Coloseum & Skeletons ROME VLOG 1 +
Jul 21, 2018, 02:20pm
World of Weird: Stalin's Cannibal Island
Jul 20, 2018, 12:30am
It’s quite hard to say anything positive about Stalin. For the sake of balance I’m sat here trying to offer some sort of feel-good snippet like being really kind to kittens, but it’s just not working. He was simply a massive bastard who inflicted misery and horror on huge swathes of humanity with giddy abandon, pausing only to think up new ways of ruining our entire species’ day. Gulags, the Holodomor- they were all breathtakingly awful. When it came being horrible, he was right up there with the very worst.
Having said all that, and set the bar really incredibly low as a result, old Joe still managed to limbo under it with the Nazino Affair. Yes, even by Stalinist standards this was a particularly bad one.
Our story begins in 1933. By this point, nine years after he had succeeded Lenin, Joe Stalin had built up quite a collection of political prisoners alongside the usual genuine criminals. In fact, most of the “political” prisoners weren’t political at all- they had just fled famine in the west and been locked up at gunpoint for it. Probably tortured a bit too, just to really rub in the injustice of the situation. There they were, all these hundreds of thousands of people locked up and being a serious bloody inconvenience- what was he supposed to do with them?
Well, Stalin had a bit of a boner for Siberia. He was convinced that with a huge influx of manual labour Siberia could be turned into productive agricultural land that would feed and fuel Soviet growth. This really wasn’t a well-thought out plan, seeing as it ignored basic considerations like climate and fertility, but when you’re a murderous totalitarian dictator it’s amazing how slow people can be to point out that your plans are completely mental. So nobody tried stopping it.
As a result, many thousands of political prisoners were transported east to supply the necessary forced labour to carry out this deranged gardening experiment. In April 1933, some 25,000 arrived at the transit camp in the Siberian town of Tomsk, and immediately hit problems. The camp was incomplete and could contain only a fraction of the number that had turned up. Even when those running the camps considered things like food for the captives to be frivolous luxuries, it quickly became clear that the sheer quantity of arrivals was making absolutely every aspect of the plan unworkable. Fearing riots from the hungry prisoners, the local Party leaders started looking for secure areas that could be used as holding grounds
And on the edge of Siberia there was a promising little holding ground, in the form of Nazino Island- a swampy islet about 3 km long and 600 meters wide where the Nasina river meets the Ob. Being remote, and surrounded by nothing more than the harsh environment of the taiga, it was considered escape-proof- prisoners might get off the island, but their chances of surviving more than a few days were incredibly slim. In late spring of 1933, some 6000 already-starving prisoners were transported there, each provided with no more than a small bag of flour. No tools or fuel of any kind, just a bag of flour. As they had no means of cooking the flour, their only option was to drink it with river water, and within the first few days hundreds had died from dysentery. At first the guards maintained order through sheer, murderous brutality, but after a couple of weeks the situation got so far out of control that the prisoners were organising into gangs and fighting back, and the guards were forced into defensive positions by the starving survivors.
By this point, with food stores exhausted and no means of producing food on the island, cannibalism became the norm. This is where the story becomes really grim, because the prisoners didn't have access to blades or tools, beyond the local sticks or reeds. The most effective tool they possessed was their teeth, and eye-witness accounts from survivors tell of victims being literally eaten alive. As in “held down and being literally bitten and torn to death by human teeth.” In the early stages the guards were recorded as punishing over 50 prisoners for cannibalism, but toward the end it became a punishment itself. The guards would punish captured escapees by tying them to trees and allowing other prisoners to eat them alive.
The camp at Nazino was disbanded in June. Of the 6000 arrivals, 1500-2000 were confirmed as dead while a further 2000 were missing and presumed dead. Having spectacularly failed to supply labour for the great transformation of Siberia, the Nazino Affair finally killed off the large-scale relocation of urban populations within the Soviet Union. As Stalin was never terribly keen to admit that he’d made a cock-up, the events at Nazino were covered up until 1988, though by that time the locals had spent the last 50 years referring to the place by an understandable nickname- "Cannibal Island."
Having said all that, and set the bar really incredibly low as a result, old Joe still managed to limbo under it with the Nazino Affair. Yes, even by Stalinist standards this was a particularly bad one.
Our story begins in 1933. By this point, nine years after he had succeeded Lenin, Joe Stalin had built up quite a collection of political prisoners alongside the usual genuine criminals. In fact, most of the “political” prisoners weren’t political at all- they had just fled famine in the west and been locked up at gunpoint for it. Probably tortured a bit too, just to really rub in the injustice of the situation. There they were, all these hundreds of thousands of people locked up and being a serious bloody inconvenience- what was he supposed to do with them?
