Welcome to Gothic Flamingo

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.”