormSat 🦇
August 29, 2026 at 5:50 AM
There was a full moonlight, and I could see that the noise was made by a great bat, which wheeled around, doubtless attracted by the light... and every now and again struck the window with its wings…
Dracula
Bram Stoker
#BookWormSat 🦇
Dracula
Bram Stoker
#BookWormSat 🦇
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
#SpookySunday An inventive twist on the headless horseman, Lionel Feininger, 1898, has instead illustrated a headless cyclist using his skull as a lamp. Be seen & be safe! Or in this case, be scared!
August 2, 2026 at 12:52 PM
#SpookySunday An inventive twist on the headless horseman, Lionel Feininger, 1898, has instead illustrated a headless cyclist using his skull as a lamp. Be seen & be safe! Or in this case, be scared!
Lord George Byron contemplating the Colosseum in Rome
#art Arthur Willmore or James Tibbets Willmore, after the original composition by William Westall
#art Arthur Willmore or James Tibbets Willmore, after the original composition by William Westall
August 2, 2026 at 11:12 AM
Lord George Byron contemplating the Colosseum in Rome
#art Arthur Willmore or James Tibbets Willmore, after the original composition by William Westall
#art Arthur Willmore or James Tibbets Willmore, after the original composition by William Westall
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
In the Cloister, Palermo 1840
oil
Martinus Rørbye ~ (Danish, 1803–1848)
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
oil
Martinus Rørbye ~ (Danish, 1803–1848)
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
August 2, 2026 at 7:36 AM
In the Cloister, Palermo 1840
oil
Martinus Rørbye ~ (Danish, 1803–1848)
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
oil
Martinus Rørbye ~ (Danish, 1803–1848)
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
'I have seen,' he said, lowering his voice, 'I have seen the Bodach Glas.'
MAC-IVOR WARNED OF HIS FATE BY THE GREY SPIRIT.
Grey Old Man serves as a fatal family omen in Walter Scott's Waverley; or, 'Tis Sixty Years Since (1814) #SpookySunday
MAC-IVOR WARNED OF HIS FATE BY THE GREY SPIRIT.
Grey Old Man serves as a fatal family omen in Walter Scott's Waverley; or, 'Tis Sixty Years Since (1814) #SpookySunday
August 2, 2026 at 7:44 AM
'I have seen,' he said, lowering his voice, 'I have seen the Bodach Glas.'
MAC-IVOR WARNED OF HIS FATE BY THE GREY SPIRIT.
Grey Old Man serves as a fatal family omen in Walter Scott's Waverley; or, 'Tis Sixty Years Since (1814) #SpookySunday
MAC-IVOR WARNED OF HIS FATE BY THE GREY SPIRIT.
Grey Old Man serves as a fatal family omen in Walter Scott's Waverley; or, 'Tis Sixty Years Since (1814) #SpookySunday
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
+++ On this very evening, the 1st August 1893. From the Log of the Demeter, which is travelling from Varna to Whitby +++
" We seem to be drifting towards some terrible doom "
The picture is the Dmitry from Narva, wrecked in 1885 which inspired Bram
#BramStoker #Dracula #Whitby #GothicHorror #OTD
" We seem to be drifting towards some terrible doom "
The picture is the Dmitry from Narva, wrecked in 1885 which inspired Bram
#BramStoker #Dracula #Whitby #GothicHorror #OTD
August 1, 2026 at 5:43 PM
+++ On this very evening, the 1st August 1893. From the Log of the Demeter, which is travelling from Varna to Whitby +++
" We seem to be drifting towards some terrible doom "
The picture is the Dmitry from Narva, wrecked in 1885 which inspired Bram
#BramStoker #Dracula #Whitby #GothicHorror #OTD
" We seem to be drifting towards some terrible doom "
The picture is the Dmitry from Narva, wrecked in 1885 which inspired Bram
#BramStoker #Dracula #Whitby #GothicHorror #OTD
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
“I bear in my shirt a head; the head of Urien,
That governed a court with mildness;
And on his white bosom the sable raven doth glut.”
(Llywarch Hen “Elegy on Urien Rheged”, c 600 CE)
🎨audrey benjaminsen
#BookwormSat
That governed a court with mildness;
And on his white bosom the sable raven doth glut.”
(Llywarch Hen “Elegy on Urien Rheged”, c 600 CE)
🎨audrey benjaminsen
#BookwormSat
August 1, 2026 at 4:00 PM
“I bear in my shirt a head; the head of Urien,
That governed a court with mildness;
And on his white bosom the sable raven doth glut.”
(Llywarch Hen “Elegy on Urien Rheged”, c 600 CE)
🎨audrey benjaminsen
#BookwormSat
That governed a court with mildness;
And on his white bosom the sable raven doth glut.”
(Llywarch Hen “Elegy on Urien Rheged”, c 600 CE)
🎨audrey benjaminsen
#BookwormSat
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
" - Good God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn."
- William Wordsworth
#WyrdWednesday #Pagan #poetry
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn."
- William Wordsworth
#WyrdWednesday #Pagan #poetry
July 29, 2026 at 11:42 AM
" - Good God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn."
- William Wordsworth
#WyrdWednesday #Pagan #poetry
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn."
- William Wordsworth
#WyrdWednesday #Pagan #poetry
Insatiable vampire l'éternelle Luxure
Sur la Grande Cité convoite sa pâture.