Well, Stalin had a bit of a boner for Siberia. He was convinced that with a huge influx of manual labour Siberia could be turned into productive agricultural land that would feed and fuel Soviet growth. This really wasn’t a well-thought out plan, seeing as it ignored basic considerations like climate and fertility, but when you’re a murderous totalitarian dictator it’s amazing how slow people can be to point out that your plans are completely mental. So nobody tried stopping it.
As a result, many thousands of political prisoners were transported east to supply the necessary forced labour to carry out this deranged gardening experiment. In April 1933, some 25,000 arrived at the transit camp in the Siberian town of Tomsk, and immediately hit problems. The camp was incomplete and could contain only a fraction of the number that had turned up. Even when those running the camps considered things like food for the captives to be frivolous luxuries, it quickly became clear that the sheer quantity of arrivals was making absolutely every aspect of the plan unworkable. Fearing riots from the hungry prisoners, the local Party leaders started looking for secure areas that could be used as holding grounds
And on the edge of Siberia there was a promising little holding ground, in the form of Nazino Island- a swampy islet about 3 km long and 600 meters wide where the Nasina river meets the Ob. Being remote, and surrounded by nothing more than the harsh environment of the taiga, it was considered escape-proof- prisoners might get off the island, but their chances of surviving more than a few days were incredibly slim. In late spring of 1933, some 6000 already-starving prisoners were transported there, each provided with no more than a small bag of flour. No tools or fuel of any kind, just a bag of flour. As they had no means of cooking the flour, their only option was to drink it with river water, and within the first few days hundreds had died from dysentery. At first the guards maintained order through sheer, murderous brutality, but after a couple of weeks the situation got so far out of control that the prisoners were organising into gangs and fighting back, and the guards were forced into defensive positions by the starving survivors.
By this point, with food stores exhausted and no means of producing food on the island, cannibalism became the norm. This is where the story becomes really grim, because the prisoners didn't have access to blades or tools, beyond the local sticks or reeds. The most effective tool they possessed was their teeth, and eye-witness accounts from survivors tell of victims being literally eaten alive. As in “held down and being literally bitten and torn to death by human teeth.” In the early stages the guards were recorded as punishing over 50 prisoners for cannibalism, but toward the end it became a punishment itself. The guards would punish captured escapees by tying them to trees and allowing other prisoners to eat them alive.
The camp at Nazino was disbanded in June. Of the 6000 arrivals, 1500-2000 were confirmed as dead while a further 2000 were missing and presumed dead. Having spectacularly failed to supply labour for the great transformation of Siberia, the Nazino Affair finally killed off the large-scale relocation of urban populations within the Soviet Union. As Stalin was never terribly keen to admit that he’d made a cock-up, the events at Nazino were covered up until 1988, though by that time the locals had spent the last 50 years referring to the place by an understandable nickname- "Cannibal Island."
5 Victorian Cemeteries to Visit in the U.S.
Jul 19, 2018, 06:40am
The Victorians loved their cemeteries. In fact, the Victorians essentially invented the idea of the cemetery that we have today. In earlier years, communities in Great Britain and America generally buried their dead in churchyards—literally, the small plot of land surrounding a church, usually in the middle of town. However, as populations increased and urban centers started to become overcrowded with the living, let alone the dead, a new idea was born: the rural cemetery. Based on the ideals of Romanticism, a rural cemetery (also called a garden cemetery) is a sprawling, landscaped burial ground, built to resemble a park and located on the outskirts of dense city centers. They tend to feature meandering paths, artful statuary, and plenty of trees and other greenery. During the Victorian era, they became popular sites for tourism and public recreation, in addition to their primary function of housing the dead. The rural cemetery movement spread simultaneously across England and America, but in this post I wanted to focus on 5 particularly gorgeous examples in the U.S.
1. Mount Auburn Cemetery (Massachusetts)
Mount Auburn was the very first American cemetery to follow this new model. It was built in 1831 and sits on the line between Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, just west of Boston. The cemetery features an imposing main gate built in the Egyptian Revival style, a Gothic chapel, and a beautiful garden with a fountain. Among Mount Auburn's more well-known permanent residents are the cemetery's designer Jacob Bigelow, the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth, the escaped slave and abolitionist Harriet Ann Jacob, and many of the prominent Boston Brahmins. Mount Auburn served as inspiration for many other cemeteries on both sides of the Atlantic throughout the following century.
