“So long as you are a slave to the opinions of the many, you have not yet approached freedom or tasted its nectar. Whatever you do or avoid, let it be guided not by public approval or blame, but by reason, the divine spark within.” — Julian the Apostate One of the most fundamental reasons

“In the case of depressive realism, the philosophical pessimism most closely associated with Schopenhauer may be its natural home.” —Colin Feltham They move along the street with blank faces, eyes forward, minds elsewhere. Shadows stretch long behind them, and the fading light casts everything in a sickly pallor. It’s not fear exactly—more like a quiet

“What makes the horror genre so exciting and unstoppable is its capacity for metaphorical exploration. It’s the safe place that we, as a culture, can deal with things that upset and frighten us—the darker side of our nature.” — Mike Flanagan Although trauma is often cast as a destructive force—fracturing the psyche and distorting development—it

“First, tragedies were brought on stage to remind you of what can happen, that these happenings are determined by nature, and that what moves you in the theatre should not burden you on the larger stage of life.” – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 11.6 Everybody loves a free spirit, but few dare to become one. There’s