After reading Alan Garner’s “The Owl Service” recently I went on to learn about the Welsh myth of Blodeuwedd. Then I went on a deep-dive into the folklore surrounding owls…
Tag Archives: novels
Wintry Reading
Now come the days of taking shelter with something booky with the heating turned up or swathed in a duvet chrysalis. Here are some of the books I like to revisit in autumn and winter.
Ghostly Force Fields
How come ghosts are associated with high EMFs (electromagnetic frequencies)? Do the EMFs provide the “ghosts” or do the ghosts cause higher EMFs? Let’s investigate…
Reviews from Goodreads in 2012
Digitally looking back to a less complicated time, I found the first reviews I wrote on Goodreads in 2012, when I was aged 19 to 20.
Reviews from Goodreads in 2013
Digitally travelling back to a less complicated epoch, I found old reviews I wrote for books on Goodreads in 2013, when I was but a callow youth of 21.
Goodreads Reviews from 2014
Digitally travelling back in time to a less complicated era, I found old reviews I wrote for books on Goodreads. This was what I was feeding my brain more than ten years ago.
More Book Reviews from Goodreads in 2015
Delving into the archives of reviews I penned on Goodreads in 2015.
Old Book Reviews from Goodreads
Old book reviews written by Han Adcock in 2021.
Analog and Digital Ghost Hunting
Comparing old-fashioned and modern methods of capturing spirit phenomena. While the Spiritualism movement was at its peak in the 19th century and early 20th, mediums and other folks looking to contact the dead or otherwise prove the existence of ghosts used a few different tools: Spirit boards or Ouija boards Originally sold as a typeContinue reading “Analog and Digital Ghost Hunting”
Adventures in Automatic Writing
otherwise known as Psychography Automatic writing is claimed to be a method of communicating with spirits, or the subconscious, using writing implements and often a trance state. The belief is that spirits take control of the medium’s writing-hand to put words and marks on paper, sometimes in a foreign language or in a strange alphabet.Continue reading “Adventures in Automatic Writing”
Who and What is Wonda?
Wonda is a somewhat vague, nebulous, and free spirit* with a subtle current of mystery and hidden wisdom about what lies behind the veneer of reality. (*When this author says “spirit” he means personality — Wonda is a human, not a Ghost.) This young woman lives in a secluded tower on a piece of landContinue reading “Who and What is Wonda?”
Who and What is Skati of the Skins?
No one knows about the existence of this mystical man, apart from the evil Lady of a Thousand Faces. However, she cannot gain access to him or to the structure in his possession that she covets, which is good news for humanity. Residing in a solitary tower in a secret part of Dal-Rhiatah known asContinue reading “Who and What is Skati of the Skins?”
Who was Saint Eridmus?
In the present day, not many people know who Saint Eridmus was and what he did to become revered, let alone why the Church of St Eridmus bears his name. During the time in which the second book of the Nighthunter is set, there are no such things as wizards. They were all wiped outContinue reading “Who was Saint Eridmus?”
St Eridmus’s Church
The Church of Saint Eridmus is located on the outskirts of Corvin village in Dal-Rhiatah, the Northwestern continent. In the days before the old gods were forgotten — before the curse of the Grim began — the villagefolk would attend the church regularly, at least four times a year coinciding with the equinoxes. However, inContinue reading “St Eridmus’s Church”
The Psyche Technicians
In the grounds of Sunnyside orphanage in Corvin village, Dal-Rhiatah, is a separate building normally cordoned off to the general public — that is, apart from the adults that work there and eleven-year-olds. The building, colloquially known as “The Doctor’s Office”, is a laboratory where the children of Dal-Rhiatah take the Test around their eleventhContinue reading “The Psyche Technicians”
What and Where is Coven?
No one in the village of Corvin, let alone in the continent of Dal-Rhiatah, knows precisely where Coven is or even of its existence, but it is sometimes briefly alluded to in ancient texts and oral storytelling in more rural parts of that country. Located somewhere in the misty, Ghost-ridden Barren Plains, Coven is aContinue reading “What and Where is Coven?”
Who and What is Reed?
Reed is the longstanding nickname of one of the eldest boys in the shanty town of Coven. Four or five years older than Toby and Elka, he is the main authority figure when Noran is elsewhere or otherwise busy. Whenever bands of children are sent out from Coven to patrol its perimeter and scrounge forContinue reading “Who and What is Reed?”
Who and What is Arnie?
In Book Two of The Nighthunter series, Arnie (or Arnauld Wornovik) is a bereft twin and socially awkward young teenager who prefers the company of Ghosts to living humans — or at least, he thinks he does. His penchant for hanging out in graveyards and trying to break into buildings that were previously Haunted, amongstContinue reading “Who and What is Arnie?”
The Lapuli
The most infamous stench in the world emanates from the lapuli. Its pungent venom is extracted for use in industrial-strength vermin repellents. The aroma is enough to cause children and those of a more sensitive disposition to lose consciousness and suffer vivid nightmares. In most adult persons, prolonged exposure to the smell causes lurid hallucinations.Continue reading “The Lapuli”
A Little More About Ghostmerchants
I touched upon what a ghostmerchant does and the role of that profession towards the end of this post in my blog marathon about magical objects and beliefs in folklore. In the second book of The Nighthunter series, the current ghostmerchant of Corvin is a dull and unassuming-looking man named Mr Brosban. His main jobContinue reading “A Little More About Ghostmerchants”
What is a Forrestmuir?
The forrestmuir is a fairly rare creature that nests in mountainous or hilly regions in the north-western continent of Dal-Rhiatah, but is sometimes found hunting in wooded areas there. They are difficult to spot when amongst the trees as their plumage camouflages them in dappled light and against leaves. They have wings at least theContinue reading “What is a Forrestmuir?”
Who and What is Captain Rossa?
This young female member of the Griny-Plinth is their army’s second-in-command under General Morticum. We meet Captain Rossa during Logan‘s adventures on the magical continent of Thosea, when he and his friends are captured by the Griny-Plinth army and detained for being homo sapiens in their territory. She is a stickler for propriety and followingContinue reading “Who and What is Captain Rossa?”
Who and What is Toby Wyverg?
This introverted and thoughtful young lad is the younger brother of Elka Wyverg, a girl who suffers from the ability to summon different kinds of Ghosts whenever she feels strong emotions. Elka is a ghostbait child, confirmed by the Test all children in Dal-Rhiatah have to undertake in their eleventh year. We will meet TobyContinue reading “Who and What is Toby Wyverg?”
Nightwalks 