A Neighbour's Landmark - a brief note

Following some melancholy family events which I won't go into here, I recently acquired a small selection of vintage books. These included a 1969 edition of The Professor Challenger Stories, a second copy of M.R.James's Abbeys and a volume of essays by A.A.Milne, entitled Not That It Matters (did you know he wrote anything other than Winnie the Pooh? I didn't). There was also a book which struck me as very similar to one I had read about in my very favourite M.R.James ghost story - "A Neighbour's Landmark." Here it is:

The book in the story is described as follows:

"I think we must all know the landscapes—are they by Birket Foster, or somewhat earlier?—which, in the form of wood-cuts, decorate the volumes of poetry that lay on the drawing-room tables of our fathers and grandfathers—volumes in ‘Art Cloth, embossed bindings’; that strikes me as being the right phrase. I confess myself an admirer of them, and especially of those which show the peasant leaning over a gate in a hedge and surveying, at the bottom of a downward slope, the village church spire—embosomed amid venerable trees, and a fertile plain intersected by hedgerows, and bounded by distant hills, behind which the orb of day is sinking (or it may be rising) amid level clouds illumined by his dying (or nascent) ray. The expressions employed here are those which seem appropriate to the pictures I have in mind; and were there opportunity, I would try to work in the Vale, the Grove, the Cot, and the Flood. Anyhow, they are beautiful to me, these landscapes, and it was just such a one that I was now surveying. It might have come straight out of Gems of Sacred Song, selected by a Lady and given as a birthday present to Eleanor Philipson in 1852 by her attached friend Millicent Graves."

My "new old" book is not actually "Gems of Sacred Song" but something very similar: "The Sabbath: Sabbath Walks and Other Poems", and as you can see from the frontispiece, it is indeed illustrated by Birket Foster. 

I was really rather charmed to find that my new acquisition was so very Jamesian. I had a leaf through it and discovered that there were even a couple of illustrations very reminiscent of the one in the story (particularly this first one):

The protagonist of the story, of course, is interrupted in his contemplation of a Birket-Foster-style view over the countryside by a horrific and piercing shriek in one ear, which is repeated a few minutes later. I've always found the story particularly chilling, especially the horrid thought that if you were to linger about the site of Betton Wood too long, you might hear the scream a third time. Brrrr. 

Anyway, I thought I'd share! As for me, I love the book and am going to treasure it. 

Do you dare visit Nightmare Abbey?

 

I'd like to give a shout out to amazing new publication Nightmare Abbey, whose third issue is currently being planned! The first one appeared on the horror scene last year and featured such names as Ramsey Campbell and Robert Bloch (so it's not messing about here...) as well as many others including Steve Duffy and Lynda E. Rucker, either of whose stories are always a spine-tingling treat. Oh, and a tale by me, about a mountaineer whose near-death experience in the snowy Scottish hills is just the first of his woes. Nightmare Abbey is richly illustrated, including brilliant pulp fiction style covers, as you can see (left). Altogether a welcome addition to the bookshelf.

Issue two came out in November 2022 and again featured one of my stories - "The Wynd", about a curious type of city alleyway, and what lies at the end of it. It was inspired by the many wynds and vennels I have seen whilst wandering around Scottish cities. I think a "wynd" sounds so much more sinister than a "lane", don't you? If you fancy experiencing this tale to see whether you think the type of thing appearing in Nightmare Abbey might be up your street (groan), there is now an audio version of it on YouTube, superbly read by David Longhorn.

As mentioned, issue 3 is currently in the works but if you fancy reading either of the first two issues, they are available via Amazon as well as some other bookstores (eg. Barnes and Noble in the States). Rumour has it that there will be a new Steve Duffy story in issue 3 so I'm very much looking forward to that!

You can also read an interview with Tom English, who created Nightmare Abbey, here:

https://www.monstercomplex.com/blog/2gh8wajsmnfmniec7ld24gxbqyzwk6

Sweet dreams...

