About The Living Dark
Welcome to The Living Dark
The Living Dark is a journal of creative and spiritual inquiry at the edge of experience. It brings together essays, reflections, and explorations on writing, inspiration, and the mysteries that haunt human life. At its heart lies the figure of the daemon muse—the inner genius that fuels authentic creativity—and the recognition that our deepest impulses toward art, meaning, and transcendence are entwined with mystery, dread, and awe.
Here you’ll find:
Essays on writing and creativity: the nature of artistic inspiration, the role of the daemon muse, and the struggle to create authentically in a distracted, collapsing world.
Spiritual and philosophical reflections: nondual perspectives, meditation, awakening, and the search for purpose amid existential uncertainty.
Explorations of horror and the numinous: how cosmic horror, supernatural themes, and ontological dread illuminate the hidden layers of consciousness and culture.
Personal notes and dialogues: combining the insights of a writer, teacher, musician, and cultural critic with the lived realities of seeking meaning and clarity today.
In The Living Dark I share essays, reflections, and ongoing explorations—works in progress as well as finished pieces—gathered at the crossroads of creativity, spirituality, and existential dread.
The major themes interwoven throughout include:
Creativity as collaboration with the unknown
Nonduality and spiritual awakening
The intersection of horror, religion, and mystery
Life purpose in an age of upheaval and apocalypse
The Living Dark speaks to writers, artists, and seekers drawn to questions of meaning, creativity, and spirit. It’s a gathering place for those fascinated by the interplay of wonder and terror, silence and expression, collapse and renewal. An ongoing exploration of how to live and create in full contact with the mystery at the heart of things.
What Critics Have Said (about my books)
“[A] thinking-man’s book of the macabre.” — Publishers Weekly on Dark Awakenings
“Cardin’s accomplishments as a writer are paralleled by his expertise as a literary critic and theorist.” — Thomas Ligotti
“[A] landmark collection.” — Asimov’s Science Fiction on To Rouse Leviathan
“Informative . . . engaging . . . a pleasure to read.” — Booklist (starred review) on Horror Literature through History
“Fascinating.” — Kirkus Reviews on Horror Literature through History
“Recommended.’ — Library Journal on Mummies around the World
What Readers Have Said
“So happy I found your newsletter. Your insights on the writing process resonated deeply with me.” — Jennifer Sablich
“Your work has very much connected with me, especially the elements covering existential dread, Ligotti (of course!), and how we writers/humans can curate our own ‘meaning’ without coming apart.” — William Grabowski
“I’m so glad I found you, just as I was about to totally give up. Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge.” — V.
“You’re writing some of the freshest stuff on spiritual creativity I’ve seen since Julia Cameron and Natalie Goldberg.” — R. J.
“Your writing has helped me tap into parts of myself I feel very strongly but often struggle to articulate, particularly my relationship to spirituality, creativity, and what it means (or doesn’t mean) to be a person.” — Andrew Sanger
“Thank you for sharing your writing. It has been a tremendous help in shifting how I see creativity and ultimately life itself.” — J. B.
“I went through a challenging relationship with my writing, and your voice is helping me find my way out of that particular dark.” — M. Rickert
About the Author
I’m a writer and educator whose work explores creativity, spirituality, horror, and culture. I have a master’s degree in religious studies and a Ph.D. in leadership, and my writing spans fiction and nonfiction, focusing on the intersections of horror, religion, and creative inspiration. Beyond writing, I have worked as a professor, college vice president, videographer, media producer, and musician.
