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
Franz Stassen- 'The Norns,' 1917.
January 5, 2026 at 6:19 PM
Franz Stassen- 'The Norns,' 1917.
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Woodland in the Snow, Henri van Seben (1825-1913).
January 6, 2026 at 9:29 AM
Woodland in the Snow, Henri van Seben (1825-1913).
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Sinister goings-on in 'The Whisper In The Trees' by the prolific writing team of L T Meade & Robert Eustace, who provided a great deal of #weird fiction for the popular magazines (this one is from Pearson's Magazine, 1906). Turns out the heroine is being terrorised by men on stilts!
#mystery #horror
#mystery #horror
January 5, 2026 at 12:08 PM
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
‘Orient Express.’ #Illustration by Andrew Davidson #art
January 5, 2026 at 8:58 AM
‘Orient Express.’ #Illustration by Andrew Davidson #art
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January 4, 2026 at 9:09 PM
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Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
The Close
( A Close in Scotland means a narrow alleyway or passage)
#Edinburgh #scotland #architecture #building #gothic
( A Close in Scotland means a narrow alleyway or passage)
#Edinburgh #scotland #architecture #building #gothic
December 3, 2025 at 12:35 PM
The Close
( A Close in Scotland means a narrow alleyway or passage)
#Edinburgh #scotland #architecture #building #gothic
( A Close in Scotland means a narrow alleyway or passage)
#Edinburgh #scotland #architecture #building #gothic
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
December 3, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
One Square Yard of Cambridgeshire, January
January 4, 2026 at 10:59 PM
One Square Yard of Cambridgeshire, January
What exactly is happening in this picture
“Virtue not descent is the characteristic of nobility” Jacob Hoefnagel, 1634 (British Museum)
January 4, 2026 at 11:47 PM
What exactly is happening in this picture
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
The wolf moon shining through the the fully clouded sky. Jupiter was nearby.
January 4, 2026 at 1:12 PM
The wolf moon shining through the the fully clouded sky. Jupiter was nearby.
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Still Life with Books, Sheet Music, Violin, Celestial Globe and an Owl,
Jacob van Campen, 1645 - 1650 (Rijksmuseum)
Jacob van Campen, 1645 - 1650 (Rijksmuseum)
January 4, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Still Life with Books, Sheet Music, Violin, Celestial Globe and an Owl,
Jacob van Campen, 1645 - 1650 (Rijksmuseum)
Jacob van Campen, 1645 - 1650 (Rijksmuseum)
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
Wallace Stevens, Harmonium
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
Wallace Stevens, Harmonium
January 3, 2026 at 11:19 AM
For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
Wallace Stevens, Harmonium
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
Wallace Stevens, Harmonium
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
A New Year’s greeting from the collection!
Wishing you all a thoughtful and hopeful start to the year ahead.
🖼 Gift Cards for the New Year by W.Place Dickes, 1874
#BritishLibrary #Library #Collection #HappyNewYear
Wishing you all a thoughtful and hopeful start to the year ahead.
🖼 Gift Cards for the New Year by W.Place Dickes, 1874
#BritishLibrary #Library #Collection #HappyNewYear
January 1, 2026 at 10:23 AM
A New Year’s greeting from the collection!
Wishing you all a thoughtful and hopeful start to the year ahead.
🖼 Gift Cards for the New Year by W.Place Dickes, 1874
#BritishLibrary #Library #Collection #HappyNewYear
Wishing you all a thoughtful and hopeful start to the year ahead.
🖼 Gift Cards for the New Year by W.Place Dickes, 1874
#BritishLibrary #Library #Collection #HappyNewYear
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
me: how do you stay looking so young?
dorian gray: *shifts uncomfortably* essential oils
dorian gray: *shifts uncomfortably* essential oils
January 4, 2026 at 2:46 PM
me: how do you stay looking so young?
dorian gray: *shifts uncomfortably* essential oils
dorian gray: *shifts uncomfortably* essential oils
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Lawrence Sterne Stevens, American (1884-1960), "They are coming through the air and traveling along the ground," said Cecy, in her sleeping, illustration for The Homecoming by Ray Bradbury for Famous Fantastic Mysteries magazine, December, 1952, ink on paper
January 4, 2026 at 4:26 PM
Lawrence Sterne Stevens, American (1884-1960), "They are coming through the air and traveling along the ground," said Cecy, in her sleeping, illustration for The Homecoming by Ray Bradbury for Famous Fantastic Mysteries magazine, December, 1952, ink on paper
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“…To carve out dials quaintly, point by point,
Thereby to see the minutes how they run:
How many make the hour full complete,
How many hours brings about the day,
How many days will finish up the year,
How many years a mortal man may live.”
(King Henry VI, 3)
🎨 Ayami Kojima
#Shakespearesunday
Thereby to see the minutes how they run:
How many make the hour full complete,
How many hours brings about the day,
How many days will finish up the year,
How many years a mortal man may live.”
(King Henry VI, 3)
🎨 Ayami Kojima
#Shakespearesunday
January 4, 2026 at 2:01 PM
“…To carve out dials quaintly, point by point,
Thereby to see the minutes how they run:
How many make the hour full complete,
How many hours brings about the day,
How many days will finish up the year,
How many years a mortal man may live.”
(King Henry VI, 3)
🎨 Ayami Kojima
#Shakespearesunday
Thereby to see the minutes how they run:
How many make the hour full complete,
How many hours brings about the day,
How many days will finish up the year,
How many years a mortal man may live.”
(King Henry VI, 3)
🎨 Ayami Kojima
#Shakespearesunday
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
"How do you know but every bird
That cuts the airy way
Is an immense world of delight
Closed by your senses five?"
- William Blake, 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'
(Picture is the title page from the 1790 edition)
#BookWormSat #WilliamBlake
That cuts the airy way
Is an immense world of delight
Closed by your senses five?"
- William Blake, 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'
(Picture is the title page from the 1790 edition)
#BookWormSat #WilliamBlake
January 3, 2026 at 11:50 AM
"How do you know but every bird
That cuts the airy way
Is an immense world of delight
Closed by your senses five?"
- William Blake, 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'
(Picture is the title page from the 1790 edition)
#BookWormSat #WilliamBlake
That cuts the airy way
Is an immense world of delight
Closed by your senses five?"
- William Blake, 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'
(Picture is the title page from the 1790 edition)
#BookWormSat #WilliamBlake
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
A moonlit snowy backlane in mid Wales this morning ❄️❄️
January 3, 2026 at 8:03 AM
A moonlit snowy backlane in mid Wales this morning ❄️❄️
Reposted by Ruins of Despair
Orange moon this morning.
January 2, 2026 at 8:22 AM
Orange moon this morning.