2023 Book News!

 

2023 is shaping up to be an exciting year for me as I finally have a new book out this autumn! It's called Jump Cut and here's what it's about:

104-year-old Mary Arden is the last surviving cast member of a notorious lost film, The Simulacrum. Holed up in Garthside, an Art Deco mansion reputed to be haunted, she has always refused interviews. Now Mary has agreed to talk to film enthusiast Theda Garrick. In return she demands all the salacious details of Theda's tragic past. Only the hint of a truly stupendous discovery stops Theda walking out. But Mary's prying questions are not the only thing Theda has to fear. The spirit of The Simulacrum walks Garthside by night, and it will turn an old tragedy into a new nightmare…

I love cinema and I have long been fascinated by lost movies and the tantalising thought that there might be a copy out there, somewhere. So that's where the premise comes from. I also find the whole idea of haunted technology very interesting. Some years ago I was at an M.R.James conference in Leeds and there was a brilliant short talk about technology in his work (there's more than you'd think, considering he's all about ghosts and academia), which I think was by Ralph Harrington. There is, I think, something peculiarly ominous about grainy old films where things are seen indistinctly, or crackling audio recordings. I've long thought that the antique nature of Murnau's Nosferatu (1922) makes it particularly creepy. Jump Cut is my contribution to this tradition.

Like my previous novels Ghost and Too Near The Dead, the book will be published by the fabulous Fledgling Press in Edinburgh. The exact launch date and cover art will be revealed as soon as possible. I might do an online launch event as well as an in-person one again - one of the few positive things to come out of the pandemic was events like these, which everyone can attend, even if they're on the other side of the world. So if you're interested in that, let me know in the comments! 

Meantime, I have new stories coming out in a couple of really exciting anthologies. The first, in April, is Twice Cursed, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane. The theme of the book is dark fairytales with curses in them, and my contribution, "A Curse is a Curse", is rubbing shoulders with various illustrious names including Joe Hill and Sarah Pinborough. I write a lot of short stories but this was one I particularly enjoyed working on. It's a bit of a change of genre for me, but it made me think I'd like to do more along these lines. I'm not saying any more than that...

Later in the year, I also have a story in dark academia themed anthology In These Hallowed Halls, again edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane. This tale is called "The Professor of Ontography", and anyone who is as nerdy about M.R.James as I am will recognise that as a Jamesian reference. The story itself does have some Jamesian aspects - how could it not, being set in academia? - but also some rather non-Jamesian nastiness. So that is one to look out for too.

I'll post more news as I have it! And I hope very much that this autumn you'll join my heroine Theda Garrick, as she travels north for her encounter with the ghosts of the The Simulacrum.

Hollywood star by RedKid sign generator. 

Too Near The Dead wins the Children of the Night Award!

 

Wow, it's been a long time since I last blogged! Nearly a year, in fact. I've put quite a lot of news on Twitter, Instagram and FB but I haven't written anything longer for a while. 

One of the big pieces of news for this year is that I have acquired new representation from Lindsey Fraser of the wonderful Fraser Ross Associates in Edinburgh. It's exciting to be starting on this new working relationship, and especially nice to have an agent here in Scotland as I can actually see her without travelling hundreds of miles! 

The other piece of news is that my last novel, Too Near The Dead, has won the Dracula Society's Children of the Night Award 2021! I knew about this at the beginning of September but the award was actually presented at the Society's annual dinner, which was in London on 5th November. What with the distance, the ever-present risk of having to cancel things because of Covid, and the current train strikes, I've been on tenterhooks for several months, wondering whether I would make it to the event or not, but thankfully all went smoothly. 

The Society's annual dinner celebrates the birthday of the illustrious Bram Stoker himself, and takes place at the Civil Service Club in Great Scotland Yard. This year's dinner was well attended, with 50 guests (including a few faces familiar to me) and some gorgeous evening clothes - red and black velvet, glorious metallics, jewelled cravats and even - I am pretty sure - an actual bustle. The guest of honour for the evening was actress Marianne Morris, one of the stars of the cult 1974 film Vampires.