2. Green-Wood Cemetery (New York)
Green-Wood was another early rural cemetery, having been built in 1838. It is located in Brooklyn, New York, and has served as a popular leisure destination (and ultimate destination) for many New Yorkers, since long before the city's other green spaces were constructed. At the main entrance to the cemetery are gorgeous Gothic Revival gates built by the prominent architect Richard Upjohn. The natural landscape consists of glacial ponds and rolling hills, full of wildlife and foliage. Popular destinations within the cemetery include the monuments for the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, as well as famous grave sites like those of the gangster "Boss" Tweed, the composer Leonard Bernstein, and the stained-glass designer Louis Comfort Tiffany. The winding paths and cultivated greenery of Green-Wood Cemetery served as inspiration for New York's Central Park, which was built a few decades later. Green-wood offers regular tours and hosts all sorts of special events from movie nights to battle reenactments.
3. Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum (Ohio)
Rural cemeteries were by no means limited to the east coast. Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located in Dayton, Ohio, and has been there since its establishment in 1841. Today it sits right next to the University of Dayton. The cemetery's chapel boasts a gorgeous example of an original Tiffany stained-glass window, and its mausoleum has a whole series of more modern stained glass depicting scenes from literature. The most popular graves are those of the famous aviators Orville and Wilbur Wright, as well as that of the humorist Erma Bombeck who chose to be interred beneath a giant boulder.
4. Hollywood Cemetery (Virginia)
This sprawling cemetery is located on the edge of Richmond, Virginia, overlooking the James River. Directly inspired by Mount Auburn, Hollywood Cemetery was built in 1849 and named for the holly trees that dotted the landscape. This site contains the graves of two U.S. presidents, James Monroe and John Tyler, as well as that of Jefferson Davis, leader of the Confederacy. Hollywood Cemetery is also home to the legend of the Richmond Vampire—local folklore holds that a member of the undead resides in the mausoleum labeled "W. W. Pool" and occasionally ventures out to haunt the surrounding area.
5. Woodlawn Cemetery (New York)
New York City really does have some of the country's best cemeteries. This one is located in the Bronx and was built in 1863, in the midst of the Civil War. It contains over 1,300 mausoleums located in distinctive circular lots with paths that spoke out to connect to the main walkways. The cemetery houses a number of the famous dead, including authors like Herman Melville and Countee Cullen, famous musicians like Miles Davis and Duke Ellington, and Nellie Bly the American journalist best known for her exposé on mental institutions. There's always something going on at Woodlawn Cemetery, whether it be tours, concerts, or even a summer camp for kids.
Have you ever visited a rural-style Victorian cemetery? Do you have a favorite that's not on this list? Let me know in the comments!
Written By:
TheGothicLibrarian
1. Mount Auburn Cemetery (Massachusetts)
Mount Auburn was the very first American cemetery to follow this new model. It was built in 1831 and sits on the line between Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, just west of Boston. The cemetery features an imposing main gate built in the Egyptian Revival style, a Gothic chapel, and a beautiful garden with a fountain. Among Mount Auburn's more well-known permanent residents are the cemetery's designer Jacob Bigelow, the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth, the escaped slave and abolitionist Harriet Ann Jacob, and many of the prominent Boston Brahmins. Mount Auburn served as inspiration for many other cemeteries on both sides of the Atlantic throughout the following century.
2. Green-Wood Cemetery (New York)
Green-Wood was another early rural cemetery, having been built in 1838. It is located in Brooklyn, New York, and has served as a popular leisure destination (and ultimate destination) for many New Yorkers, since long before the city's other green spaces were constructed. At the main entrance to the cemetery are gorgeous Gothic Revival gates built by the prominent architect Richard Upjohn. The natural landscape consists of glacial ponds and rolling hills, full of wildlife and foliage. Popular destinations within the cemetery include the monuments for the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, as well as famous grave sites like those of the gangster "Boss" Tweed, the composer Leonard Bernstein, and the stained-glass designer Louis Comfort Tiffany. The winding paths and cultivated greenery of Green-Wood Cemetery served as inspiration for New York's Central Park, which was built a few decades later. Green-wood offers regular tours and hosts all sorts of special events from movie nights to battle reenactments.
3. Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum (Ohio)
Rural cemeteries were by no means limited to the east coast. Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is located in Dayton, Ohio, and has been there since its establishment in 1841. Today it sits right next to the University of Dayton. The cemetery's chapel boasts a gorgeous example of an original Tiffany stained-glass window, and its mausoleum has a whole series of more modern stained glass depicting scenes from literature. The most popular graves are those of the famous aviators Orville and Wilbur Wright, as well as that of the humorist Erma Bombeck who chose to be interred beneath a giant boulder.
