Embracing the Darkness Understanding Dark Subcultures: A Decade of Darkness

by Corvis Nocturnum, Adrienne Gomez, John Coughlin

Author E.R. Vernor, best known as Corvis Nocturnum brings you the ten year anniversary expanded edition of his original expose. The writer reflects on what has changed and stayed the same, with even more insights, interviews and photos never seen before. The author brings you an unprecedented collection of Satanists, vampires, modern primitives, dark pagans, and Gothic artists, all speaking to you in their own words. These are people who have taken something most others find frightening or destructive, and woven it into amazing acts of creativity and spiritual vision. Corvis himself is a dark artist and visionary, and so it is with the eye of a kindred spirit that he has sought these people out to share their stories with you.

Genres: Nonfiction

324 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2005

About the author

Pseudonym of E.R. Vernor

Reviews

[MKF · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful, insightful look at dark cultures and subcultures. It was fascinating to learn so much about each group and their ideals and beliefs. I found the dark spirituality the most interesting because honestly I never knew how much more there was to Paganism. Also included are Satanist, vampires, Goth, and those who are into fetish.

[Venus Satanas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really spoke to my heart! Embracing the Darkness was an enjoyable read. I could relate to so much of what was spoken of in this book. From the goth subcultures, to witchcraft and Satanism. It was nice to hear personal stories from the people that were interviewed. The book illustrations are gorgeous as well.

Embracing the Darkness is the kind of book that lets you get a peek into the world of subcultures that are often misunderstood. You can read my full review of this excellent book at my Left Hand Path Books Blog. The darkside needs more authors like Corvus Nocturnum who are willing to put in overtime to produce books like this. I got the tenth anniversary edition signed by the author. This book is a treasure to own!

[Kelvin Frazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an updated version of Corvis Nocturnum’s (Eric Vernor) “Embracing The Darkness” (2015 Edition): 10th Anniversary Edition. It does interview individuals from the Goth, Witchcraft, Vampyre Subculture, BDSM, and Satanism. The book discusses the true factors of every subculture and the stereotypes about “Darkness” being “Evil.” I enjoyed this book the second time around; even though, I read the first edition. Darkness is a part of you, yet some individuals dismiss it. Deep down, I embraced my Darkness for many years since I was 9. I do realize that as I walking the Left Hand Path, embracing your Darkness is a part of the deal.
In conclusion, People found beautiful things in the Darkness, and use it for their Creativity, whatever art form you choose. Darkness awaits.

So it is Done.

[Steve Cran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just got through reading “Embracing the Darkness” by Corvis Nocuturnum. Got it as a digital loan from Amazon. Suffice to say this is one book I will heartily recommend with no reservations although there is some room for improvement. The book serves as a guide and explanation of the various dark cultures and it explains them in good depth by use of historical explanation and interviews. The book is a real eye opener for white lighters or someone totally unfamiliar with the various scenes.ie Wiccans and Christians.
For someone like me who has read up quite a bit on dark cultures there is nothing new here or not much but that should not detract from the books value. As it does turn you on to some great new reading material, organizations and recorded music. I only wish I could go more in depth with this book. The kindle edition does suffer rather greatly in some areas from poor editing. They should brush up on that.

Dark cultures are often times misunderstood. People dressing in black with multiple piecing and being into vampires and magic is rather a turn off for most and that is because they do not understand the dark cultures. Life is filled with pain more so for some than others. To strengthen ourselves we must not deny our shadow self but embrace it to make ourselves whole. The diffent sub cultures do not fit into tiny little boxes but rather they over lap. A Goth is not just a goth but could be a Satanist and a vampire at the same time.

The first culture to be discussed is Goth or Gothic. The author seems to feel that most people who dress in black are poseurs who into it just to be chic. No less I remember Goth coming out in the 80’s and being a heavy metaller myself did not pay them too much mind. These people tended to be quiet and melancholy realizing that life was not all fun and games. That was ok. There were two types of Goths . The Apollonian Goths tended to be more quiet and withdrawn gravitating towards creativity. Apollo was the god of poetry. Dionysian Goths were the wild party types. The movement sort of faded out and has recently resurfaced. The old schoolers do look upon the newbies with a measure of disdain but the internet could help bridge that gap.

The next area he dives into is dark pagan. Those Pagans who like to work at night with darker and more Cthonic deities. Some Ceremonial Magicians definitely fall into this and even fewer Wiccans. Goddesses like Hecate, Erkigal and other dark goddess form are worked with as are gods like Hades and Loki. There is an interview with an follower of Asatru or those who follow the Norse way. The Norse path is often frowned upon by a false notion of being associated with the Nazis. The curse of anything being Germanic. Asatru followers are a warrior path that believe in living with strength and honor. One of my favorites Konstantinos and John Coughlin are mentioned and quoted as sources but missing are the likes of Raven Digitalis and Edred Thorrson …Oh come on.

