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 #gothic #romanticism
'Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' (P.B. Shelley)
#books #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
January 15, 2026 at 8:12 AM
Eingang der Fischfrösche (Entrance of the fish frogs)
Fritz Schwimbeck 1919
Fritz Schwimbeck 1919
January 15, 2026 at 8:40 AM
Eingang der Fischfrösche (Entrance of the fish frogs)
Fritz Schwimbeck 1919
Fritz Schwimbeck 1919
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
#WyrdWednesday Elegy For Cock Robin delivered by the Rook & the Lark (Joseph Kronheim)
January 14, 2026 at 11:11 AM
#WyrdWednesday Elegy For Cock Robin delivered by the Rook & the Lark (Joseph Kronheim)
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
“On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore—
Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
(Edgar Allan Poe)
🎨Gustave Doré
#wyrdwednesday
Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
(Edgar Allan Poe)
🎨Gustave Doré
#wyrdwednesday
January 14, 2026 at 11:00 AM
“On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore—
Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
(Edgar Allan Poe)
🎨Gustave Doré
#wyrdwednesday
Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
(Edgar Allan Poe)
🎨Gustave Doré
#wyrdwednesday
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
As I was walking all alane,
I heard twa corbies making mane;
The tane unto the t’other say,
“Where sall we gang and dine the day?”
—“The Twa Corbies”, first published in Scott’s MINSTRELSY vol. 2 (1810), is a darker, grimmer, #Scots version of the English ballad “The Three Ravens”
#WyrdWednesday
I heard twa corbies making mane;
The tane unto the t’other say,
“Where sall we gang and dine the day?”
—“The Twa Corbies”, first published in Scott’s MINSTRELSY vol. 2 (1810), is a darker, grimmer, #Scots version of the English ballad “The Three Ravens”
#WyrdWednesday
January 14, 2026 at 11:37 AM
As I was walking all alane,
I heard twa corbies making mane;
The tane unto the t’other say,
“Where sall we gang and dine the day?”
—“The Twa Corbies”, first published in Scott’s MINSTRELSY vol. 2 (1810), is a darker, grimmer, #Scots version of the English ballad “The Three Ravens”
#WyrdWednesday
I heard twa corbies making mane;
The tane unto the t’other say,
“Where sall we gang and dine the day?”
—“The Twa Corbies”, first published in Scott’s MINSTRELSY vol. 2 (1810), is a darker, grimmer, #Scots version of the English ballad “The Three Ravens”
#WyrdWednesday
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
“Be of good cheer! I am not wild!
Soft shall you sleep within my arms!”
(Matthias Claudius “Death and the Maiden”)
🎨Sara Sheil
Soft shall you sleep within my arms!”
(Matthias Claudius “Death and the Maiden”)
🎨Sara Sheil
January 13, 2026 at 7:05 PM
“Be of good cheer! I am not wild!
Soft shall you sleep within my arms!”
(Matthias Claudius “Death and the Maiden”)
🎨Sara Sheil
Soft shall you sleep within my arms!”
(Matthias Claudius “Death and the Maiden”)
🎨Sara Sheil
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Paddington Canal, 1909 by Alvin Langdon 📸
January 14, 2026 at 10:04 AM
Paddington Canal, 1909 by Alvin Langdon 📸
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
🖼️ In the Holloway, Stanley Donwood
January 14, 2026 at 7:59 AM
🖼️ In the Holloway, Stanley Donwood
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
January 14, 2026 at 4:38 AM
Further arguments from 'your aggrieved bow-wow' include:
If killing birds be such a crime,
(Which I can hardly see,)
What think you, sir, of killing time
With verse addressed to me?
If killing birds be such a crime,
(Which I can hardly see,)
What think you, sir, of killing time
With verse addressed to me?
January 14, 2026 at 7:55 AM
Further arguments from 'your aggrieved bow-wow' include:
If killing birds be such a crime,
(Which I can hardly see,)
What think you, sir, of killing time
With verse addressed to me?
If killing birds be such a crime,
(Which I can hardly see,)
What think you, sir, of killing time
With verse addressed to me?
The 1st part of William Cowper's 1793 'On A Spaniel, Called Beau, Killing A Young Bird' is a master reprimanding a dog, and the 2nd is
BEAU'S REPLY.
