Tag Archives: undead

I’m Owl About Them Owls

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…

The Crow King and the Tengu

Whilst I was halfway through writing a book of short stories (still a work in progress) about a particular character, “The Crow King” – a sort of minor bird-god – that I found out about the Tengu, and noticed a bizarre and uncanny resemblance. I thought I’d share my findings and how this serendipity occurred here.

Most Haunted Places in the UK and Its Environs

Some ghostly and historical tidbits about the most haunted locations in the country in which I fester (and places surrounding that).

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.

Poems & Writings for the Dark Season

A selection of poems and excerpts for Halloween and the dark Gothic season that falls afterwards along with website and YouTube channel recommendations

Testing Ghost-Hunting Apps

Last time I posted, I covered old-fashioned and modern tools that paranormal investigators use when visiting supposedly haunted locations. As I said I would, I have trialled a few iPhone apps that claim to detect presences and enable the layperson to communicate with entities from the “other side.” To start with I used the appsContinue reading “Testing Ghost-Hunting Apps”

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”

Fireships and Ghostlights

Last week we covered some different versions of will-o-the-wisps from various corners of the Earth, some well-known, others almost unheard of (by those in the Western world, that is). What follows are some extra ghostly oojamaflicks that didn’t make it into that post, including a phantom fireship. The Fireship of Baie des Chaleurs Otherwise calledContinue reading “Fireships and Ghostlights”

Ignes Fatui Around the World

Latin – English translation: “Foolish Flames.” Known in the UK as hinkypunks, friar’s lanterns, or jack-o-lanterns, ignes fatui or ghostlights / will-o-the-wisps appear in certain areas and are believed to lead travellers astray in folklore (or, sometimes, to show them the correct route to take if they are already lost). Last week’s post covered theContinue reading “Ignes Fatui Around the World”

Shedding a light on Ghostlights

Atmospheric ghostlights (will-o-the-wisps or hinkypunks, to use some older terms) are strange lights that appear in the air / sky at a distance (even close to the ground) without an exact logical explanation for their existence. We’ve all probably heard folktales or stories concerning distant lights in swamps or marshes that lure unwary travellers intoContinue reading “Shedding a light on Ghostlights”

Serendipitous Ghost Photography

Last week I blathered on about photographic methods for faking images of ghosts. This time we will be taking a look at how ghosts appear in photographs by chance. Accidental spirit photography usually falls into two categories: orbs and faint figures (often consisting of faces or head-and-upper body forms, though there are exceptions.) Orbs: TheseContinue reading “Serendipitous Ghost Photography”

Ghost Photography Techniques, Past and Present

In the late 19th century, during the advent of photography, the way to “photograph ghosts” was stumbled upon accidentally through the usage of long exposure. Sir David Brewster decided this method could be utilised to create deliberate ghostly photographs in 1856, prompting the London Stereoscopic Company to make a series of images known as TheContinue reading “Ghost Photography Techniques, Past and Present”

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”

Conversing with the Dead

The term “seance” comes from the French word meaning “session,” (from Old French seoir, meaning “to sit”). These days, practically everyone knows a seance involves meeting with a group of like-minded people (or curious sceptics) in a dimly-lit or darkened room to try to communicate with the deceased or other denizens from the “spirit world.”Continue reading “Conversing with the Dead”

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 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?”

Selkies and How to Protect Yourself Against Lightning

Part XV of Amulets & Talismans The mythical half-human creatures known as Selkies can be found in Norse, Scottish, Irish, Icelandic, and Faroese stories. Selkies shapeshifted between human and seal form by shedding and replacing their skins. The word “Selkie” comes from the Scottish word selch, which means “grey seal.” The most common form ofContinue reading “Selkies and How to Protect Yourself Against Lightning”

Babylonian Stones & Amulets… and the Corverus Stone

Part XIV of Amulets & Talismans Babylon had special boundary stones (or “kudurru” stones in Akkadian, a language used in ancient Mesopotamia). These stones were seen as sacred and magical. Kudurrus were a stone record of gifts (kind of like a receipt) especially for such things as land grants given to someone by the King.Continue reading “Babylonian Stones & Amulets… and the Corverus Stone”

