Supernatural Tales

The six stories in this slim volume comprise the entire fictional output of Conall Cearnach, the pen-name of F. W. O’Connell. In an excellent introduction, Reggie Chamberlain-King describes the author as 'a peculiar Protestant divine, linguist and Irish language scholar, oddball essayist, and early national broadcaster.' O'Connell was a prolific translator and his deep knowledge of various literary traditions informed his fiction, or at least some of it.  All these stories were written during the traumatic period of Irish partition in 1921. As such they can be read both as entertaining weird tales and attempts to come to terms with contemporary anxieties in a creative way. Writing as therapy, if you like. The title story harks back to the contes cruel of the 19th century, with its tale of two obsessive chess players who are rivals for the love of the same woman. One contrives a terrible variant on the royal game that will eliminate one of the rivals.  'The Vengeance of...

 

  You can find it here at Lulu.  Amazon Kindle version also available here .

  With luck I should have all copies mailed out to contributors and subscribers by the end of this month.  Go here to purchase print on demand copies. Ezines to follow soon

Lyrics by frequent ST contributor and all-round writerly personage  Helen Grant.

I think I've praised this movie before, but it deserves to be more widely known. It happens to be on Prime at the moment so if you have that platform, give it a try. Static is one of those films that cleverly subverts the horror genre in a stylish, ultimately moving way. A couple, played by Sarah Shahi and Milo Ventimiglia, live in a pleasant semi-rural home, but their lives are troubled. Author Jonathan Dade has just finished his latest book but his wife, Addie, is deeply depressed. It emerges that their small son died in an accident and blame, anger, and despair might well tear their marriage apart.  This seems to be shaping up as a ghost story in which their child, Thomas, might play a role. It's listed as a horror movie, after all. But things do not proceed in a predictable way. Instead, Jonathan keeps hearing some kind of weird electronic interference - hence the title. Then, in the middle of the night, someone comes knocking at the door. The visitor turns out to be a scar...

  Long-term ST contributor Helen Grant made her name with young adult novels with a mystery/thriller element. Her latest novel represents a departure, in that it's aimed at a general audience. It is also her first novel that is also a ghost story, with full-on Gothic elements. Here is the blurb . Sometimes it's terrifying, loving someone this much...For Fen Munro and her fiancé James, it is a dream come true: an escape from London to a beautiful house in the stunning Perthshire countryside. Barr Dubh house is modern, a building with no past at all. But someone walks the grounds, always dressed in lavender. Under a lichenous stone in an abandoned graveyard, a hideous secret lies buried. And at night, Fen is tormented by horrifying dreams. Someone wants Fen's happiness, and nothing is going to stop them—not even death... The first chapter sets down a marker for horror. Fen wakes up not in bed with her beloved James, but interred in a coffin wearing an antiquated wedding dress...