I'm reading Vera Caspary's LAURA. I am (as is fairly usual) fascinated by the grotesque, romantic idea of The Beautiful Corpse. #MorbidMarch

I had to research shifting burial/cremation practices across Bronze Age Britain recently for a novel in the final stages of drafting. Quite fascinating. #MorbidMarch

In Jamaican folklore when a child lost one of their teeth, the rolling calf would come rattling chains to take the tooth AND the child away! But the clever child would put their tooth into a tin can and shake it. The noise would keep the rolling calf away... #MorbidMarch 🎨Picasso

#morbidMarch #day24 #teeth Jars up on jars of them filled the shelves. Every colour, condition, crack, chip, filling you could think of. There were 20 examples of it. Teeth would be perfect for a spell, something to make the original owner talk. Maybe say what happened to them. Or something worse

The stages of death, for a vampire noir with a murder at the heart of it. #MorbidMarch

#MorbidMarch Vampire hunting. What were the things done to people both living and dead, and how would they "make sure" someone would no longer be a threat. (Hence, sharing the staked femur a little bit ago ;) )

#MorbidMarch It's a curious little box, no one knows where it came from. I found it when cleaning one day; it must have been left by the previous owners. At least, that's what I thought, until last night I woke up with a molar missing. The box was next to me, a bloody molar at the top of the pile.

Today's #MorbidMarch chat questions are up!

“Hatred” for #MorbidMarch From UNWELCOME HOSTS, my novella about a 40-something lesbian and her elderly cat in an inherited apartment, fully furnished with homophobic ghosts.

Day 24 of #MorbidMarch! Prompt: TEETH Use #MorbidMarch to share and boost art, writing, reading recs, music, folklore, history, science, etc. Whatever the prompt inspires, whether it's creative work or something to stoke morbid imaginings. Please use alt text on images. No A.I.

#MorbidMarch Last year, I read The Black Hunger by Nicholas Pullen The main antagonizing conflict involved a Buddhist cannibal death cult whose inner workings were set in motion and being carried out for centuries. The MC was caught up in it, with him and his lover being used as unlucky pawns.

#MorbidMarch I actually have the answer to this prompt within one of my stories! The MC Elias and his abusive ex, Obadiah, absolutely hate each other. Obadiah hates Elias bc their faiths diametrically oppose each other. Elias hates Obadiah for his cruelty and his cold apathy towards their son.

Catching up, sorry I fell behind, #MorbidMarch ! The word blanched always make me think of bones. This is a sketch for a tarot deck I never finished; it was called The Good Bones deck, and it had a motif of growth and decay. I'd like to revisit this concept some day. #sketch #digitalart

#MorbidMarch Cauls were traditionally considered a sign of greatness!

#MorbidMarch How about a snippet from Lemon Balm? (This one was published Oct. 2025)

#MorbidMarch My most recent morbid read that I actually finished is probably What Feasts At Night by T. Kingfisher. The idea of a sad corpse slowly stealing your breath is both macabre and romantic in a Gothic sort of way.

#MorbidMarch Ooh, let me talk about #TFTNG! Acanthus hates François because of the emotional whiplash he's caused. François is involved in nearly every one of their pain points. François hates Acanthus because he thinks they never loved him, and they keep hurting him (whether they know or not.)

Sweet basil in Italy was the flower of lovers while in ancient Greece it was an herb of hatred... #MorbidMarch 🎨Isabella and the Pot of Basil - John White Alexander

It was an odd place for a bride. The nightshift guard squinted at the screen—and hustled down to the factory floor, shining his flashlight at the #veiled figure as he called a warning— Her bouquet fell to the floor. The veil fluttered away. A skull grinned at him— #MorbidMarch

#morbidMarch #day23 #fueledByHatred I don't think I've ever hated one family as much as I hate the Jones', I can't describe to you why either. It's as though the smell or sight or sound of one of them is enough to light a fire beneath the pot, boiling up all that was good until there's nothing left

Born with a #caul, the child was thought to be blessed. Only Grandmother declared “that thing” the devil’s kin. She was found clutching her heart, while the babe slept in his crib. A bottle nearby, untouched—poisoned. Scorch marks and cloven hoofprints on the floor… #MorbidMarch

I think they’re all liars, putting on a show for the cameras. They sleep too well. Last summer, there was one girl at the hotel—dark circles under her eyes. Spoke of a woman singing a lullaby, all through the night. Her parents wouldn’t listen. I did. It’s always the children who know. #MorbidMarch

The fourth and final weekly chat for #MorbidMarch begins today Two questions added to the thread daily, Monday-Friday. Thread linked to the pinned post. You can respond any time during the week, just be sure to tag #MorbidMarch. This week's theme is Show & Tell (1/12)

Brothers Grimm, "The Devil With Three Golden Hairs" When a poor woman has a son born with a caul, prophecy says he will have good fortune in all he does and marry the king's daughter. The king tries to get rid of the baby to prevent this, but the boy is found by a miller and his wife. #MorbidMarch

Day 23 of #MorbidMarch! Prompt: HATRED Use #MorbidMarch to share and boost art, writing, reading recs, music, folklore, history, science, etc. Whatever the prompt inspires, whether it's creative work or something to stoke morbid imaginings. Please use alt text on images. No A.I.

