Vellichor

shelves with many books stacked and organized

Vellichor

n.
the strange wistfulness of used bookstores, which are somehow infused with the passage of time—filled with thousands of old books you’ll never have time to read, each of which is itself locked in its own era, bound and dated and papered over like an old room the author abandoned years ago, a hidden annex littered with thoughts left just as they were on the day they were captured.

From vellum, parchment + ichor, the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Ancient Greek mythology. Pronounced “vel-uh-kawr.”

Keta

a hand reaching through paper with a flower drawing

Fellchaser

a blurred shadow of a person in a dark room

Alpha Exposure

a close-up of a baby with diffusion filter

Lisolia

a bookcase containing objects

Daguerreologue

Daguer-reologue

a man sitting in blurred silhouette at a desk

Affogatia

miscellaneous items on a table

Enterhood

adults with stern expressions holding a child

Cullaways

a lone sand castle on a beach at low tide

Keyframe

a large rock in the water with emanating ripples

Clockwise

a close-up of flower along with polaroid pictures

Pithered

stacks of papers and folders piled high on a table

Aftersome

rows of opaque and clear marbles

Achenia

a close-up of a bottle with an organic object inside

Innity

a neatly made bed with diffused light glowing

Wildred

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

Caucic

a close-up of a stone walking path

Wellium

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

Future-Tense

a person looking at their reflection

La Cuna

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

The Standard Blues

Cover image for the The Standard Blues word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Mimeomia

a person wearing an animal onesie garment