From the Hollow

Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities—a collection of gothic history, strange traditions, haunted places, forgotten folklore, dark symbolism, and the stories hidden behind art and books.

Here you’ll find ancient festivals, eerie legends, Victorian oddities, supernatural inspiration, book reviews, collector features, and the beautifully strange details that shape my worlds. From haunted Pittsburgh to poisonous gardens, from ravens and roses to old rituals and whispered ghost stories, this is where mystery, history, and art meet.

If you love gothic atmosphere, dark fiction, and the allure of the unusual, you’re in the right place.

Poison Gardens and the Beauty of Dangerous Flowers

There is a peculiar allure to danger when it is wrapped in beauty. Few places capture this paradox more vividly than poison gardens—carefully curated spaces where some of the world’s most toxic plants are grown not for harm, but for education, fascination, and a quiet kind of awe. These gardens challenge our instinctive trust in beauty, reminding us that nature is not designed with human safety in mind. Poison gardens are not chaotic jungles of menace; they are deliberate, of

6 hours ago3 min read

Creating a Gallery Wall with Statement Art

There’s a quiet pressure in home décor that insists every room needs a theme—coastal calm, modern minimalism, gothic drama, mid-century restraint. Scroll long enough and you’ll see perfectly curated walls assembled from store-bought sets, advertisement prints, or influencer-approved arrangements that feel more like a formula than a reflection. But collecting and living with art doesn’t have to follow a script. Creating a gallery wall with statement art is less about matching

2 days ago3 min read

The Strange History of Mourning Jewelry

Mourning jewelry sits in a strange space between love, grief, and art. It is beautiful in a way that feels almost uncomfortable today—ornate lockets, rings, brooches, and bracelets created not to celebrate life, but to preserve absence. These pieces were once deeply personal expressions of loss, worn close to the body as both remembrance and ritual. And like many Victorian traditions, they reveal just as much about cultural attitudes toward death as they do about the people w

6 days ago3 min read

Haunted Places in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh has a way of folding history into itself. Known for its steel, river fog, abandoned structures, and legendary stories steeped in history…and mystery. It’s a city where folklore and architecture blur easily, and where certain places feel like they’re still holding onto echoes of what happened long after the people are gone. If you stopping by for a visit, here are some haunted places in Pittsburgh to add to your list of must-see locations. One of the most infamous i

May 114 min read

Books for Readers Who Love Haunted Houses

There’s something uniquely unsettling about a haunted house story. It’s not just about ghosts, it’s about the way house seems to listen, the very walls breathe, and the unnerving feeling that you are not alone. For readers drawn to the macabre, haunted house books blend the perfect balance of atmosphere and dread. If you are looking to fill your shelves with a few stories that will leave you checking the dark shadows and sleeping with the lights on, here are some essential re

May 103 min read

Lemuria: Ancient Rome's Festival for the Restless Dead

Some festivals of ancient Rome were celebratory, tied to abundance, victory, or renewal. Others, however, were more somber, and deeply concerned with forces that could not be seen or easily controlled. Lemuria, or Lemuralia, belongs firmly to this second category. Observed annually on May 9, 11, and 13, it was a domestic and ritual response to one of Rome’s most persistent anxieties: the presence of restless or malevolent spirits among the living. Unlike state festivals cente

May 93 min read

Why Collectors Are Drawn to Portrait Art

Collectors are drawn to portrait art for reasons that go far beyond decoration. A portrait isn’t just an image of a face—it’s a concentrated study of identity, psychology, status, memory, and sometimes mystery. Unlike many other genres, portraiture creates a direct, often unsettling relationship between artwork and viewer. That connection is a big part of its lasting appeal in private collections. One of the strongest pulls of portrait art is its intimacy. A landscape can be

May 83 min read

May Day Superstitions, Flowers, and Forgotten Customs

May Day sits in that strange space between spring celebration and something older, wilder, and faintly uncanny. Long before it became associated with maypoles and floral festivals, it was a night—and morning—filled with superstition, protective rituals, and customs meant to coax fertility from the land while keeping unseen forces at bay. In the older European folk tradition, May Day was closely tied to the turning of the seasons, when the world was thought to be most alive wi

May 53 min read

Why Victorians Covered Mirrors After Death

The practice of covering mirrors after a death is one of those haunting customs that feels pulled straight from gothic fiction. For the Victorians, it was rooted in very real beliefs about death, the soul, and the unseen world. To understand the tradition, you have to step into the mindset of the Victorian Era. Death wasn’t hidden away the way it often is today. It was intimate, ritualized, and deeply woven into daily life. People died at home, wakes were held in parlors, and

