The bewitching music of Nox Arcana

For today’s Magical Monday, I’d like to share some wonderfully eerie and magical music. The group is Nox Arcana. They create haunting, atmospheric soundscapes with gothic themes which often follow references to classic horror literature. I find their recordings make excellent inspirational music for writing anything bewitching, dark, or fantastical. Pursuing deeper, their albums contain captivating storylines, with hidden riddles and puzzles.

 The group is a duet of Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski, formed in 2003. The group’s name, Nox Arcana, is from Latin, meaning “mysteries of the night.”

Their credits include several film scores. Their debut, "Darklore Manor," was part of a televised special of the 1922 silent film classic Nosferatu. Their gothic tracks have also been used in theatrical productions of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Lewis Carrol’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. During Halloween season their recordings provide the eerie backdrops for many haunted theme parks: Universal Studios; Busch Gardens; Six Flags; Knott’s Berry Farm.

I truly enjoy the group’s literary tributes. Their album "Transylvania" is based upon Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Their sinister "Necronomicon" recording pays homage to H.P. Lovecraft, while their unsettling Blackthorn Asylum takes a chilling look into a 19th century sanitarium, a storyline from Lovecraft’s “From Beyond.” The melancholy themes of their work "Shadow of the Raven," calls upon influences of Edgar Allan Poe. One of my favorite recordings, "Grimm Tales," enlivens the nightmares of the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale world. Inspired by classic fiction, these in turn, inspire my own writing.

This Friday, October 1st, marks the date for a new Nox Arcana release, "Welcome to the House of Nightmares," a horror soundscape just in time for the Halloween season. This promotion of this recording promises:

“Dark things dwell in the old house by the cemetery, lying in wait for anyone who dares to enter. Unearthly sounds echo from the shadows of the abandoned mansion as sinister incantations unleash ancient horrors to haunt the realm of the living. The CD delivers 19 tracks of spine-tingling sound effects and dark cinematic music to create an eerie atmosphere of lurking terror.”

To give a taste of their music, I’m sharing two videos. The first is from their most recent CD, entitled “Theater of Illusion.” In a dreamlike state, strange and mystifying acts can be heard, as they are performed by phantom magicians. Their melodies are rich with orchestrations, piano, harpsichord, pipe organ, and gothic choirs. Additional songs of Theater of Illusion may be sampled and/or you may purchase their CD at this site. http://noxarcana.com/illusion.html 

The second video is the song "Night of the Wolf" from their CD "Transylvania" and the video is from the Russian movie, Evil, directed by Oleg Fesenko.

Wolves howl, kitties prowl when the Moon is full....

FULL MOON

Full moon

So bright and serene

Keeps me awake.

Letting its stillness

Soak my being

I look up,

Joyfully certain

Moon dust sprinkles

You, too, Love,

Caressing you

This silvery night

~Yldan

I spend a lot of time reading about fairy and folktales of many cultures. While the most well known come from Europe and North America, I have amassed a decent collection of these writings from Russia, Romania, India, Japan, Africa, Australia/New Zealand, and the Caribbean. I collect rare references of folklore because I enjoy seeing the different cultures within stories which originated as oral tradition. Weaving bits of these time-honored tales into my fantasies brings me pleasure to continue their passage.


This writing research for a current work in progress took me to discover interesting lore and fables about the various full moons. I have always been intrigued by the mystique of the full moon, conjuring both fantasy as well as eliciting romance and passion. Those who know me understand my attraction to this symbolism; the genres I blend are exactly those, fantasy and romance/soft erotica.
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Tall nettles cover up, as they have done
These many springs, the rusty harrow, the plough
Long worn out, and the roller made of stone.
Only the elm butt tops the nettles now . . .
This corner of the farmyard I like most,
As well as any bloom upon a flower
I like the dust on the nettles, never lost
Except to prove the sweetness of a shower.

~Edward Thomas

The Buck Moon

The next time the full moon will rise is on July 26th (1:38 GMT). This cycle is given the name Buck Moon because it is in July when new antlers of buck deer push out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. Another name for this lunar event is the Full Thunder Moon, owing to the fact that thunderstorms are most frequent during this month. It is also called the Hay Moon because farmers hold to the rule that grass crops should be sown at this time to insure the hay will dry quickly. Other common names for the July moon include the Crane Moon, the Claiming Moon, Mead Moon, Oak Moon, Wort Moon, Moon of Blood (because of mosquitoes), Blessing Moon, and the Summer Moon.

 Many cultures rely on this moon to mark their celebrations. In Japan, the July moon is the time of the O-Bon, or Festival of Lanterns, a three-day celebration of Buddhist and Shinto beliefs honoring the dead. Homes, tombs, and grave markers are cleaned. Altars and shines are decorated. Gardens are hung with lanterns so the dead may find their ways to join families.  

The Egyptian New Year also occurs in July, as does the Opet Festival, which commemorates the marriage of Isis and Osiris. Their sexual union is supposed to bring good luck to all people. In Rome, the love of Venus and Adonis are celebrated at this time of July’s full moon. 

Correspondences of the July Moon:

Nature Spirits: hobgoblins (small grotesque but friendly brownie-type creatures), faeries of the harvest crops
Herbs: honeysuckle, agrimony, lemon balm, hyssop
Colors: silver, blue-grey
Flowers: lotus, water lily, jasmine
Scents: orris, frankincense
Stones: pearl, moonstone, white agate
Trees: oak, acacia, ash
Animals: crab, turtle, dolphin, whale
Birds: starling, ibis, swallow
Deites: Khepera, Athene, Juno Hel, Holda, Cerridwen, Nephthys, Venus
Power Flow: relaxed energy; preparing; succeeding. Dream-work, divination, and meditation on goals and plans, especially spiritual ones

On Sunday evening be sure to pause and enjoy the simple pleasures of the beauty of the Buck Moon.

Art: Angela Jayne Barnett

Reference: The Months of the Moon

Slaying our own dragons

"Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because
they tell us that dragons can be beaten." - G.K. Chesteron



Fairy tales and fantasies abound with dragons, witches, wizards, fairies, druids, griffins – a host of magical beings and their spells, incantations, and hexes. The lands they inhabit are colorful and unusual, a delight to every perceptual sense. For lovers of fantasy, including myself, those details carry us away to visit and experience a new land. The journey of discovery is usually the end rather than the means.


Yet, the underlying themes of fairy tales and fantasies are often straight forward and simple. After elaborate world-building, so rich with detail the reader works hard to remember exotic names, places, and creatures, it would overwhelm to create a complex set of problems which must be solved.


Whether good will triumph over evil is the most typical question, as referred to in the quote by Chesteron. The moral lesson is simple; we can each triumph over our demons. In one of my works in progress, The Enchanted Bookstore: Seeking a Scribe, I have that basic theme along with one other – whether a love can grow between a pair of unlikely individuals and be enough to ease their personal suffering. In this book, the fact I have two themes largely follows from writing a cross genre of fantasy combined with romance/erotica. To me, having two main questions to answer is plenty, and I am careful to keep subplots from growing with their own confusing themes which would definitely encumber the reader.


Have you ever read a fantasy where this contrast did not exist, the theme was just as complex as the magical world? Few exist, but perhaps you found one. How did it read? Was it difficult to follow? Did you enjoy it?


Art: Steve Roberts