After a beautiful meal to which I was unable to do justice thanks to butterflies in the stomach(!), the awards were presented. The Children of the Night Award is for the best original fiction published in the Gothic (including horror or supernatural) genre during the previous year. Too Near The Dead was nominated by fellow author Sue Gedge - thank you, Sue! I made a very short speech in which I thanked those who voted for the book, and also my father, William, from whom I got my love of all things grim and Gothic. 

Next up was the Hamilton Deane Award (named after the man who first made Dracula famous on the stage). This is awarded for the best dramatic performance, or involvement with a presentation, in the Gothic horror/supernatural genres during the previous year. This went for the third time to actor, writer, producer, and director Mark Gatiss - he previously won in 2008 and 2013 and is now the first person to have won the award so many times! This year he mainly won for his BBC TV 'Ghost Story at Christmas' adaptation of M.R. James' The Mezzotint, but also for his adaptation of The Amazing Mr. Blunden and A Christmas Carol. 

I have to say that I was pretty much overwhelmed at being at the same event as Mark and actually meeting him! That was super exciting and I am sure I burbled like an idiot - however, as others have said, he is very very nice and brilliant at putting people at their ease. I loved his Mezzotint and look forward to future adaptations!

Both awards were individual pieces sculpted to reflect the award-winning works, by Arthur Payn, so big thanks to him, and also to everyone at the Dracula Society for being so welcoming and generally lovely. I'd especially like to mention Julia Kruk, Adrian Autton (who took the photos of me/Mark Gatiss and me, above) and Maria, who looked after me on the evening. 

Finally, here's a close up of my award! It represents the "lavender lady" who haunts Barr Dubh House and has a subtle patina which suggests that funereal shade. She travelled home to Perthshire with me wrapped in an ignominious shroud of bubble wrap, and is now haunting the bookcase in the living room. 

🦇

The Dead of Winter: Christmas video anthology

 

I'm absolutely thrilled to announce a new video anthology of Christmas ghost stories: The Dead of Winter. It features four ghost story writers: myself, Sean Hogan, David Longhorn and Lynda E. Rucker, and you can find it on YouTube:

The Dead of Winter came about as a result of a Hallowe'en event at Strathearn Arts in Crieff. I was involved in organising authors to read that evening: we had myself, Lisa Tuttle, David Longhorn (remotely) and Alex Nye, as well as music from folk duo Plaidsong. It was a fabulous evening, and there have even been some hints that we might do that again! 

Time did not permit for more than four readers, but there were other writers I would like to have asked. Additionally, as the event was in person it was naturally limited to whoever could get to Crieff. So I started to think about organising a Christmas event but doing it online. The Dead of Winter is the result. 

It's actually been a bigger labour of love than I expected (ain't that always the way?!), partly because a video file of four different readings is so big that my poor daughter, who did the editing, had to acquire an external hard drive for the extra memory. It took an hour to render, and over three hours to load to YouTube! I should imagine that put a bit of strain on our rural broadband. At any rate, I forbade anyone to do online gaming etc while it was uploading...

Here's a bit about the four featured authors. 

David Longhorn is the editor of long-running scary mag Supernatural Tales. He also writes horror for Scare Street publishing. David has acquired a considerable amount of experience in producing audio material for his day job, and I think you can tell this from his very accomplished reading of Midnight Movie.

Lynda E.Rucker is the writer of many ghostly short stories, essays and even a play. She also edited one of Swan River Press's Uncertainties anthologies. Her ghostly tale This Hollow Thing begins quietly and leads with gathering ominousness to a truly chilling ending. 

Sean Hogan is a writer and director - amongst other things, the creator of the superb The Devil's Business, one of my favourite horror films. I was absolutely thrilled to get him on board with this project. His story My True Love Gave To Me made me laugh out loud in places, as well as shudder. 

Me, you know about, right?

The video editing and creation of the hideous ghostly face were by Iona Grant, who has been incredibly long suffering throughout the process! Without her, this would never have got off the ground. 

The title The Dead of Winter was suggested by Steve Duffy, himself the writer of many spine-chilling short stories. 

The music at the end is by Dar Golan, and was obtained from a royalty free site, for which we were very grateful. 

I hope you will enjoy The Dead of Winter!