The next subset is Vampyre. Some Vampyres do like to drink blood and they are Sanguinarian Vampyres, but most tend to feed off of people’s extra psychic energy. Temple of the Vamire is interviews along with Michelle Belanger and Father Sebastian. I have read the works of Father Sebastian and Michelle Belanger both of whom disdain blood drinking and believe in energy consumption. Michelle is into straight up energy work wile Father Sebastian is a fang smith who like high ritual. Temple of the Vampire does believe in elitism and their ideology borrows heavily from Anton La Vey’s Church of Satan.

Which leads to the next subset. Satanism. No this is not devil worship where babies and animals are slaughtered on an altar. That is a false notion. Anton La Vey found the church of Satan and as followers of the Left Hand Path they are into deifying the self and not giving their power away to other deities. They believe that a certain class of higher evolved individuals will bee drawn to their ideology. With a disdain for weakness they frown upon begging for charity and giving t the undeserving. People want to enjoy things then they must earn it.

BDSM and Dark metal are covered next. Tying someone up and spanking them is viewed by many as a form of violence. In fact quite the opposite it is performed with consenting adults as a form of play and therapy. Safe words are installed to stop things from going too far. Black Metal or Death metal with heavy guitar riffs and dark lyrics is another dark culture. Starting out in Scandinavian countries it is associated with Church Burnings.The band members of varying bands have connections to Asatru, Satanism and Vampirism.

The Last area covered are the groups that help victims of abuse. There are several and people in dark cultures do need organization to help them with drug addiction, drug abuse and child abuse and they need it from a non judgemental indivividual who understands their background.

Definitely want to read more of this author’s works and I hope he comes out with more in depth material. I will read

[Darren Hinde · Rating 2 out of 5]

Corvis Nocturnum is a prolific author, whose work tends towards topics such as the occult, gothic/horror fiction and alternative subcultures. He is also a Reverend of the Church of Satan. In this book, Nocturnum discusses five specific ‘dark’ subcultures: Goth subculture, Neo-Paganism, Vampirism, Satanism, and BDSM. There is also a chapter on the styles of music associated with these subcultures, and a concluding piece advertising alternative community outreach organizations.

The most immediately obvious issue with this book is that it is rather poorly written. Mistakes in spelling, grammar and sentence structure abound. Combined with the sometimes preachy, self-important tone that the writer chooses to employ, this makes the book a very irritating read at times.

The most important issue here however is the author’s lack of partiality on his subject. This is especially noticeable in the chapter about Satanism. For example, much of what Church of Satan founder Anton Lavey told the media and his followers about himself has been refuted, yet Nocturnum recites the official Lavey/Church of Satan account as if it were a series of indisputable facts. After trumpeting Church of Satan tenets in a triumphalist manner, he then proceeds on a hateful tirade against other ‘Satanic’ organizations, most notably the newer, more politically active Satanic Temple. This is very hypocritical coming from an author who otherwise preaches tolerance towards those with alternative ideas.

The chapter on the ‘living Vampire’ subculture is also irksome. Outside of the realm of fiction, there is no such thing as a ‘living vampire’ and there is certainly no such thing as a need for people to consume blood or ‘psychic energy’, whatever that means. Those who would claim otherwise are either delusional or have some sort of manipulative agenda. The author not only gives such people a platform, but also seems intent on lending credence to their positions, and this makes it hard for me to take him seriously as a commentator.

One thing I do appreciate about this book is that there is indeed a lot of interesting information presented (the commentary on the history of gothic art and architecture comes to mind). Nocturnum covers a variety of unique historical figures, organizations, artists and musicians etc. and I found myself making notes of these things for the purpose of further research. I also find it commendable that he closes the book by giving a voice to those working to curtail domestic violence, drug abuse, and other social problems within their alternative communities.

However, the book as a whole feels like a long advertisement for various subcultures (and particular individuals within them) rather than a genuine attempt to ‘understand’ these subcultures. There seems to be a scarcity of literature on the topic of counterculture, particularly its darker aspects which are covered in ‘Dark Subcultures’. As such, I would recommend this book only if one must satisfy their thirst for knowledge of a topic that is not often covered, and even then only as a potential gateway for further independent investigation.

[Fiona Tate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I enjoyed this book, I don't really have anything of its type to compare it to. I did find it a little preachy, as it was obvious what the author's views were. Yes, I know I'm arguing with myself. I guess I enjoyed the insight into other sub-cultures, particularly Vampires but during some of it, I felt I was being instructed on why I should become involved in Satanism. Which is an even more interesting topic in itself