4. Hollywood Cemetery (Virginia)
This sprawling cemetery is located on the edge of Richmond, Virginia, overlooking the James River. Directly inspired by Mount Auburn, Hollywood Cemetery was built in 1849 and named for the holly trees that dotted the landscape. This site contains the graves of two U.S. presidents, James Monroe and John Tyler, as well as that of Jefferson Davis, leader of the Confederacy. Hollywood Cemetery is also home to the legend of the Richmond Vampire—local folklore holds that a member of the undead resides in the mausoleum labeled "W. W. Pool" and occasionally ventures out to haunt the surrounding area.
5. Woodlawn Cemetery (New York)
New York City really does have some of the country's best cemeteries. This one is located in the Bronx and was built in 1863, in the midst of the Civil War. It contains over 1,300 mausoleums located in distinctive circular lots with paths that spoke out to connect to the main walkways. The cemetery houses a number of the famous dead, including authors like Herman Melville and Countee Cullen, famous musicians like Miles Davis and Duke Ellington, and Nellie Bly the American journalist best known for her exposé on mental institutions. There's always something going on at Woodlawn Cemetery, whether it be tours, concerts, or even a summer camp for kids.
Have you ever visited a rural-style Victorian cemetery? Do you have a favorite that's not on this list? Let me know in the comments!
Written By:
TheGothicLibrarianInterview of doom part 1: A murder of crows
Jul 18, 2018, 11:13am
These are the colors for everyone in this interview!
(From Left to Right and Top to Bottom):
Sean Templar * Dave Bats * Martin Oldgoth * Patrick Cusack
Jenn Bats * Mandana Banshie Templar * Brigette Gothtart
Jet * Erik Aengel * Matt V Christ * dead_bettie
So, where did you guys all start Deejaying? What year was it?
And what made you want to start?
Martin OldGoth: 1985, the DJ in a club I went to quit and a few of us jumped in and took over, more for a laugh than anything else. And then it got serious....
And then I got addicted.
Sean Templar: I started at my radio station in college in 1992 we would sneak booze in there lock the doors and I would play a ton of Goth and industrial music for the campus, which hated me for it, but I didn’t start official spinning at clubs until 1999 at pyramid.
Dave Bats: I started "professionally" DJing in the mid 90's, to people. Id play in my house but shit didn't get real until RTB happened in 1998. Then it engulfed me even more. Been playing ever since clubs, parties, weddings, funerals, corporate parties. Really!
Patrick Cusack: I started DJing in at the Pyramid in 1992. I never really set out to do it, but I was going to a party called Troublemaker on 14th street at the old Mother space. I would bring the Dj the latest Goth records on Independent labels that many people weren’t aware of yet (Rosetta Stone, The Wake, Casual Sanity). The promoter saw that I was really informed about the Third Wave of Goth that was just beginning to emerge and asked me to Dj their new party called Stigmata. I thought I would last a few weeks and here I am 26 years later. I haven’t been without a residency somewhere in NYC since that first party. It’s remarkable how the scene just continues. Very few subcultures have that long of a shelf life.
Matt V Christ: Ok well I started just slightly later than these guys in 2007 lol. I went to school for audio production and graduated in 2005. My first job after graduation was for a small company that booked live music at local clubs. I missed working directly with the music though so I started DJing shortly after.
Erik Aengel: I started djing in 2000 at Albion/Batcave subbing for Patrick when he was out of town. Before that I worked as a club promoter at the Bank and Batcave here in NYC.
Sean Templar: Has Jet ever deejayed before? 
Matt V Christ: Good question, hmmm
Jet: One day I hope!!
Ah, in 99 I had some raver friends that were learning how to Dj on vinyl, I was the token goth kid. I couldn't find much industrial music on vinyl but I found a bunch of evil sounding hardcore techno so I started out with that. Then after a few months I got Dj CD players and started spinning industrial. At the time I was in school in Rochester, NY and they had a cool local goth club called vertex. I started a couple club nights which did not do so great but it was a lot of fun!
What band at Murder of Crows are you most excited to see?
Dave Bats: Last Cry foe sure! They played Release The Bats years ago and I've wanted more ever since!
Patrick Cusack: I shouldn’t play favorites, but I’m excited to see The Rope from Minneapolis. They just write really great songs. I’m also looking forward to New York's Bootblacks. The new record is flawless and their really cool people. Plus Panther can actually sing. None of those ridiculously deep vocals that the keep the scene constantly on the verge of parody.
Matt V Christ: I really enjoy Actors and I'm looking forward to seeing them. Also looking forward to Astari Nite since I worked with them once before and it will be good to see them again
Jenn Bats: Last Cry, but also I have recently been introduced to WAY OUT so looking forward to them as well. The whole weekend is full of pretty rad bands!
