Enter the World of Dark Academia with these Atmospheric Book and Candle Pairings.
Is there anything better than settling into a comfy chair with a crackling candle and a good book? Add in rain pattering against a window sill and a hot cup of tea, and you've got the perfect afternoon.
Whether your dream is a stately library in an ancient manor house, or a walk along cobblestone streets as rain begins to fall, we have book and candle combinations that will take you right there. Let's begin.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë with Stroll in a Storm
“Jane, be still; don't struggle so like a wild, frantic bird, that is rending its own plumage in its desperation."
"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being, with an independent will; which I now exert to leave you.”
This classic Gothic Romance features a determined heroine who strives to exert her independence against great odds. Send yourself to the gloomy, isolated Thornfield Hall and escape to roam the grounds as storm clouds gather above by pairing this book with Stroll in a Storm.
Stroll in a Storm
Notes of lightning crossing a dark, rainy sky and fresh wind driving the clouds over a faint breath of dampened woods.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Oxford Hall
“These days vampires gravitated toward particle accelerators, projects to decode the genome, and molecular biology. Once they had flocked to alchemy, anatomy, and electricity. If it went bang, involved blood, or promised to unlock the secrets of the universe, there was sure to be a vampire around.”
This book features witches and vampires in an Oxford setting. When interaction with an ancient manuscript awakens a professor's latent magical abilities send her on a journey to learn more about her own powers.
Light Oxford Hall to find yourself searching through ancient tomes in a university library.
Oxford Hall
Notes of antique hickory study desks and suede armchairs with a hint of loose-leaf tobacco.
Anything by Edgar Allan Poe with Poet's Elegy
We're cheating here because we just couldn't choose! Whether you love Poe's romantic and haunting poetry or his chilling short stories.
Poe's work is flavored with tragedy and mourning as well as dark imagery. Whether you settle in with a collection of poems or a scary story, Poet's Elegy's spicy aroma will bring your imagination to life.
Poet's Elegy
Notes of ripened gourds placed upon cobblestones and warming orange over earthy patchouli leaves.
Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco with Castle Giftshop
“You're dressed for sneaking about Dracula's castle. Be still my thawing, dark heart. You certainly know how to make a young man feel alive, Wadsworth.”
Forensic science meets vampires with this witty historical mystery set in Victorian Romania.
Bring the castle setting to life with Castle Giftshop's notes of leather and juniper berries.
Castle Giftshop
Notes of forgotten curiosities and leather pouches filled with juniper berries, spun with ancient magic and dried black petals.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo with Calligraphy
"He could never shake the thought that he was seeing only one world when there might be many, that there were lost places, maybe even lost people who might come to life for him if he just squinted hard enough or found the right magic words. Books, with their promises of enchanted doorways and secret places, only made it worse.”
Slip into the academic world of a Yale student, homicide survivor, and ghost-seer Alex as she navigates secret societies hidden behind the Ivy League world.
Enhance your reading with this scent of old papers and glowing amber.
Notes of glowing amber and aged paper, laced with toasted sugar and poetry.
Sherlock Holmes Stories by Arthur Conon Doyle with Board and Bishop
“My mind,” he said, “rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession,—or rather created it, for I am the only one in the world.”
Another "cheat" where we recommend a body of work rather than a single volume. Sherlock Holmes stories often involve cat and mouse mind games and complicated puzzles.
If you prefer watching to reading, there are endless adaptations of this famous detective with something for every taste.
Pair them all with the chess inspired Board and Bishop with its scents of rich wood and sultry vanilla.
Board and Bishop
Notes of the glow of warm amber glistening off the rich wood of a well-used chessboard with the gentle caress of tonka bean and midnight vanilla.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke with Guild Exclusive: Scholar's Haven
“Can a magician kill a man by magic?” Lord Wellington asked Strange.
Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. “I suppose a magician might,” he admitted, “but a gentleman never could.”
This whimsical but intricate tale of two rival British magicians during the Napoleonic war who clash over their differing methods but ultimately must work together for the greater good.
The story is entwined with fairy meddling and madness.
Both Strange and Norrell hoard magical tomes. If you treasure books as much as these magicians, you'll love Scholar's Haven.
This Guild Exclusive candle features fragrances of old books and dried ink with a magical hint of violet.
Scholar's Haven
Notes of ancient tomes, dried ink, and leather covers, with toasted vanilla beans and traces of dried violet petals.
Other recommendations:
Fey of the Castle Garden by Naomi P. Cohen, Love, Lies, & Hocus Pocus by Lydia Sherrer, Pages & Co by Anna James, The Alchemyst's Mirror by Liz Delton, Ghostlight by Rabia Gale, White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Whatever you're reading, our Dark Academia collection is the perfect way to enhance your experience and transport yourself to a world of poetry, old books, and romance.
Enter the university halls and castle gardens of Dark Academia with this unparalleled collection of handcrafted candles. All-natural, vegan, soy-free candles made with luxurious coconut wax, hand-poured in Washington state!
This a seasonal collection, available for Fall 2023 only.
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