May 43 min read

Behind the Scenes: The World of The Hollow

Art history was never just about paintings on a wall. When I started studying it in high school and carried it through college, the pattern became impossible to ignore: to understand the art, you had to understand everything surrounding it. The artist. The time period. The culture. The politics. The religious practices that shaped how people saw the world—and how they tried to explain it through image and symbol. What began as academic study slowly turned into something more

May 23 min read

Beltane: Fire Festivals, Fertility, and Ancient May Magic

Among the seasonal thresholds that structure the folk and ritual calendar of Europe, Beltane stands as one of the most vivid and enduring celebrations of transition. Observed on the eve of May 1st, Beltane marks the turning point when spring yields to summer, and the world shifts from cautious renewal into full, expressive abundance. It is a festival of fire, fertility, and liminality—where boundaries blur, and the natural world is believed to reach a moment of heightened vit

Apr 283 min read

Walpurgis Night

Among the many seasonal thresholds that shape European folklore, few are as atmospheric—or as enduring in modern imagination—as Walpurgis Night. Observed on the eve of May 1st, this night sits at the meeting point between spring’s slow awakening and summer’s approaching fullness. It is a time historically associated with fire, transformation, and the thinning boundary between the human world and the supernatural. While its modern associations often lean toward witches and fol

Apr 273 min read

Book Review: Shy Girl by Mia Ballard

A Deep Dive into Shy Girl Mia Ballard’s Shy Girl arrived wrapped in controversy long before many readers ever opened the first page. I received an ARC through NetGalley, where I often review upcoming releases. This title had already built a strong buzz across multiple reader groups. Naturally, it landed high on my reading list. Before I even had the chance to begin, the publisher pulled the book entirely after a The New York Times article alleged that the novel had been writt

Apr 263 min read

Serapia

Among the lesser-documented religious observances of ancient Rome, the festival known as Serapia—celebrated on April 25 alongside other agricultural rites—offers a fascinating glimpse into the layered and often overlapping nature of Roman religious life. Though not as widely attested in surviving sources as festivals such as Parilia or Robigalia, Serapia is generally understood as part of the broader seasonal cycle in which Romans sought divine favor for fertility, stability,

Apr 253 min read

Robigalia

Among the agricultural rites that structured the sacred rhythm of ancient Rome, the festival of Robigalia occupies a particularly intriguing and somewhat unsettling place. Observed annually on April 25, this festival was dedicated to protecting crops from one of the most destructive forces in the ancient world: agricultural disease, especially wheat rust. In a society where grain determined survival, Robigalia was not a marginal observance—it was a vital act of collective pre

Apr 253 min read

Vinalia Urbana

Among the many festivals woven into the sacred calendar of ancient Rome, the Vinalia Urbana—also known as the Vinalia Prima or “First Vinalia”—offers a fascinating glimpse into how deeply wine, religion, and civic life were intertwined. Celebrated annually on April 23, this festival honored both the practical importance of the grape harvest and the divine powers believed to protect it. While modern audiences may think of wine primarily as a social indulgence, for the Romans i

Apr 233 min read

Parilia

Among the many pastoral and agricultural festivals observed in ancient Rome, Parilia stands out as one of the oldest and most symbolically significant. Celebrated each year on April 21, the festival was originally a rural rite dedicated to the purification and protection of shepherds and their flocks. Over time, however, Parilia took on an even greater meaning, becoming closely associated with the legendary founding of Rome itself. In this transformation, the festival reflect

Apr 213 min read

Fordicidia: The Ancient Roman Festival of Fertility, Sacrifice, and the Earth Goddess Tellus

Among the many agricultural and religious observances that structured the calendar of ancient Rome, few are as striking, or as unsettling to modern sensibilities, as the festival of Fordicidia. Celebrated annually on April 15, this ancient rite was dedicated to ensuring the fertility of the earth and the continued productivity of Rome’s fields. Like many Roman festivals rooted in agricultural cycles, Fordicidia reveals a civilization deeply aware of its dependence on the land

Apr 153 min read

Book Review: Hope Rises by David Baldacci

If you’ve been hearing recommendations to read David Baldacci for years and haven’t taken the plunge yet, Hope Rises might be the push you need—though fair warning, you’ll want to start with Nash Falls first. Hope Rises picks up exactly where its predecessor leaves off, throwing readers right back into the fractured world of Walter Nash, now living under the alias Dillon Hope. What makes this sequel so compelling is how seamlessly Baldacci continues Nash’s transformation. T

Apr 142 min read

Buying Art From An Artist and What You Should Know About Copyright

Buying art directly from the artist is one of the most meaningful ways to collect artwork. Instead of purchasing mass-produced décor, you’re investing in a one-of-a-kind piece created with intention, skill, and a personal story. If you’ve never bought original art before, here’s exactly what to expect along with an important note about copyright that many buyers don’t realize. A More Personal Buying Experience When you purchase art directly from an artist, the experience is o

Apr 133 min read