The Art of Gothic Living: Dark Decor for the Modern Macabre

This bewitching coffee-table book from antiques collector Gambino (Morbid Curiosities) showcases the interiors of homes that pay homage to the Gothic style, which is characterized by symmetrical architecture, “carved cabinetry, velvet-covered couches, and heavy drapery.” Contrary to the contemporary vogue for minimalist decor, these Gothic homes are blissfully maximalist, cluttered with taxidermy, antiquated medical equipment, and artwork that looks like it was lifted from a Tim Burton set. The photography zeroes in on the eerie ornamentation that makes the homes distinctive, highlighting the antique electric chair on the stair landing of a set designer’s house in Australia, and an open casket containing a real human skeleton in the living room of a repurposed 19th-century Ohio church. The homeowners are as colorful as one would expect; for instance, Ryan Cohn, who runs a flea market specializing in macabre “oddities,” demurs on whether there are ghosts in his Connecticut Victorian: “Hell, if it were haunted, I wouldn’t move; I would charge admission to visit us.” Many of the homes come with fascinating histories that are as morbid as their decor, such as the Pennsylvania house that in the 1930s was owned by members of a gang that poisoned women so their husbands could cash in their life insurance policies. The results are marvelously offbeat. (Aug.)