Graveyards + Horror = New Me?
My newfound appreciation for gothic novels (Mona Awad!!), graveyards and crows 🌹⚰️
This is what I’ve been thinking about lately.
Graveyards = ideal hang?
This item deserves its own essay. Consider this a prelude. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been spending more and more time in my local graveyard. I’ve never been the graveyard-dwelling type, although I do wear a lot of black and think about death often. I don’t enjoy spooky things like true crime and I’m afraid of the night… just ask my husband who has to deal with my bedtime antics on a daily basis. But fate (searching for coffee) took me to London’s Brompton Cemetery and I’ve become a loyal visitor since. As I walked through the valley of the–I mean as I walked down the main footpath for the first time, I was mesmerized by all the crows perched on hundred-year-old tombstones. They were majestic and beautiful with their glossy black feathers. It was also foggy and raining, which was dramatic and therefore appealing.
Crows and ravens get such a bad rap. They’re associated with bad omens and death, but they’re extremely intelligent creatures who hold grudges and who’ll never forget a face. How can they be a bad omen? They sound fantastic. Maybe I should watch Hitchcock’s The Birds.
I like this cemetery because it’s calm, but not quiet. It is also home to magpies, parrots, pigeons, squirrels, bees and slugs. Many Londoners frequent this graveyard. I’ve seen people walk their dogs, run (for pleasure, not from ghosts), ride their bikes, push their sleeping babies around in designer strollers. It is not considered strange to hang there, especially since there’s a café where you can admire the endless rows of ivy-covered tombstones while sipping your morning flat white. It’s October and I’m into it.
Look I even recorded a graveyard crow for you:
Dark/gothic/magical realism/fairy tale/horror = ideal novel genre?
Hand me an essay collection or a memoir, and I will read it in 48 hours. Give me a novel, but don’t ask me about it for at least six months. I haven’t finished it yet. For someone who is allegedly writing a novel, I don’t read many novels to begin with and that’s a red flag. I don’t consider myself “well read,” as in I’ve never read the classics. I don’t have an English Lit degree or an MFA. Whenever I’m taking a writing workshop and we have to share what “we’re reading right now,” I panic. Ummm… Harry Potter? Not only do I forget fiction author names and titles, but I freeze and can’t remember what the novel is about in the first place. All I remember is whether I like it or not. Most of the time, I’m ambivalent.
This fiction-avoidant behaviour has generated imposter syndrome feelings vis-à-vis my attempt at novel writing. How can I possibly build an entire world and characters in sixty-thousand words (not a word more!) when all I do is read essays and watch TV? They’re the best. Why would I ever do anything else? And then I realized... Maybe I haven’t found my preferred fiction genre yet.
A couple of weeks ago I was listening to a Montreal-based literary podcast called Weird Era. The host was interviewing Canadian novelist (and fellow Montreal native) Mona Awad about her new novel, Rouge. It was such an interesting conversation about Awad’s obsessions, which she turned into a gothic fairy tale about the obsession with youth and beauty. The novel hadn’t been published yet, but I made a mental note to pick up a copy when it became available. Until then, I figured I could read her other work. I bought a copy of Bunny, Awad’s previous novel, and finished it within a week. That’s record time for me. I couldn’t get enough of her satire-filled horror novel about an MFA student joining a clique of cool girls who make bunnies’ heads explode. It was such a breath of fresh air… And then I remembered the last time I’d been obsessed with a novel was summer 2022 when I was in bed with Covid for a week. When my fever finally broke and was able to keep my eyes open, I devoured Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder. It’s a magical realism/horror story about a stay-at-home mom who resents abandoning her art and herself to motherhood, so she transforms into a dog. It was trippy and terrifying and I loved it.
I picked up a copy of Rouge and I can’t wait to dive in. I haven’t had the chance yet because we moved into our new apartment two weeks ago and it’s been a lot. Sir Patrick Stewart’s memoir, Making It So, was published this week, so I’m definitely going to dive into that too. Ugh! So many things to read, so little time!
All this to say, nonfiction will always be my heart and soul, but I may be starting a new love affair.
P.S. You can listen to Mona Awad’s Weird Era interview here:
Care to share what you’re reading right now? Do you have any gothic, dark comedies to recommend? I promise this isn’t a writing workshop. You can totally answer Harry Potter.
Dear Michelle : this is my second attempt at leaving a comment! I am starting to feel spooked out! I went to check the spelling of a word online and, when I returned to Obsessed, my comment had vanished.
Here we go again: Allô or booooohh Michelle !
I am not a fan of horror or dark fantasy. Can you believe that reading Nancy Drew novels when I was twelve gave me shivers?! I would probably have the same reaction, decades later.
Presently, I am enjoying following the TV series "Miss Scarlet and the Duke". It is certainly not horror but a mystery/detective story taking place in Victorian London. There was an episode taking place in a cemetery not too long ago. Perhaps that it was "your" new cemetery Michelle?! (By the way, Duke's character played by Stuart Martin is from Glasgow. You might want to check that out!)
Back to your essay: I have chosen to comment on crows.
Did you know that crows can count? They have proficient numeracy skills, along with language or communication skills. Crows are able to communicate with fellow crows. They live in well-organized, large, close-knit families. They can also be devoted pets or companions to humans. Crows rule!!
Thank you for coming to their defense Michelle.
Ah oui, have you ever visited the "Père-Lachaise" cemetery in Paris? I would love to do so. I have "enjoyed" walking on the "Notre-Dame-des-Neiges" cemetery grounds in Montreal decades ago. There were beautiful tombstones, sunlit paths, mature trees, wildflowers in an open field (at least in the eighties and nineties) and, ... guardian crows.
Michelle, I would need to go back to your essay in order to find the right closing remark. However, I'm afraid that my comment will disappear again!
Happy scary reading my dear!
ALSO - love your integration of sounds in your articles - i hate graveyard cuz i dont know them but its fun to know elsewhere people integrate them in their daily lives !!