Definitely want to see this one. Hope it lives up to the trailer, which looks good. Some might say it's an unoriginal idea, but hopefully it's actually a *classic* idea, done well again.
I agree, James - it's very difficult to come up with a new ghost story concept without cheating. One can't really do the 'occult detective' thing convincingly in a modern setting, and of course a setting has to be atmospheric. The Japanese and Koreans have done modern buildings to death and beyond, so in a way old buildings are slightly fresher.
This is a running review of the book Spirits of the Dead. Find out more here . My opinion on the penultimate story in this collection has not changed since I first came across it 2015 in a collection of works inspired by Arthur Machen. So... Ron Weighell's 'The Chapel of Infernal Devotion' is not just an erudite horror story but an extended essay on Machen's cultural significance. It follows a book collector who fails to secure a particular illustration at an auction. His researches reveal a link between the mysterious artist, who used the name Adam Midnight, and Machen. Midnight, whose real name was Philip Youlden, seems to have had a more than purely aesthetic interest in the occult. Our hero is inspired to try and find out more. Thus begins an odyssey that takes the protagonist from the relatively comfortable world of book dealers to the strange house of Plas Gwyllion, where an elderly musician guards Youlden's bizarre and dangerous legacy. Along the way we e...
'B. Catling, R.A. (1948-2022) was born in London. He was a poet, sculptor, filmmaker, performance artist, painter, and writer. He held solo exhibitions and performances in the United Kingdom, Spain, Japan, Iceland, Israel, Holland, Norway, Germany, Greenland, USA, and Australia. His Vorrh trilogy and novels Earwig and Munky have drawn much critical acclaim. He was also Emeritus Professor of Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford.' I had never heard of B(rian) Catling when I received a review copy of this book , which comes with three intriguing postcards 'featuring photographs by Iain Sinclair and text by Alan Moore' . I was a little puzzled. So I did some Googling and YouTubing and discovered that Catling was a very significant figure in the UK arts scene. I feel slightly ashamed that his work passed me by, but I have tried to dispel some of my ignorance. This book certainly offers a good overview of some of the man's ideas and personal visio...
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