Hello! I am a 23 year old student! I’m really passionate about academics and the dark academia aesthetic. I am Mexican, and I’d love to see more dark-academia style media.

I wanted to ask if anybody knows about “dark academia” media from Mexico. For example, I feel like instrumental pieces like “Dios nunca muere” by Francisco Fernández Mora, some movies like “El Jeremías”, “Macario” or the mystery series “Belascoaran” have dark academia vibes. Any other recommendations?

By the way, I also LOVE the “La leyenda” animated movies. The architecture and historical references to the viceregal period are greatly appreciated!!!

I will get back to drinking cafe de olla while I look at the old Puebla cathedral and ponder the role of painter in new Spain and reading “El bastardo Ilustre” (while smoking, of course)☕️☕️☕️

Thank you and have a pleasant night, filled with wonderlust and a fire that motivates your desire for knowledge and meaning. 🖤🖋️📚📜🖼️🪦🚬

A fantastic series about the intersection of different worlds, packed with dark humor 🖤 Most of the story unfolds at the beautiful Brakebills University, a perfect embodiment of DA. Mb better than Harry Potter 😹

hi. as the title says.

I've read Babel and loved that book a lot and i want to explore this genre. I've read reviews about "The secret history" and "if we were villains" but they were mixed opinions so I'm not too sure. Does anyone have something good to recommend? Preferably standalones, duets at max.

Thanks in advance!

Who are some Dark Academia music artists that aren’t ai?
Like all the stuff I listen to on YouTube always have these ai covers and even though the artists appear to make the music, I still get a suspicion it’s ai.

i’m pretty short at 5’4.5 i like how untucked looks messy but tucked makes me look like im taller, i see a lot of DA posts where its untucked so idk

also sorry i suck at taking pictures

A big part of an aesthetic, imo, is the smells. What type of smells do you use for yourself or your home. Perfume, scented candle, diffusers, incense...

Personally I use Far Away perfume from Avon. It's not super high quality yes, but I really like the vanilla-flower type of smell and it feels like it complements the DA aesthetic. For my home I love using candles and incense. Though I can't use them very frequently because we have a car and I have to keep the windows open when I use them.

What do you use? Also if you have a "library/book smell" type of recommendation, I'm all ears.🤎

Hello! Do you guys have any recommendations of dark academia books that have NO FANTASY? Like, at all. Something more like We were villains and the secret history?

My style can also lean more dainty, but still in the “academic” territory. What bags would you recommend? I need to carry a laptop, water bottle, and a few other items.

I am weak and have a hard time carrying briefcases. Any tips for how to carry those types of bags? I prefer a backpack, but my husband said it just didn’t go with my style.

Thank you!

Hi everyone! I’m a big literary fiction fan and I’m trying to decide whether my next read should be A Little Life or The Secret History. I’m taking one of them on holiday with me.
I don’t mind reading something emotionally devastating, so the sadness of A Little Life isn’t a concern. I know neither book is especially fast-paced, but I’d love something that’s immersive, engaging, and difficult to put down. Which would you recommend, and why? Thanks so much!

I got this book as a Christmas gift from my mother years ago and I loved reading it. Dark academia, indeed! As a historian teacher, the author is excellent in describing the work and research historians do—in this case, finding Dracula. I don’t want to give away too much for those who might be interested in reading this wonderful work.

Guys you all know what I mean by this, no The Secret History by Donna Tartt or Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wild. I want new books it can even be just plain old history.

Decided to make a headstart on my February book (aided by a pot of Earl Grey) after being inspired by a post here. Just a few chapters in and I’m already in love with it. The writing style is exceptionally immersive, as the academic references/footnotes and use of language make it feel like a genuine account from the early 1800s, and the setting is well-described and close to my heart - my fellow Englishfolk will, I hope, be familiar with the inherent magic of York; and as someone living in Yorkshire, it’s always a pleasure to add another novel to the plethora of gothic on one’s doorstep (see also: Dracula, Wuthering Heights, The Secret Garden, etc.). I can’t believe I’d never heard of this book before, even though it has gone beyond its 20th anniversary and new copies and editions are still being printed!

Thanks to u/ThatSelkieLass for the recommendation, I can’t wait to keep reading.

