Issue 36 Available Now

It's out! The magazine, that is. Issue 36, that's the three dozenth release from the mighty Supernatural Tales franchise. So, if you want to sample the new issue in print form, you can mosey on over to the POD Lulu.com page and order at least one copy. Possibly several. Or you can wait a wee while until the Kindle ebook becomes available. Further news of that later in the week.

But what's in the magazine, eh? That's what you're asking. So let's have a peek at the opening sentences of some stories. I think you may detect a whiff of old-school ghost story, a soupcon of modern horror, and a general Gothicky tone here and there.

'The Templar Cup' by Paul Lewis

Rain fell on London as I hurried into the station; that persistent drizzle which clings to the clothes and the hair so that one remains unpleasantly damp long after reaching shelter...

'The Chiromancer' by Tom Johnstone

“Penny arcades not your thing, Willy?” asked Bertie, affecting an air of innocence, breaking the uneasy hush that had fallen in the smoking room of the Regina Club.

'Sacred Ground' by Nancy Cole Silverman

The highway from L.A. to Vegas is like a long strip of cement spaghetti, and in the brutal hot summer sun, buried beneath the surface of a desert mirage, it appeared to undulate like the fan of a Vegas stripper teasing its patrons.

'In the Rigging' by Jane Jakeman

“Very valuable, they were. Worth a mint of money,” said the old sailor sitting in the corner of the bar.

'The Tidier' by Gary Fry

Until it happened again, Gardner thought the first time had been a hallucination.

'The Subliminals' (Part 2) by Michael Chislett

Given Lant’s avocation, there was always a hazard from unwanted company, of a certain kind, seeking him out.

'Long-Haired and Sickly Beautiful' by Malcolm Laughton

Rob doubted the interviewee would even turn up. There had been no known motive, no blood, blade or body, just a missing husband on a honeymoon.

While we're on the subject, why not take a gander at these brief author biogs?

Nancy Cole Silverman's realization that she and Edgar Allen Poe shared the same birthday sparked her lifelong interest in mystery fiction. After a very successful career in the radio industry she turned to writing, and her crime-focused novels and short stories have attracted readers throughout America. Her Carol Childs Mysteries series (Henery Press) features a single-mom whose day job as a reporter at a busy Los Angeles radio station often leads to long nights as a crime-solver. Silverman lives in Los Angeles with her husband and a thoroughly pampered standard poodle.

Paul Lewis has penned hundreds of TV and radio comedy sketches and several radio sitcoms. He is the author of numerous horror stories, the Arthurian fantasy novel The Savage Knight and the 2017 novella Small Ghosts. His collaborative works include a Doctor Who contribution for BBC Books' The Story of Martha.

Malcolm Laughton lives in Glasgow, Scotland; and works as a Scottish Parliamentary Assistant. His stories have previously appeared in: The Horror Zine Magazine; Supernatural Tales; Electric Spec; Eulogies II, Tales from the Cellar; Bards and Sages Quarterly; Dark Horizons, the Journal of the British Fantasy Society, and other magazines.

Tom Johnstone lives and works in Brighton, England. He is a gardener who writes when he can: mainly short stories, but lately they've been getting longer, until earlier this year one of them accidentally grew into a novella. Too much fertiliser? He isn’t sure. But he’s hoping the result will appear in print in the not-too-distant future. His fiction has appeared in various publications, including Horror Library Vol. 6 (Cutting Block Press), Supernatural Tales, K Zine, Wicked Women (Fox Spirit Books), Cold Iron (Iron Press), Best Horror of the Year #8 (Night Shade Books) and Brighton - The Graphic Novel (Queen Spark Books). He incorporated some elements and characters from his contribution to the latter publication in 'The Chiromancer'. More information at tomjohnstone.wordpress.com.

Jane Jakeman is an author and art historian who is Welsh by birth and schooling. She has had a number of short stories published in Supernatural Tales, Ghosts and Scholars, and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, also seven full-length novels. She lives in Oxford with her Egyptologist husband and their two black cats.

Gary Fry lives in Dracula’s Whitby, literally around the corner from where Bram Stoker was staying when he was developing that character. Gary has a PhD in psychology but his first love is literature. He is the author of many short story collections, novellas and novels. He was the first author in PS Publishing’s Showcase series, and none other than Ramsey Campbell has described him as “a master.” Gary warmly welcomes all to his web presence: www.gary-fry.com

Michael Chislett usually sets his stories in London, places that he knows, he even knows some of the characters he writes about, although the names have been changed, to protect the guilty as it were. His short story collection, In the City of Ghosts won the Dracula Society Children of the Night award for best short story collection for 2015. His story, 'The Middle Park' originally published in ST is to appear in translation in the Japanese magazine Nightland which he is very pleased about.