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"During his lifetime, most people assumed he was British, Victorian, and dead. Finally, at least one of the above was true." - Mark Dery
"Gorey[was], the idea that you are telling the story you want to tell and that 99/100 people are going to not be on your wavelength. They're going to look at a story like Coraline and just go it's too weird, then one person will go this, this is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." - Neil Gaiman
Gorey in his attic room at the Garvey's summer house in Cape Cod (1961)
Gorey loved George Balanchine's work at the New York City Ballet and ritually attended all showings of each ballet season for 23 years.
He felt guilty for wearing so many fur coats earlier in life, so he let raccoons live in his attic.
While he collected fine art like Vuillard, Balthus, and Manet he also collected “kitsch” paintings which were art in poor taste or something that's an imitation of something else. He was intrigued that someone would spend time framing and painting them.
As a longtime advocate for animal welfare, he left his estate to The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust which he established for the welfare of all living creatures as well as literacy causes.
He didn't have a senior photo in his high school yearbook so if people asked he would draw himself in the blank spot.
Fond of colored glass, he kept pieces ranging from rare antique cut glass to fragments found along the shore on every window ledge in his Cape Cod home.
Had three hundred pounds of rusting metal objects like machine arts, railroad stakes, and old tools because of his appreciation for the texture of decay.
His Cape Cod house was given the name 'Elephant House' possibly because the splintering shingles resembled elephant skin or because he was enamored with the elephant-head-looking white porcelain toilet that he had repurposed into an end table
He hated traveling, only going abroad for a childhood trip to Cuba with his grandparents and a later trip to Scotland. Also said he worried about who would take care of his cats.
He has called the 1932 movie 'Vampyr' by Carl Dreyer "the greatest horror movie ever" and used the font in his cover for Alan Ryans 'Vampires' book.
Red and purple glass along Gorey's Cape Cod home
Blue glass on Gorey's windowsill
Heavy metal pieces found by Gorey and various metal seasoning shakers
Shelves at Gorey's Cape Cod home filled with books, music, movies, and more
Shredded furniture in Gorey's home due to his vast number of cats
Metal frogs around the window of Edward Gorey's home and the "Elephant Toilet" owned by Gorey
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