Review: The Inhabitant of the Lake & Other Unwelcome Tenants by Ramsey Campbell

4 out of 5 stars One of my first thoughts, on reading “The Horror From the Bridge” (the second tale in this collection) was: who is Peabody and why is their voice drifting out of the window (on page 28)? The second story, “The Insects from Shaggai” was one of my favourites. The description ofContinue reading “Review: The Inhabitant of the Lake & Other Unwelcome Tenants by Ramsey Campbell”

Review: Welcome to Meadowbrook by Cassandra L. Thompson

4 out of 5 stars Trigger Warning: This novel contains themes of death, violence, and abuse. There is a trigger index at the back of the book. Welcome to Meadowbrook is a story of stories, beginning with a short poem by the author on how hotels are liminal spaces, which turns out to be importantContinue reading “Review: Welcome to Meadowbrook by Cassandra L. Thompson”

Cambions, Witch Prickers, and what in the nine Hells is a ghostmerchant?

Part IV of Amulets & Talismans In last week’s article on witch marks (and witch’s marks…) I touched on the “witch’s teat” and mentioned about cambions. Here is the lowdown on these entities. The witch’s teat — either some kind of skin tag or a supernumerary nipple — was a perversion of the maternal, andContinue reading “Cambions, Witch Prickers, and what in the nine Hells is a ghostmerchant?”

Who and What is Elka Wyverg?

Elka is an eleven-year-old ghostbait child living in Corvin, a village or small town in Dal-Riatah, with her younger brother (Toby) and her parents. Dal-Riatah is a continent in the North-West of the Dal-Riatan Empire and its environs, and this country has a curse on it: every child is born either ghostbait (they “Bring” GhostsContinue reading “Who and What is Elka Wyverg?”

Vampires According to Calmet

In 1751, an Abbot wrote a treatise on ghosts, vampires, and revenants. Dom Calmet, or the Abbot Antoine Augustin Calmet, wrote the book in two volumes. It was called “Treatise on the Apparitions of Spirits and on Vampires or Revenants of Hungary, Moravia, et al” In it, Calmet described a vampire as a “revenant corpse”Continue reading “Vampires According to Calmet”

The Book of Dom Calmet

The Abbot Antoine Augustin Calmet, a Benedictine monk and Lorraine scholar in the 18th century, published two volumes of a book, “Treatise on the Apparitions of Spirits, and on Vampires or Revenants of Hungary, Moravia, et al.” The book was about extensive investigations into the occult, angels, demons, and other types of spiritual entities. OriginallyContinue reading “The Book of Dom Calmet”

Review: Fright House by Fred Wiehe

Available from Amazon.com,Amazon.co.uk, and Black Bed Sheet Books 4 out of 5 stars 17-year-old Penny is on the run from something — herself. Suffering from ghoulish nightmares (and perhaps waking nightmares / hallucinations), she agrees to a temporary job managing a Fright House in California during the Halloween season. Tory Jackson is the director of Paranormal SceneContinue reading “Review: Fright House by Fred Wiehe”

Another Review: Les Femmes Grotesques by Victoria Dalpe

3.5 stars out of 5 Available from CLASH books, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon.com This modern, feminist, short Gothic horror fiction collection will bring you out in goose-bumps. A CREAK IN THE FLOOR, A SLANT OF LIGHT –  There were some quirky details that put me in mind of Holly Black’s work. The tale had a delightfully gory legend about three girlsContinue reading “Another Review: Les Femmes Grotesques by Victoria Dalpe”

Dracula’s Guests (curated by Dr. Chris McAuley)

Available from HellBound Books, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon.com 4 out of 5 stars This collection of vampire horror tales in celebration of Dracula’s 125th birthday will sate your bloodthirst. These are the stories that stood out for me: Dracula in Recovery – Michael Zemecki: I loved this darkly humorous story featuring all the characters from the original Dracula inContinue reading “Dracula’s Guests (curated by Dr. Chris McAuley)”