Supernatural Tales

The next issue - due out in the autumn - will see a mixture of familiar names and some newbies. I hope, as always, that the stories find favour with the eager masses! Contents (not necessarily in this order, however): 'The Night Visitor' by Steve Rasnic Tem 'Violet' by Rosanne Rabinowitz 'A Day Like No Other' by Sam Dawson 'Corpsed' by Matthew G. Rees 'The Haunting of Ian Bland' by Lisa Pritchard 'Hell Is' by James Everington 'Braunhofer's Coaches' by Martin Ruf, translated by Louis Marvick Provisional cover, art by Sam Dawson.

I've been a bit slow off the mark with my reviews this year, for various reasons. But I must mention the latest poetry pamphlet from Cardinal Cox, one of the most interesting writers on weird fiction we have. Instead of producing short stories or essays, this poet creates small, inexpensive pamphlets containing plenty of erudite notes as well as his often inspired verisyfing.  I've always liked Nyarlathotep, and this small collection does the mysterious geezer proud. Here we find the Starry Wisdom Cult, the obsequies of Queen Nitocris, and an interesting sidelight on witchcraft. The latter is particularly good. Couched as an interrogation of a woman who has 'no sins to confess', it begins with the usual turning of the screw. But then, hilariously, the woman implicates almost all of the solid citizens who accused her in the first place. Was Nyarlathotep the Black Man of the woods? Suffice to say it's convincing. Even the bit about her changing into a hare. What I lik...

Helen Grant's Christmas and distinctly Icelandic folk horror story ' Nábrók ' from issue 56 has been selected by Ellen Datlow for her long-running and prestigious anthology The Best Horror of the Year. Well done, Helen! An accolade truly deserved and not the first, I feel sure.  Here is the full table of contents: