Supernatural Tales

Where Are the Bones? & Other Stories by Jacqueline Simpson is still available, and still eminently readable! Stories of the strange and supernatural by one of Britain's leading folklore experts. Contents: "Introduction" by Jacqueline Simpson; "Three Padlocks"; "On Danish Dunes"; "Where are the Bones...?"; "Vampire Viking Queen"; "Dragon Path"; "The Trophy"; "Rowland's Hall"; "Purty Liddle Dears"; "The Game of Bear"; "The Guardian"; "The Pepper-Pot"; "Afterword" by Gail-Nina Anderson; "A Note on Will Stone" by Rosemary Pardoe

You can find it on the UK Amazon site here . You can find it on the US Amazon site here .

You can buy it online here . Stories by Steve Duffy, Mark Valentine, Tracy Fahey, S.P. Miskowski, Helen Grant, Jane Jakeman, and Laura Lucas. Here are the opening sentences. It had often been said of Olivia that she trusted too much in the generosity of the men in her life. 'Chambers of the Heart' by Steve Duffy Jack rolled over and pushed something out of the way. 'Mortimer: The Husband's Story' by Jane Jakeman  Toby is married to Lana. 'Sargasso' by Laura Lucas  All through that last, unending winter, she bites her tongue. 'Inside Out' by Tracy Fahey  If you don’t mind, I find it advisable to schedule activities early in the day. 'Legends of Claudia' by S.P. Miskowski  It was the flash that woke him. 'Atmospheric Disturbances' by Helen Grant  When he saw the headline at the newspaper stand he had a brief flicker of unease. 'Red Lion Rising' by Mark Valentine

As I've written here before (and I won't bore on about it any more) I've been tired and stressed out for a long while now, and not in any condition to give thoughtful, considerate opinions on other people's writing. So I'm not able to posts proper book reviews. At the same time, I was sent some new books after things went pear-shaped, and I should at least draw attention to them. So... Bending to Earth is a Swan River Press collection of old but little-known 'Strange Stories by Irish women'. I have read most of the stories and can testify that there are well chosen by editors Brian Showers and Maria Giakaniki. Here you will find fairy tales, ghost stories, horror, and much else that is Gothic and, yes, strange. If you go to the link at the start of this para you will see an extract from the introduction, The present volume is subtitled “Strange Stories by Irish Women”, and its authors populate the better part of the nineteenth century. One might rightf...

Dust-Jacket art by Paul Lowe Sarob Press is publishing Their Dark & Secret Alchemy , an anthology of three novellas/novelettes by Richard Gavin, Colin Insole, and Damian Murphy. RICHARD GAVIN ~ TEN OF SWORDS: RUIN ... Secret things, furtive silent rituals, and the revealing of darker truths. COLIN INSOLE ~ THE DEAD OF MARIDUNUM ... A strange inheritance, a terrible tragedy, and the return of a sinister and ancient terror. DAMIAN MURPHY ~ THE AXIS OF THE LODESTONE ... Arcane ceremonies, the search for esoteric knowledge, and a sacramental descent into the depths.  I expect it will sell out very quickly - all Sarob titles do.

This is a wonderful wooden sculpture of a ghost at the Castle of Vezio. Check it out here . Nice to see spooks getting out in the fresh air, enjoying the sunshine. All s/he needs now is a nice bowl of pasta and some decent wine.

Rod Serling's decision to make The Twilight Zone was influenced by the fact that his attempts to tackle controversial issues in realistic drama were thwarted. An interesting article, here . Serling wrote a radio drama based on the notorious lynching of Emmett Till, but commercial sponsors - the effective censors of network TV in the Fifties - vetoed it. Soon after the trial concluded, Serling, riding off the success of his most well-received teleplay to date, felt compelled write a teleplay around the racism that led to Till’s murder. But the censorship that followed by advertisers and networks, fearful of blowback from white, Southern audiences, forced Serling to rethink his approach. His response, ultimately, was “The Twilight Zone,” the iconic anthology series that spoke truth to the era’s social ills and tackled themes of prejudice, bigotry, nuclear fears, war, among so many others. With Jordan Peele's relaunched TZ in the offing, it's an interesting read.

On the 30th October last year I received a request to review a new collection that was emailed to me as a pdf. I said yes, of course, happy at the prospect of reading stories by a writer new to me. Then, a few days later, my 82 year-old father fell seriously ill, and this set off a chain reaction of problems that culminated in his leg being amputated a couple of weeks ago. During the last four months I've had precious little time for reading, and things are not set to change any time soon. So I must apologise profusely to Rosanne and write a partial review, giving my opinion only on the stories I've managed to read. Sorry. Rosanne Rabinowitz is one of the rising stars of British fantasy/science fiction/genre spanning stuff, and this remarkable themed collection shows why. Resonance & Revolt explores history history in a way that only a well-informed writer can. The author also offers convincing glimpses of possible futures. The theme is always rebellion, in some se...

Nice piece at CrimeReads by Leslie S. Klinger and Lisa Morton. They rightly point to the link between the emergence of Spiritualism in the late 19th century and the rise in the popularity of fictional ghosts. While they cover familiar ground for fans of the genre, it's always good to see the 'right stuff' laid out in the one place like this. Just as wealthy Victorians on both sides of the Atlantic were flocking to séances in hopes of seeing a table levitate or hearing a dead loved one miraculously channeled by an attractive young medium, so at home they consumed ghost stories in the pages of the magazines that had become popular thanks to new printing technologies. Klinger and Morton have edited an anthology , and claim that they have collected 'ghost stories that have been overlooked by contemporary readers'. I would say that rather depends on the readers in question, as most of the stories are well-known to me. But it's a handsome volume and might well be ...