Dark Read Studio

12/07/2025

Excited to share that the 2026 Gothic Lit Wall Calendar is live, updated, and shipping from a location near you. https://etsy.me/48rppw0

12/02/2024

For Cyber Monday, all sales over $50 are 10% off. Plus, today only, take an EXTRA $5 OFF when you use code CYBER24 at checkout.
https://darkreadstudio.etsy.com

12/01/2024

The Dark Read gothic twist to A Christmas Carol is the best-selling collection during the holiday season. But of all the many adaptations of Dickens' beloved novel, which is the best?
The first film version of Dickens' story, Scrooge, or Marley's Ghost, was made in Brighton, England, in 1901 by RW Paul and Walter Booth; since then, the story has been adapted close to 40 times for the big screen and around 50 times for TV. In all these different interpretations, the most effective performance by far is that of the great Scottish actor Alastair Sim (1900–76) in producer George Minter's 1951 version.
Directed by Brian Desmond-Hurst, whose first film was the 1934 Poe adaption A Tell-Tale Heart (aka A Bucket of Blood), the film was a massive hit in Britain but considered too horrific and adult for the US market. It was turned down for a premiere at Radio City Music Hall and—like that other Christmas classic, It's a Wonderful Life—failed to find an audience until it was broadcast on PBS in the 1970s.
The film is improved immeasurably by Cyril Pennington-Richards' excellent cinematography (he also lensed the 1956 version of 1984) and a literate, inventive script by Noel Langley (The Wizard of Oz). But this is Sim's show; his Scrooge is utterly believable in the miserly bitterness of the early scenes—there's an underlying anger and disgust to his interactions with people, and he disdains them all regardless of class—his terror at the glimpse of his fate and, most importantly, the unbridled joy of his awakening. No one, human or animated, before or since, has pulled off the transformation so convincingly.
It helps that Sim is supported by cameos and early performances from some of Britain's finest character actors: Ernest Thesiger (The Bride of Frankenstein), Mervyn Johns (Dead of Night), Carol Marsh (Hammer's Horror of Dracula), George Cole (Sim's protege and future UK TV Star), Miles Malleson (The Brides of Dracula), and Patrick Macnee (Steed in the iconic TV series, The Avengers). The film was edited by Clive Donner, who went on to direct the George C Scott TV version in 1984.
Dark Read's Christmas Carol collection (including the best-selling jigsaw puzzle) can be viewed here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DarkReadStudio?section_id=45698685

11/25/2024

An excellent review of one of the most devastating books (and movie) I have ever encountered.

This small middle-grade fantasy novel packs an enormous punch. No book has made me cry harder than this one and I don’t normally cry at books. The tears it pulls out of the reader are tears of cath…

11/21/2024

For lovers of dark literature in all its forms, the Dark Read 2025 Gothic Calendar is live on Etsy. With a month-by-month guide to the most remarkable novels and stories, both historical and modern – from The Castle of Otranto (1764) to The Eyes Are the Best Part (2024), plus the monthly phases of the moon, this will brighten even your darkest corner.
Available in two sizes, they are printed and shipped from 25 countries around the world to ensure speedy delivery and reduce carbon footprint:
1. Ledger (Sunday–Saturday layout) for the US and Canada
2. A3 (Monday–Sunday layout) for the rest of the World
https://darkreadstudio.etsy.com/listing/1829055531

11/19/2024

The Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale is live! From today through Dec 3rd, get 10% off when you spend over $50.
https://darkreadstudio.etsy.com

11/10/2024

The 2025 dark floral calendar is available in my Etsy store. Featuring stunning, frameable, ultra-high-resolution botanical photography, this is the perfect gift for a garden lover or for your own home.
The calendar prints and ships worldwide from 25 countries for speedy delivery and reduced carbon footprint (click the link for details).
https://darkreadstudio.etsy.com/listing/1824155063

10/03/2024

Greet your Halloween guests and Trick 'r Treaters with a quote from the King of the Vampires himself. Available in three different sizes and hanging styles, as a stretched canvas print, and as a tee shirt.
https://darkreadstudio.etsy.com/listing/1788015297

08/08/2024

There's just something about the atmosphere in a Southern burying ground.