Dark Realms Magazine: - Issue 4
Goth 101: An Overview of all Things Gothic
What exactly does the term “gothic” mean? Is it a style of architecture, a tragic and supernatural genre of literature, or a state of mind? The English language being as ductile and inclusive as it is, the term gothic encompasses all the above and much, much more. It suggests the fierce Germanic Visigoths who laid siege to the Roman Empire eighteen centuries ago, and it suggests the magnificent cathedrals of Chartres and Notre Dame. Dracula may be the most enduring Gothic ‘hero,’ and he keeps company with the passionate lovers from Wuthering Heights and the bizarre madmen from Poe’s tales. continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 5
Secret Societies: The Truth Behind History's Most Mysterious Orders
Throughout history, secret societies have risen and flourished. Their meeting places are concealed in shadows and their clandestine rituals are as shrouded in secrecy as those of a witches coven. It is this aura of mystery that has made these secret organizations so compelling to those fascinated by the darker realms of culture. The Freemasons, the Illuminati, the Knights Templar... the names are familiar, but the agendas and histories of these cabals remain cloaked in rumor, contradiction and legend. continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 6
The Twilight Zone: Television's Original Twisted Tales
"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone."
With invocations such as that, millions of television viewers in the years 1959 to 1964 were transported from their comfortable, predictable existence to a netherworld of chaos and irony that stretched the limits of television further than ever before. Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone broke new creative ground on any number of levels, and it was one of those rare TV programs that made a permanent mark on our collective psyche. continue reading...
Dark Realms - Issue 7
Crop Circles: Investigating the mysteries of the cryptic signs
Every year, hundreds of cryptic patterns appear overnight in crop fields spanning the globe. The designs are mathematically precise, made up of geometrically perfect shapes, and the patterns themselves cover acres of land. Could this worldwide phenomenon merely be an elaborate hoax, or are these patterns of alien origin, left behind as messages from extraterrestrial visitors? continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 8
Edgar Allan Poe: In the Shadow of the Raven
And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted—nevermore!
So ends "The Raven," Edgar Allan Poe s classic work of gothic poetry which chronicles lost love, emotional despair, and one mans descent into a tragic and dismal state of being. continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 9
H.P. Lovecraft: The Father of Modern Horror Literature
H.P. Lovecraft was perhaps the most imaginative innovator of the modern horror tale. His dark and fantastic creations have influenced and inspired numerous acclaimed authors and many of his nightmarish visions have lived on in the works of those who have followed in his footsteps. Yet, like Poe, Lovecraft enjoyed very little success and recognition during his own lifetime. continue reading...
Dark Realms - Issue 10
Prophecies
For as long as man has been on this earth, he has wanted to know what lies in his future. And for as long as man has lived, there have been those who claim to know that future. The art of prophecy has a long and colorful history, full of charismatic charlatans and compelling doomsayers. Nearly all of the world’s so-called prophets have claimed to have received their fortune-telling powers from divine sources, but if this is indeed true, then the gods must be lovers of riddles and obfuscation. Most of the world’s famous prophecies are cloaked in arcane imagery with a multitude of meanings, and they confound us to this very day. continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 11
Voices from Beyond
It is perhaps the greatest mystery that has ever confronted mankind: Is there life after death? All the world’s religions claim that there is, but their claims must be taken on faith. That is probably the point of religion-to have the courage to believe in something without evidence or unassailable proof.
But what about those of us hungry for even the faintest evidence of life after death? Can the proof be found? Even though the Bible condemns communicating with spirits of the dead as evil sorcery, history has given us many intriguing methods of speaking to those who have passed over into what Shakespeare called "the undiscovered country." continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 12
Ghosts: True Tales of Spirits that Haunt the Night
We have all heard ghost stories—ghastly tales of spectral manifestations of people long dead and phantom wanderers who haunt the shores of night. But are ghosts merely unfounded figments of superstitious lore, or do they actually exist?
Whether ghosts are truly restless spirits who have returned from beyond the grave to haunt the world of the living, or merely psychic reflections of the past, the presence of these supernatural entities has been seen and felt by a vast array of credible witnesses, and many documented cases seem to offer undeniable evidence of their existence. continue reading...
