Ruinenlust and Weird Fiction

[yellowish haze]

On my blog, Confusio Linguarum, I am planning to devote a series of posts to the theme of Ruinenlust - the feeling of being irresistibly drawn to crumbling buildings and abandoned places. The first two of them will serve as a short introduction to Ruinenlust, whilst the rest will deal with the presence of the emotion in some works of weird fiction, starting from the early Gothics up to modern masterpieces of the genre.
This will be posted in the form of a compilation of quotes, photos and videos related to the subject in question. I hope you enjoy it!

confusio linguarum: Ruinenlust: An Introduction #1

[xylokopos]

I am looking forward to the rest of your posts, this is of immense interest to me. My travel blog - link in my signature line - serves as my repository for thousands of photographs I have taken from hundreds of ruined sites. I almost always travel seeking ruins. A couple of years ago I also wrote a book about ruins in Singapore, where I live. I am always thinking of publishing more material on the teleology and aesthetics of ruination.

There is a great Ligotti quote about the allure of ruins, I think it is from My Work Is Not Yet Done, something about a ruined world being the opposite of the world of work.

[bendk]

Excellent idea for a thread, Slawek.

Look forward to examples of this you have found in the works of weird fiction.

Some of my favorite ruins are abandoned amusement parks.

1000+ images about abandoned amusement parks on Pinterest | Abandoned amusement parks, Amusement parks and Abandoned

10 Creepiest Abandoned Theme Parks - YouTube

[yellowish haze]

Quote Originally Posted by xylokopos

I am looking forward to the rest of your posts, this is of immense interest to me. My travel blog - link in my signature line - serves as my repository for thousands of photographs I have taken from hundreds of ruined sites. I almost always travel seeking ruins. A couple of years ago I also wrote a book about ruins in Singapore, where I live. I am always thinking of publishing more material on the teleology and aesthetics of ruination. There is a great Ligotti quote about the allure of ruins, I think it is from My Work Is Not Yet Done, something about a ruined world being the opposite of the world of work.

Congratulations on the book, xylokopos. This title sounds most interesting.

I don't remember the Ligotti quote you mention, let me see if I can locate it.

Quote Originally Posted by bendk

Look forward to examples of this you have found in the works of weird fiction.

Thanks, Ben. I will be posting those on a weekly basis. I don't think my choices will be much of a surprise for TLO members, but then I couldn't find a universal retrospective article about Ruinenlust in weird fiction. I hope my short compilations will serve as food for thought to those interested in the subject.

	TLO THOMAS LIGOTTI ONLINE

[Malone]

In Ruins by Christopher Woodward (2002) is a must-read study on the topic.

[Insentient Traveler]

Thanks for the Blog post. Very interesting read.
I am sure it is a good introduction to exploring the rest of your blogs.

[yellowish haze]

The second part of the introduction to my Ruinenlust compilation is up:

confusio linguarum: Ruinenlust: An Introduction #2

Still collecting material for the rest of the series with the next part of the compilation already centering on some works of gothic/weird fiction.

[Souphead]

I know this sounds like a trivial question but how should the German word "ruinenlust" be pronounced? Is it a four syllable word as in "ru-in-en-lust" or something else?

[yellowish haze]

Four syllables, just like pronouncing these two in one go:

Ruinen
Lust

[yellowish haze]

I continue my compilation here:

Ruinenlust in Weird Fiction #1: From Gothic Fiction to Edgar Allan Poe

Of course, one could write a book-length study on Ruinenlust in gothic fiction alone so you will need to forgive me if I sound very selective in the works cited in those posts.