#wyrdwednesday #gothic
Le Stryge (The Gargoyle / The Vampire), fifth state, by Charles Meryon 1853
Sur la Grande Cité convoite sa pâture.
#wyrdwednesday #gothic
Le Stryge (The Gargoyle / The Vampire), fifth state, by Charles Meryon 1853
July 29, 2026 at 8:59 AM
Insatiable vampire l'éternelle Luxure
Sur la Grande Cité convoite sa pâture.
#wyrdwednesday #gothic
Le Stryge (The Gargoyle / The Vampire), fifth state, by Charles Meryon 1853
Sur la Grande Cité convoite sa pâture.
#wyrdwednesday #gothic
Le Stryge (The Gargoyle / The Vampire), fifth state, by Charles Meryon 1853
The horned Madonna of Portinari Chapel, Milan (1460s) #wyrdwednesday
July 29, 2026 at 8:02 AM
The horned Madonna of Portinari Chapel, Milan (1460s) #wyrdwednesday
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Human skeleton reads a list of animal names
Title page for: Cornelius van Dyk's "Osteologia", 1680 (Rijksmuseum)
Title page for: Cornelius van Dyk's "Osteologia", 1680 (Rijksmuseum)
July 28, 2026 at 10:50 AM
Human skeleton reads a list of animal names
Title page for: Cornelius van Dyk's "Osteologia", 1680 (Rijksmuseum)
Title page for: Cornelius van Dyk's "Osteologia", 1680 (Rijksmuseum)
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Bear
Unknown artist, 16th century (British Museum)
Unknown artist, 16th century (British Museum)
July 28, 2026 at 10:55 AM
Bear
Unknown artist, 16th century (British Museum)
Unknown artist, 16th century (British Museum)
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
"And great and weary Charon rowed on and on beside the little, silent, shivering ghost.
...
"I am the last," he said.
No one had ever made Charon smile before, no one before had ever made him weep."
(Dunsany)
🎨 José Benlliure y Gil (detail)
#PhantomsFriday
...
"I am the last," he said.
No one had ever made Charon smile before, no one before had ever made him weep."
(Dunsany)
🎨 José Benlliure y Gil (detail)
#PhantomsFriday
July 24, 2026 at 11:45 AM
"And great and weary Charon rowed on and on beside the little, silent, shivering ghost.
...
"I am the last," he said.
No one had ever made Charon smile before, no one before had ever made him weep."
(Dunsany)
🎨 José Benlliure y Gil (detail)
#PhantomsFriday
...
"I am the last," he said.
No one had ever made Charon smile before, no one before had ever made him weep."
(Dunsany)
🎨 José Benlliure y Gil (detail)
#PhantomsFriday
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Mediums who weren’t up to DIY-ing their cons could purchase ready-made ghosts, self-rapping tables, self-playing guitars, and other séance supplies from the secretly circulated catalogue “Gambols with the Ghosts,” issued by Ralph E. Sylvestre of Chicago.
#PhantomsFriday
#PhantomsFriday
July 24, 2026 at 9:54 AM
Mediums who weren’t up to DIY-ing their cons could purchase ready-made ghosts, self-rapping tables, self-playing guitars, and other séance supplies from the secretly circulated catalogue “Gambols with the Ghosts,” issued by Ralph E. Sylvestre of Chicago.
#PhantomsFriday
#PhantomsFriday
Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.
Byam Shaw's #illustration for Poe's The Masque of the Red Death in 'Selected Tales of Mystery' (London 1909)
Byam Shaw's #illustration for Poe's The Masque of the Red Death in 'Selected Tales of Mystery' (London 1909)
July 24, 2026 at 10:39 AM
Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.
Byam Shaw's #illustration for Poe's The Masque of the Red Death in 'Selected Tales of Mystery' (London 1909)
Byam Shaw's #illustration for Poe's The Masque of the Red Death in 'Selected Tales of Mystery' (London 1909)
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
"The Depth of Summer"-Series ( ©2026 )
July 21, 2026 at 8:09 PM
"The Depth of Summer"-Series ( ©2026 )
In their spirit photography in the 1920s and '30s, the Scottish-born brothers Craig and George Falconer specialised in ectoplasm. The results are rather artistic. #PhantomsFriday
July 24, 2026 at 8:17 AM
In their spirit photography in the 1920s and '30s, the Scottish-born brothers Craig and George Falconer specialised in ectoplasm. The results are rather artistic. #PhantomsFriday
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
“Two for Joy”
🎨 Bryan Angus
🎨 Bryan Angus
July 23, 2026 at 4:35 PM
“Two for Joy”
🎨 Bryan Angus
🎨 Bryan Angus
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
#WyrdWednesday Contemporary artists Anna & Elena Balbusso's depiction of Guy de Maupassant's 1887 supernatural tale 'Le Horla'. Tormented by nightmares, the narrator is attacked by an evil entity who induces the feeling that something is weighing upon his chest as he sleeps. All does not end well.
July 22, 2026 at 1:24 PM
#WyrdWednesday Contemporary artists Anna & Elena Balbusso's depiction of Guy de Maupassant's 1887 supernatural tale 'Le Horla'. Tormented by nightmares, the narrator is attacked by an evil entity who induces the feeling that something is weighing upon his chest as he sleeps. All does not end well.