Gothic

A guttering candle, an old book left open, a raven perched on a marble bust. Gothic is not just about black: it is a taste for mystery, fine lettering and well-placed shadows. Gothic posters, printed in Tunisia, set that mood in one move.

From cathedral to Victorian novel

The word began in architecture: pointed arches, rose windows, gargoyles keeping watch from the roofs. Then the nineteenth century took it over with its tales of terror, from Bram Stoker's Dracula to the poems of Edgar Allan Poe, whose "The Raven" remains the most famous of all.

Our gothic section borrows its style from Victorian book plates, the small engraved labels once pasted inside the covers of books: fine lines, dense cross-hatching, black or sepia ink on ivory paper, ornate borders. Elegant rather than grim.

Gothic has a modern face too. The dark academia aesthetic, popularised on social media, brought back dark-wood libraries, tweed jackets and poems copied out by hand. And the Wednesday series, several episodes of which were directed by Tim Burton, reminded a whole generation that black can be funny, chic and a little insolent.

Tarot adds yet another visual vocabulary: suns, moons and stars drawn like illuminated manuscripts, old symbols and gilded borders. It is the mystical side of the section, and it pairs naturally with the engravings.

What you'll find

• Gothic Cathedrals: rose windows, spires and vaults, for an almost architectural wall.
• Ravens & Skulls: memento mori and birds of ill omen, engraving-style.
• Edgar Allan Poe and Vampires & Dracula: horror literature and its undying characters.
• Dark Academia: dark-wood libraries, classical busts, handwritten letters.
• Wednesday & Tim Burton, plus tarot and the occult, for a gothic that is more pop or more mystical.

Gothic in a bright room

Tunisian walls are often white and the light is generous. Good news: that is the perfect backdrop for black engravings, which stand out like pages from a book. There is no need to darken everything; one accent wall in bottle green or burgundy is enough if you want more depth.

Hang two or three posters in a row above a study desk, 3 cm apart, and add a brass lamp, candles, a stack of books and a trailing plant. For a reading nook, a single cathedral above the armchair turns the corner into an old college library.

If you are a reader, put the Poe or Dracula poster right above the shelf where the novels live, so the wall becomes an extension of the bookcase. A green banker's lamp and a velvet cushion or two will do the rest.

Draw the curtains, light a candle, let the ravens keep watch. We deliver to all 24 governorates, and you pay on arrival.