Well knowing him a sacred thing,
Not destined to my tooth,
I only kissed his ruffled wing,
And licked the feathers smooth.
#wyrdwednesday #dogs
BEAU'S REPLY.
Well knowing him a sacred thing,
Not destined to my tooth,
I only kissed his ruffled wing,
And licked the feathers smooth.
#wyrdwednesday #dogs
January 14, 2026 at 7:55 AM
The 1st part of William Cowper's 1793 'On A Spaniel, Called Beau, Killing A Young Bird' is a master reprimanding a dog, and the 2nd is
BEAU'S REPLY.
Well knowing him a sacred thing,
Not destined to my tooth,
I only kissed his ruffled wing,
And licked the feathers smooth.
#wyrdwednesday #dogs
BEAU'S REPLY.
Well knowing him a sacred thing,
Not destined to my tooth,
I only kissed his ruffled wing,
And licked the feathers smooth.
#wyrdwednesday #dogs
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Author: William J. Long (William Joseph Long), 1867-1952.
Publication Year: First published in 1901.
Publication Year: First published in 1901.
January 13, 2026 at 2:38 AM
Author: William J. Long (William Joseph Long), 1867-1952.
Publication Year: First published in 1901.
Publication Year: First published in 1901.
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Frank Meadow Sutcliffe (1853-1941)
"Sailing ships, Whitby Harbour", ca. 1880s-1900
#photography #ship #WhitbyHarbour #FrankMeadowSutcliffe
"Sailing ships, Whitby Harbour", ca. 1880s-1900
#photography #ship #WhitbyHarbour #FrankMeadowSutcliffe
January 7, 2026 at 11:56 AM
Frank Meadow Sutcliffe (1853-1941)
"Sailing ships, Whitby Harbour", ca. 1880s-1900
#photography #ship #WhitbyHarbour #FrankMeadowSutcliffe
"Sailing ships, Whitby Harbour", ca. 1880s-1900
#photography #ship #WhitbyHarbour #FrankMeadowSutcliffe
Kloster Walkenried im Schnee (Walkenried Abbey in Snow)
Carl Hasenpflug (1802–1858)
Carl Hasenpflug (1802–1858)
January 13, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Kloster Walkenried im Schnee (Walkenried Abbey in Snow)
Carl Hasenpflug (1802–1858)
Carl Hasenpflug (1802–1858)
*clapping my hands in excitement*
January 13, 2026 at 11:08 AM
*clapping my hands in excitement*
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Chant of Birds at Dusk
Ph. Edward Steichen, 1899
Ph. Edward Steichen, 1899
January 13, 2026 at 7:59 AM
Chant of Birds at Dusk
Ph. Edward Steichen, 1899
Ph. Edward Steichen, 1899
More like springtime lethargy. I live in Helsinki; here the increase in daylight is rather dramatic during the first months of the year, and I guess some of the more shadowy types just can't handle it :D
January 13, 2026 at 10:57 AM
More like springtime lethargy. I live in Helsinki; here the increase in daylight is rather dramatic during the first months of the year, and I guess some of the more shadowy types just can't handle it :D
Oh no, springtime stresses me out as is!
January 13, 2026 at 10:42 AM
Oh no, springtime stresses me out as is!
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
We report: mid-morning, the moon is firmly past its upper culmination, and on its way to the horizon. It is waning, a week away from the new moon. In the nighttime, it is a late visitor we see when we should not be awake; in the daytime, it is a wild cryptid we stumble upon.
January 12, 2026 at 10:36 PM
We report: mid-morning, the moon is firmly past its upper culmination, and on its way to the horizon. It is waning, a week away from the new moon. In the nighttime, it is a late visitor we see when we should not be awake; in the daytime, it is a wild cryptid we stumble upon.
This is oddly true in part, as sounds do become noticeable quieter in low temperatures (say, -20°C and below, especially if there's lots of snow). But imagine the clamour – and regret – in springtime, if the second part were true!
January 13, 2026 at 10:23 AM
This is oddly true in part, as sounds do become noticeable quieter in low temperatures (say, -20°C and below, especially if there's lots of snow). But imagine the clamour – and regret – in springtime, if the second part were true!
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Moonlight in Winter, Louis Douzette (1834-1924).
January 13, 2026 at 9:09 AM
Moonlight in Winter, Louis Douzette (1834-1924).