Dark Realms - Issue 13
Visions of the Afterlife
Death.It is the one thing everyone on earth has in common.At the same time,however,it is the one aspect of life that is least understood. Where do we go when we die? Every culture and religion has attempted to answer that question, and the answers have given us many strange and enigmatic accounts of the mysterious land that awaits us all when our physical bodies die. continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 15
Dark Brotherhoods: History's Sinister Shadow Societies
They meet in secret and their goals are cloaked in shadows and rumors. Their founders claim to possess mystical, esoteric insights into the universe that could change of perhaps desroy the world. They gain a sometimes unwanted notoriety at certain times in history, and then they seem to vanish or simply retreat further underground. They are history's dark brotherhoods clandestine groups and shadowy societies, many with vaguely religious overtones, all wielding a surprising influence on the world at large. continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 16
Amityville Horror: The True Tale of Terror
November 14, 2004 marks the 30th anniversary of the heinous and brutal massacre that transpired at the sprawling Dutch Colonial in Amityville, New York, a house that would become infamous a year later as one of the most haunted houses in America. Beyond the houseÕs sinister, eye-like windows, six people were gunned down in cold blood and another family fled in the dead of night, supposedly driven out by demonic forces. While the saga of 112 Ocean Avenue has been inaccurately depicted in a slew of horror movies, the real story of the house is largely unknown... but infinitely more intriguing. continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 17
Vanishings: The World's Most Mystifying Disappearances
History is filled with numerous mystifying and often sinister disapperances of ships, planes, people and even entire civilizations. These vanishings have passed into legend, and the elusive reason behind them continue to remain unexplained by historians. A survey of the world's most infamous disappearances reveals an unsettling truth about life the world can suddenly and inexplicably erase anything it wants, without warning and without a trace. continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 18
Ancient Shadows: The Dark Legends of Sumeria
For thousands of years, theologists have turned to sacred texts such as the Bible and the Koran to explain the origins and purposes of mankind while scientists have embraced Charles Darwin's theories of evolution, natural selection and survival of the fittest to explain mankind's development from primitive ape to modern human being. But what if both religion and science are wrong? What if humanity had more sinister origins than Darwin or the authors of the Old Testament ever dreamed possible? A look at the ancient land of Sumeria provides an unsettling glimpse into the dark genesis of man, and the secrets of this early civilization could possibly bring the modern world to its knees. continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 19
Mystical Relics: Uncovering the World's Most Fabled Artifacts
It is written that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Despite this, however, many believers of different faiths insist there are physical manifestations of their supernatural beliefs, and these artifacts prove beyond a doubt the existence of a supreme being. From the fabled Holy Grail to the Spear of Destiny, these relics have not only inspired believers but also ignited bitter controversy for centuries. continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 20
Halloween: The Origins of the Haunted Holiday
October 31st, Halloween Night— when ghouls and goblins prowl the forests, witches take to flight on broomsticks and the dead rise from their graves to haunt the realm of the living. Halloween is one of America's most popular holidays, traditionally celebrated by trick-or-treating, lighting Jack-o-lanterns, and telling ghost stories by candlelight. However, the holiday evolved from age-old pagan rites that paid tribute to the dead, and echoes of many of these ancient customs survive to this day. continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 21
Mystical Manuscripts: Ancient Texts of Secret Knowledge
Ancient scrolls full of spiritual wisdom, enigmatic volumes imprinted with forbidden lore and magical rites. The world's civilizations are based on an array of famous and bewildering manuscripts that have instructed people on how to live and what lies beyond death. These manuscripts have become the Bible, the Koran, and the sacred texts of other faiths. But history is also filled with lesser known but no less fascinating and sometimes ominous texts that confound scholars to this very day. continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 22
History of the Tarot: Shadowy Origins and Secrets of the Cards
The Emperor‚ The Fool‚ Death‚ The Tower. The cards of the Tarot deck are familiar to us all as mystical symbols that supposedly foretell our destinies. Like the Ouija board, Tarot cards are an immensely popular method of fortunetelling available at any bookstore or hobby shop. The origin and true meaning of the Tarot deck, however, are shrouded in mystery and are as difficult to interpret as the cards themselves. continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 24
Freak Show: Denizens of the Dark Carnivals
Although carnivals and circuses can be sources of innocent amusement for children of all ages, there is a dark side behind the ferris wheels and a penny arcades. For well over a century, many fairgrounds have exhibited unsavory sideshows full of human oddities ranging from midgets to siamese twins to men and women without arms or legs. These sideshows not only demonstrated the cruelty of nature but also the callousness of man, as these exhibits were some of the most lucrative shows along the midway. continue reading...
Dark Realms Magazine - Issue 25
The Inquisition: Holy Terror of the Dark Ages
One of the darkest, most sinister chapters in the history of medieval culture belongs to the Roman Catholic institution that was formed in the middle ages to investigate and eradicate heresy the inquisition. Although its relatively innocuous name suggests a process of questioning, the inquisition did much more than question accused heretics. Enemies of the Christian Church were routinely tortured, stripped of their property and burned at the stake all in the name of religion. continue reading...
Dark Realms - Issue 30
Premonition
The pages of history are filled with stories of people who have claimed to see and know things that were yet to come. Such documented cases from rational and esteemed individual are too strange to be dismissed as mere coincidence. But can we really glimpse into our own future— and, if so, can we actually alter the course of our own destiny? continue reading...