The Art of Gothic Living: Dark Decor for the Modern Macabre

by Paul Gambino

From a spirit-haunted church in Western Ohio to an ancient Italian castle, from a freakish funhouse on the Jersey shore to a Connecticut cottage with a storybook façade that belies its spine-tingling this collection of aspirational interiors will appeal to anyone who wishes to live in the luxury of Gothic darkness without sacrificing even an ounce of style. The Art of Gothic Living profiles 15 homes and their owners, chronicling their journeys to creating living spaces that reflect a philosophy steeped in the tenets of Gothic subculture--individuality, creativity, and a fascination with life's shadow side. The ways in which this manifests in bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and living rooms is as diverse as the homeowners in author Paul Gambino's intriguing book. How does one showcase a collection of medical models and religious iconography in a way that emphasizes its beauty (and allows space for entertaining)? How can a homeowner make the ghosts that linger in the halls a feature, not a bug? This engaging, beautifully designed treasure trove of dark delights answers plenty of the most practical questions while inspiring readers to new heights of decorative expression as they envision a Gothic home for themselves, wherever they may reside. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, Gothic, Photography, Dark, Design

224 pages, Hardcover

Published August 20, 2024

About the author

Paul’s first book, SCRAP CITY: SCRAPBOOKING FOR SUBURBAN DIVAS AND SMALL TOWN REBELS (SOHO Publishing, 2006), was a semi-finalist for the Independent Publisher Book award in the Hobby/Crafts category and was touted as giving the craft of scrapbooking a youthful, cutting-edge makeover.
Paul has been an avid collector of the bizarre for over 20-years with an extensive collection of Victorian memorial photographs, antique funeria, mug shots and vintage religious items (including a life sized St. Sebastian and Virgin Mary salvaged from a 19th century church in Pennsylvania). The past two decades of serious collecting has allowed Paul to gain the trust of some of the world’s largest macabre collectors. These relationships have allowed Paul to have his second book published, MORBID CURIOSITIES: COLLECTIONS OF THE UNCOMMON AND THE BIZARRE. Amazon sums the book up like this; Morbid Curiosities is an insight into the strange world of collectors of the macabre. Centered on 18 collections, with extensive interviews with each collector and specially shot imagery detailing their objects, this is a fascinating showcase of bizarre and intriguing objects.
Included are collections of skulls, mummified body parts, occult objects, and various carnival, sideshow and criminal ephemera. Detailed captions tell the curious stories behind each object, many of which are being shown outside the private world of their collections for the first time.
Included are collections of skulls, mummified body parts, occult objects, and various carnival, side-show and criminal ephemera. Detailed captions tell the curious stories behind each object, many of which are being shown outside the private world of their collections for the first time.

Reviews

[Spudpuppy]

A lot of this was cool but the actual human bones soured it for me so bad. Call me a normie idgaf but pictures of rich edgy white people who own the (almost certainly) stolen bodies of what are likely people of color and/or the poor is fucking gross. And I think promoting that as an aspirational thing SUCKS. 🤷‍♀️

[Teo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Should’ve been called ‘The Art of Taxidermy and Human Skulls Living’ instead. Only about one or two houses in here did not feature those things. Aside from said items, quite a few also feature ethnic objects from other countries that have absolutely nothing to do with the house owners. All that in combination had the ethical side of me rolling my eyes nearly every page, and had me mentally tired seeing so much of the same thing. Now seeing the author’s other books and the reviews for them, it seems it’s a common trend. Wish I had looked at that earlier.

Aside from that, the pictures are very nice, and the houses themselves, albeit the objects mentioned above. It’s just kind of odd to me that there genuinely wasn’t more variety outside the ‘oddities’ of human skulls and a bajillion taxidermied hunted non-human animals.

[MKF]

I use to love these books but now I can't stop thinking that certain items should be in a museum not some rich person's home. Then I can't help think that if there's a fire these items that belong in a museum will be gone forever except for photos. It's not all sadness because I usually end up laughing at the people who talk about decorating on a budget. It's easy to say that when you can spend a small fortune on antiques and decorations but for many it's unrealistic. I'm guessing the majority of us have badly made plastic skeletons from the Halloween section since real ones are too expensive. That's why these books should be shelved under fantasy but they're fun to look through and dream about.

[Amanda Sheff · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Leslie Carnahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

an absolutely GORGEOUS book filled to the brim of peoples curated collections of oddities and other gothic decor. Fabulous.

[Amy Kartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect to like the writing as much as I did. The book was worth it for the many photos alone, but I ended up reading it cover to cover. Nice to see so many people lovingly taking care of and appreciating art and history so much that it becomes intrinsic to their lives. Some readers may find the subject matter off putting, and that’s fair I suppose, but then I find “all beige all the time” homes disturbing myself. Importantly, I did feel that ethics have been fairly considered by everyone participating in this book.

[Taylor Mansheim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish Goodreads had a ‘did not finish’ option or I would have returned this book about half way through.

Don’t get me wrong—the effect of the houses were cool. The owners were thorough and educated. Some of the rooms were even beautiful. The thing that put me off was just how many of them had real human remains. Maybe I’m not counter culture enough for this book, but it felt disrespectful to have these skeletons, some of them fetal or children’s skeletons. It’s very likely these skeletons or remains were preserved without consent, or even stolen from the families of the deceased. I don’t think it’s right to own such a thing. For me, even using deceased animals that have been taxidermied as part of your gothic decoration feels strange. They were living beings, not a casual toy.

[Rowan's Bookshelf (Carleigh) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cool collection of collections - gothic interiors of homes with very meticulous designs and showcasing of their collections were my favorite. I didn't love the homes that just have stuff scattered around without any reason to it, looking like a very messy, gross collection rather than years of work on display. But I loved looking at all the different set up, architecture, and interesting stories about each house, with detailed and fun image descriptions

[Kayla Zabcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I myself am no lover of minimalism - and I do adore a good cabinet of curiosity - I can't imagine happily living in any of these incredibly busy homes. Nonetheless, I am glad these private repositories exist and are stewarded by such passionate lovers of history. While I wouldn't want to live in one, I'd sure love to visit them!

[H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I clearly don't enjoy skulls enough to make much use of this, but all the homes were interesting and pieced together with enthusiasm -- though perhaps a bit fire-trappy. My favorite was the 'Gothic Galleon'.

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

a lovely collection of curious places.

[Kelly Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reaffirms my belief that I shall never be goth enough. An interesting peak into some gorgeous goth homes; fun twist on the old home show genre.

[Diana Cramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really, just for fun, but I guess part of me is a secret goth girl cause I really dug it!

[Martha Rogerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is an excellent quality to Paul Gambino's book, photographs, and art. Ouija boards, though?
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