|
Post by Craig Herbertson on Feb 12, 2010 15:39:54 GMT
;D
|
|
|
Post by blackabyss on Feb 12, 2010 19:01:13 GMT
Intriguing...who are they? Where are the dark places? Why do they Dwell in them? we need to be told..
|
|
|
Post by blackabyss on Feb 12, 2010 19:03:09 GMT
Oh those dark places....(must read all the posts before replying..doh!)
|
|
|
Post by Calenture on Feb 13, 2010 0:52:23 GMT
Oh those dark places....(must read all the posts before replying..doh!) I've had those 'doh!' moments myself, mate. More than you know! Anyway, more stories: Rags: Jeremy Belstone is an Englishman taking a walking holiday in the Scottish Highlands. Finding that Scotland extends beyond Edinburgh and that most of it is wet, he wonders if the holiday was such a good idea. Things hit a new low when he becomes separated from his friends and has to contemplate the prospect of a night spent alone on the moors; and if that isn’t enough, he’s injured his foot. That’s when he sees the low roof of a ‘bothy’ ahead. The building has one dark, round room, and there are some sticks. But as soon as Belstone starts lighting a fire, he realises that he isn’t alone. There’s an old man in the room. The man remarks that Belstone must have come from the East, a route that would have taken him past the ‘Cloutie Well’. And he explains that this well is close by a tree festooned with knotted rags, and that Belstone should have bathed his foot in the well, for its waters were known to have curative powers. The story of the well and the rag-hung tree goes back before the time of the Clearances, when Scottish people were evicted from their homes by an English act of parliament. The rags were left as tokens of thanks by those cured by the well. Lord Walter Stourmont had thought Cloutie Well a challenge to his power over local people and had attempted to destroy it. But soon he learns that the well has its own unpleasant way of fighting back. The story, of course, does not end there. The Travelling Companion: One for the bibliophiles who live for the experience of finding some treasured tome in the junk shop boxes. We know who we are: Waiting for a train, Endicott decides to while away the time by looking around an auction room. A keen reader, he’s pleased when, investigating the contents of a box, he finds Lot No. 169, a bundle of books tied with a black ribbon – and one of the books in particular excites his curiosity, a collection of ghost stories. Endicott succeeds in buying the lot; but just as he does so the auction room’s peace is disturbed by the entrance of a woman who insists that the lot has been sold before she’d had a chance to bid for it. The auctioneer’s attempt to pacify her is futile, and Endicott finds that the volume she’s particularly interested in is the same one that he’s been pleasantly anticipating reading! Something about the woman disturbs him, and refusing her attempts to buy the book from him, he makes his escape. Aboard the train he has time to examine his purchase and is delighted find that the book is Delve Not Too Deeply and Other Ghost Stories by an author he’s previously enjoyed reading, Dr. H. S. Grace. What’s more, the collection contains several stories that he hasn’t seen before. But settling to pass the journey pleasantly reading, he's disquieted when he discovers that the stories aren’t quite as he remembers them. He becomes convinced that the endings are changed – in fact, quite horribly. And as he reads one after another of these not-quite-familiar stories, what should have been a comforting pastime becomes increasingly disturbing. For me, this story pressed all the right buttons; the bundle of books tied with a black ribbon, the train journey, the sense that reality is being shifted and something unpleasant lurking behind the veil. Thoroughly enjoyed it! And of course there’s more to come.
|
|
|
Post by Calenture on Feb 13, 2010 22:55:58 GMT
A Ravelled Tress: Christmas is coming, the snow lies round about, and three guests are visiting Blackmane Lodge, the new home of Roger and Elspeth Morgan: the often-divorced Geoffrey Wynngrave, his sister Alice, and Sir Nigel Fenwick, the impoverished owner of nearby Fenwick House. Geoffrey has an eye for the grotesque and is discussing one of Roger’s finds when renovating the house - a braided length of black human hair, about three feet long, which Roger had discovered in the cluttered cellar, and which is now hung above the fireplace. Curious in its own right, the hair seems even more bizarre when Roger shows them the mirror-lined casket that had held it.
Some time after the dinner party has ended, Alice Wynngrave is awakened by the sound of ragged breathing and choking from the next room. Her hammering at the door wakes Roger, who finds his wife writhing and chocking beside him.
Needless to say, this is not to be the only disturbed night that the Morgan’s and their guests will have, and shortly they begin to wonder if Blackmane Lodge is haunted.
Geoffrey’s investigation turns up a disturbing story about the man who built the house, Gabriel Lockhart, and Luciana, the foreign wife he had brought home. Although she was not unfaithful to her husband, it was known that Luciana loved herself more, and believed that she could tempt any man. And here the story turns to one of jealousy, madness and murder, and the bizarre way Luciana had murdered her rivals by strangling them with their own hair.
The denouement is presented curiously and interestingly through a kind of shared dream, when something ghastly begins a horrid dance near the glow of the flames in the fireplace, above which hangs Luciana’s braided hair.
Chilly stuff.
