I am a
lover of all things dark and mysterious. Always have been.
My
earliest memory of loving the macabre was the day my grandmother presented 4-year-old me
with what remains one of the greatest gifts I have ever received - a stuffed toy
vulture. From his beady eyes to his lifelike talons, from his black plumage to
his scaly throat, I thought he was absolutely marvellous. My mother, horrified,
promptly disposed of my new feathered friend, declaring him entirely
inappropriate for a little girl’s toy, but the seed had already been planted.
I
began to raid my grandmother’s bookshelves and devoured the delights I found
there. She indulged me, of course, thrilled as she was to see that her love for
all things death and darkness-related had been passed along. Together we
would read through her encyclopedias about the world’s deadliest serpents - this fascination with snakes and reptiles has stayed
with me. Her books about serial killers and the dark, tragic side of Hollywood were other favourites. From Poe to Cain, from Lugosi to Price, from Hitchcock to Tarantino, from Kubrick to Burton – she introduced me to them all.
Wherever you are now old girl, thank you.
And so now,
dear readers and fellow darklings, I present to you my alter-ego, Gothic
Flamingo, the corner of the internet dedicated to the celebration of all things
dark and birdy.
If you share my love for classic horror and
film noir, low-brow art, Gothic fiction, burlesque, taxidermy, tattoos, Gothabilly style, birds, bats and bearded
dragons, join me for a stroll through the underworld, where we shall marvel at
the magnificently macabre, relish the frighteningly fabulous, and revel in the
divine decadence of imagination. In the words of my beloved Tim Burton, “Every
day is Halloween, isn’t it? For some of us.”