#morbidMarch #day22 #caul Tell me something special about you, Susanna? "I was born in the caul. That's what grandpa Jones said." Ooh, that is special indeed. And where is the caul now? "It's kept safe." Is it true those born in the caul can't drown? I glanced at the water bute, big enough.

Cauls (pieces of the birth membrane) were rare and highly prized by mariners who bought them for quite high prices. They were believed to protect the owner from drowning... 🎨Alma-Tadema #MorbidMarch

Day 22 of #MorbidMarch! Prompt: CAUL Use #MorbidMarch to share and boost art, writing, reading recs, music, folklore, history, science, etc. Whatever the prompt inspires, whether it's creative work or something to stoke morbid imaginings. Please use alt text on images. No A.I.

#MorbidMarch "Father..." The priest stopped dead in his tracks. It was after hours, midnight. But someone-*something*-was waiting in the confessional. The #rasping voice piped up again, gravelly, malevolence in its tone. "Bless me, for I have sinned, Father." He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

#MorbidMarch #day20 #raspingVoice The voice was carried through the tall grass. It made it sound dry, baked like wheat under the mid day sun. The voice was dragged through the woods. It made it sound scraping, scratching, chords grinding against the bark. The voice was mine. But I did not speak.

#morbidMarch #day21 #lostParts I decided to do a Frankenstein. I had to find Steve and put him back together again. They say anything resurrected is dark and unnatural, but Steve already was a full blown psycho killer. I had almost all of him now. Except for 1. Susanna said she made a wish on it.

In Scottish lore, the Bean-nighe (Fairy Woman) was found in all the lonely places washing the linen of those about to die. If a person caught her unawares, she would tell them all what would happen after life. But if she saw them first, they lost the power of their limbs... 🎨Brian Froud #MorbidMarch

She didn't expect to escape. She only thought she might be able to stall for more time lost in the woods than in the house. But she stepped through the doorway to find herself inside looking out again. She wondered then, were the trees really there at all? And if they weren't, what was? #MorbidMarch

Day 21 of #MorbidMarch! Prompt: LOST Use #MorbidMarch to share and boost art, writing, reading recs, music, folklore, history, science, etc. Whatever the prompt inspires, whether it's creative work or something to stoke morbid imaginings. Please use alt text on images. No A.I.

The Lady of Shalott (1888) by John William Waterhouse The look on her face just gets to me. #MorbidMarch

A Ghost With Rasping Voice Just Won't Leave Cemetery "Reports poured in to police headquarters of the eerie, rasping, scary "voice" that jeered at law-abiding Oak Parkers from the darkest corners..." — from The Deseret News, December 2nd, 1938 #MorbidMarch #PhantomsFriday

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro absolutely destroyed me.

#MorbidMarch In general? Probably where the character winds up isolated due to their own actions. It's a closure, but it's a sad closure.

#MorbidMarch Music. Play it as loud as I can, loud enough to drown out the persistent rasp.

#MorbidMarch The ending of Angels & Man by Rafael Nicolás absolutely DESTROYED me. No matter which character you rooted for, no one wins. No one is happy. Everything is awful. And it hurts so GOOD. I wish I could experience it the same way I did the first time. It was phenomenal.

The last two chat question for this week are up!

#MorbidMarch I had some extra time today so I made this snippet ~fancy~ with a drawing overlay. (Art is also mine) This snippet is from Aloe, the 2nd in the #TFTNG series! Hoping to release later this year.

In Italy & Spain on Mid Lent Sunday there was a Spring custom known as "Segare la vecchia" or sawing the old woman. Boys made an effigy of the oldest woman in the village which represented winter, then sawed it in half. The rasping sound of the saw was said to drive away evil spirits... #MorbidMarch

Day 20 of #MorbidMarch! Prompt: RASPING Use #MorbidMarch to share and boost art, writing, reading recs, music, folklore, history, science, etc. Whatever the prompt inspires, whether it's creative work or something to stoke morbid imaginings. Please use alt text on images. No A.I.

#MorbidMarch Judith Slaying Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi. I've always adored this painting, and there is a rumor that she based the man's face on someone who abused her. It's a picture that speaks of pain and retribution.

#MorbidMarch Development. More and more people overtaking the forests, in the name of progress. Good for the bones, bad for the earth.

Another sad song I have listened to for years is this musical rendition of 'The Highwayman' 'Hell at one dark window' www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcXf... #MorbidMarch

#MorbidMarch Tragic songs? I know lots…

The manor was filthy, top to bottom, save for her portrait: the canvas pristine, #gilt frame polished to a glow. It depicted a proper lady, more girl than woman, dressed uncomfortably in finery. Her eyes followed you, but that’s a common trick in paintings… #MorbidMarch (1/2)

#MorbidMarch Was it yesterday that I was talking about Macbeth? Either way, it's on my mind, so why not share a quote from the script that fits today's prompt perfectly.