Brigette Gothtart: Apart from getting to see the last cry play NYC I'd say The Actors and The Rope. We saw The Rope at Sacrosanct festival last year and they were amazing.
Martin Oldgoth: The Last Cry for me too, I've wanted the East Cost to get a chance to see them for a long time, the sheer passion and emotion that they put into every song just reaches right inside you. I've lost count of the times they've had me close to tears! East coast as well!
Erik Aengel: I’m torn between Actors and Bootblacks. I’ve never seen actors live but the last
album has been on repeat for me for the last two months or so. Bootblacks I’ve seen plenty of times (and was a music video of theirs) but they really get better and better every time I see them. If that’s even possible.
Jet: I'd say actors cuz I'm most familiar with them. Tbh like half the bands are new to me cuz I don't have as many goth points as sean and I'm not as knowledgeable with post-punk/ goth but I love sean and he does amazing things and it's a great idea. So I'd say my main draw is the community behind it. Also IAMX
Sean Templar: and no IAMX is not playing.
Ok, next question is for Sean and Mandana, when did you guys start a "murder of crows? how did the idea come about?
Sean Templar: Well, it come about very innocently and very organically. The original 4 of us really started it. The idea of this festival was to do something different and bigger in New York. We started small and each year we grew a little bit as we learned. Mostly it was an excuse for us all come together and drink and be silly while listening to awesome music. There was supposed to be a German or 2 involved but they had to bow out, which is for the best as you know what happens when you involve the Germans...a lot of wurst and tears. It works out to be so much fun and I think its because you really get a sense of family and tribe. Which is something I think every healthy scene needs. Like I am a fan of all these guys and we only ask bands that we love.
My next question is, how is the process of booking the bands? Does everyone one in the murder gang help? Or is it just Sean and Mandana?
Sean Templar: In regards to booking. It is mainly me but I ask the gang for approval. Like I would say how about so and so and then Patrick would go, "I haaaate them!!"
This question is for the guest deejays for Sunday! Do you have a general idea of what your set list might look like?
Matt V Christ: Well Sunday is supposed to be the New Wave DJ sets. So I think the sets will be generally New Wavy.
Erik Aengel: I personally never have a plan with regard to djing. Once in a blue there might be a single specific song I want to play in advance (usually because it’s new but I always let the crowd response dictate where my set is going to go.
Jet: I'll probably mix it up with some poppy new wave 80s stuff like New order and Tiffany and Nena. But yeah agreed see how the crowd reacts.
Sean have you guys ever thought of bringing the murder gang to another country?
Sean Templar: The answer is no way, well maybe LA if Dave Bats wills it as he runs the scene there with a velvet fist.
Morticia (dead Bettie): haha oh why of course
Dave Bats: A MIGHTY velvet fist. Actually the Murder gang has been to Germany a number of times but just not in this organized capacity.
Martin Oldgoth: And three of us will be in Dublin in August.
Morticia (dead Bettie): Dave Bats it would be so rad if you and Jenn Bats brought the rest of the murder gang down for a fantastic night! VFLA would be over that like flies on s*** as you know.
Dave Bats: Indeed! we've talked about it, its just about timing and logistics. Its gonna happen.
Brigette Gothtart: Now that would be awesome.
Matt V Christ: I'd be down for that too! Erik Aengel and I just did some gigs in LA last Feb and I'm sure we could get a bunch of those people to attend AMOC west coast!
Jenn! So, the first day is the "Farewell Release the bats" party. Are you excited to dance your bones off with old friends flying out to the east coast from all over?
Jenn Bats: I am excited to dance!! All the DJs are sure to keep us moving. Also I love to just be in the moment. To take in the whole thing, yanno? I'm hoping lots of our fiends will join us in NY this year!! Its so nice when we all gather in a new place to enjoy what we love!
Morticia (dead Bettie): Yes living in the moment and making memories is important!
Dave, what are you most excited about for your farewell night at "murder of crows?"
Dave Bats: It’s going to be our farewell party # 1. Since RTB is recognized globally, and lots of our friends and cohorts across the water and on the east coast can't make it to our last night in October, we were given the opportunity to bring it to them! We have several friends from Europe flying over. It’s gonna be insane!
This interview was split in two because it’s too long.
You can find some of these people on VF, Sean Templar Djtemplar
Jet Jet
Jenn Bats jennbats
Mandana Banshee Sioushie
Get tickets and more info to “A murder of crows” here: https://www.facebook.com/events/430983790729829/?event_time_id=430983794063162?ti=icl
Editing by capn_roro
