Backmasking

a woman's face with a double exposure

Backmasking

n.
the instinctive tendency to see someone as you knew them in their youth—a burned-in image of grass-stained knees, graffitied backpacks, or handfuls of birthday cake, superimposed on an adult with a mortgage, or children of their own.

In audio recording, backmasking is a technique wherein a sound is deliberately recorded backward, so it’s only intelligible when played in reverse.

Grayshift

a spiral staircase from above

La Gaudière

Cover image for the La Gaudière word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Craxis

a tall house of cards

Occhiolism

Cover image for the Occhiolism word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Innity

a neatly made bed with diffused light glowing

Heartmoor

a campfire with a kettle many small logs