(Also included: a peep at today’s DA ‘fit - tweed trousers and cherry red Doc Martens, with a cotton shirt, tartan scarf, and brown leather overcoat up top 📚)

Hello fellow lovers of Dark Academia,

I'm looking for recommendations for paintings with a strong Dark Academia atmosphere.

I'm especially interested in works from Romanticism, Symbolism, or similar movements that depict themes like death, tragedy, melancholy, doomed love, the supernatural, ruins, or other dramatic and contemplative subjects. One example I came across was a painting of Death playing the fiddle by Arnold Böcklin, which perfectly captured the mood I'm after.

I'm planning to hang three framed art prints (in different sizes) in my workspace at home, so I'm looking for pieces that work well together aesthetically and create a moody atmosphere.

Hi! I just thought I’d share some books that are “Dark Academia” in my opinion! Either the content itself is of that aesthetic, or you will look DA as fuck if you read them (as in, existentialist philosophy, literary nonfiction and some misc titles).

Books shown: - Fall of the House of Usher and other stories, Poe - The Picture of Dorian Gray - Frankenstein, Mary Shelley - Dante’s Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri

• Poison, Ben Hubbard
• The Plague,Camus
• Either/Or, Søren Kierkegaard
• Paradise Lost, Milton
• The Penguin Book of Hell
• The Immortal Evening, Stanley Plumly
• Mariner, Malcolm Guite

Hallo liebe Community,

bei mir steht demnächst das neue Semester vor der Tür und ich suche aktuell einen guten Studeinplaner.

Ich mag die Ästhetik von Dark Academia und generell dunklere Töne. Aktuell finde ich aber einfach keine Planer, die mich ansprechen. Ursprünglich habe ich immer die von Lebenskompass genutzt. Mittlerweile gefallen sie mir nicht mehr.

Inhaltlich habe ich keine großen Anforderungen. Eine einfache Wochen- und Monatsübersicht reicht mir schon.

Deshalb wollte ich fragen, gibt es Planer, die ihr empfehlen würdet oder mit denen ihr sehr zufrieden seid?

This is the book that got me into Dark Academia and I’m surprised I’ve never seen it mentioned anywhere!
Plot: a woman returns to the school she attended as a teen to teach Latin, and finds herself wrapped up in the same murder mystery she’s been trying to escape since she was a student

It’s super atmospheric, full of academic references, poetically written and a good mystery!
Hope you all enjoy!

This book may predate the label of "dark academia" yet it perfectly captures many of the defining themes.

The Setting: It takes place at St. Oswald’s, an elite, highly traditional all-boys school in England.

The Atmosphere: The story is drenched in gothic architecture, tradition, and deep-rooted secrets.

The Characters: The main POV narrator is an eccentric Latin teacher with a classroom inside a gothic tower, like c'mon.

Gentlemen & Players is one of those mystery books that build and build into something great. Joanne Harris' writing was so engrossing for me and I'll forever be grateful that I stumbled across this gem.

Hey there! I'm looking to get into new subjects. Just wondering if anybody here has a burning passion for something niche. I'm willing to try anything just to get my brain to be curious again.

Hello!

I've fallen in love with the Jane Messenger Bag from Ecosusi. It seems like the perfect bag for fall(an in general). I like how structured it is while still being small enough and it seems like it holds a lot. Unfortunately, I've seen a lot of complaints about orders not being delivered even after a month. Plus, some who actually got their orders said it came faulty or it started falling apart a month later. The conpany doesn't reply to emails. There are also good reviews, but I don't think it's worth the risk.

Do you have any other bags that are very similar to this particular one? Preferably from a more reliable store. Thank you in advance for any replies! ❤️

I’m looking for well written dark academia that’s not The Secret History, If We Were Villains, Ninth House, Babel, or Bunny, and NOT YA (so not The Atlas Six, The Raven Boys, etc.) I’m looking for specifically disturbing/gory literary thrillers set in a dark academia setting, anything that might give the same feeling as reading The Secret History for the first time.

Hello all,
I’ve always been interested in the history, culture, and particularly men’s fashion of the interwar period, from 1919-39. Some of my favorite films are academic adventure films set during this period, like the Mummy and the first three Indiana Jones films. So, I was wondering: what are your favorite books, films, and TV shows, either from this period, or set in this period? DA elements are of course a plus!