More still...
|
|
|
Post by Calenture on Feb 18, 2010 22:32:00 GMT
I have to put in again that although The Crimson Picture is an absolutely dandy story and one of my favourites in the Black Books it is not my favourite McGachey. That accolade goes to “And Still Those Screams Resound”... I reread it last night to see if I was overestimating its grandeur but I'm afraid I underestimated: Darkness, evil, twists and turns, characterisation, atmosphere, dread, angst and fear but most tellingly Pathos tumble off the page. But it's the pathos that does it for me. A horror story that provokes fear and loathing is always accentuated and brightened by a heart breaking moment and we get that and more in this wonderfully dark tale. Thanks for adding that, Craig. I'll bring it forward with my own take: And Still Those Screams Resound…: This one begins with Dan McGachey giving a welcome fleshing-out of Dr Lawrence. We learn for instance of the good doctor’s ability to recall so many of the bizarre incidents in his past in precise detail and re-enact them for his avid listeners. It’s worth mentioning, by the way, that Daniel often includes literary thumbnail sketches, recounted by Dr. L., which adds colour and detail to the stories, and makes me wonder if these suggest more stories which will be coming to us. Personally, I’d love to read a full account of “the grim chronicle of the travelling mausoleum, and its awful grinning proprietors”. We also learn of Dr Lawrence’s old History tutor at St James’s, Lucius Shadwell, when Lawrence is asked one night what has been the most evil presence of his experience. Shadwell’s interest in the bizarre and his constant quest for the supernatural had finally become a source of embarrassment to the board of St James’, and he had been effectively paid off, granted a generous settlement, on condition that he quit the college. He uses the money to purchase Wraithvale Priory, in the border country; and it’s to that grim place that he invites his former pupil. Wraithvale Priory not only has a suggestive name, it also looks everything that a haunted house should be, and as soon as they’re within its grounds, Shadwell urges Dr Lawrence to hurry so that they might see “my ghost”. And see it they do! In a high turret room, a young woman appears and begins a grim re-enactment of a scene where she appears to be in abject terror of some unknown threat that lies yet beyond the human observers’ perception. The scenes with the ghost are definitely creepy, their most frightening aspect being our awareness that as the scenes gain in clarity, so we are getting closer to learning the reason for the girl’s terror. We also learn more of Shadwell and his sick wife Meredith, who Dr Lawrence knows of old and fears for in this lonely house with its far from silent visitations. Another one to add to a growing list of favourite Dan McGachey stories.
|
|
|
Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Feb 18, 2010 23:51:45 GMT
Personally, I’d love to read a full account of “the grim chronicle of the travelling mausoleum, and its awful grinning proprietors”. Ah, but could it ever match up to the possibilities that your own imagination brings to that brief hint? Those vague allusions to other tales in Lawrence's vast compendium of accounts are an idea very much stolen from Conan Doyle, with his hints of untold cases for Sherlock Holmes, which I've always found brilliantly enticing. And while I've read various others' versions of "The Giant Rat of Sumatra", the fact that Doyle never elaborated on the tale leaves it forever glimmering mysteriously in the mind. Which is not to say I'll never put down on paper the travelling mausoleum account, but, for now, I'll pinch another Conan Doyle phrase and say it's a story for which the world is not yet prepared. Incidentally, many thanks for these postings, Rog. It's fascinating for me to see the stories through another person's eyes, so to speak. And, while I'm at it, here's an unused illustration by Julia Jeffrey for "The Travelling Companion". I'm rather sorry that it didn't appear in print, where it should have come about halfway through the story. Illustration - Julia Helen Jeffrey '…it was getting closer, appearing to flop and roll, moving on what alternately looked to be a multitude of skinny limbs that scraped sharply across the pavement or membranous wings which carried it wildly through the air.'
|
|
|
Post by Craig Herbertson on Feb 19, 2010 7:24:03 GMT
Personally, I’d love to read a full account of “the grim chronicle of the travelling mausoleum, and its awful grinning proprietors”. Ah, but could it ever match up to the possibilities that your own imagination brings to that brief hint? [/i][/center][/quote] I'm a great fan of the off stage and suggested - a haunting image that travelling mausoleum but I still think its wise to also leave the imagination some play - plus you never know. In one of these dark moments the whole thing might just fall from your pen.
|
|
|
Post by Calenture on Feb 19, 2010 23:53:42 GMT
I was trying to choose lines to quote in Dan's and Craig's comments above, but actually I agree with everything that's been said by both. The incidental anecdotes - yes, they're best left to the imagination. And Craig hits the spot when he points out that: "In one of these dark moments the whole thing might just fall from your pen." The Julia Jeffrey sketch - my god, that's superb. I've never seen such an evil looking umbrella!" I think it's an umbrella... I haven't got my write-ups up to date, but I think I can now put a link here to the They That Dwell in Dark Places page in the Yola site. There are still reviews to add both here and in that site, but it gives an idea what I'm trying to do. There are links back to this thread, Dan McGachey's and Julia Jeffrey's blogs, the publisher, Dark Regions' site, and Askew Reviews for Dan's Impossible Casebook of Sherlock Holmes. A couple more links I should add have occurred to me while I wrote this, the BHF board and Charles Black's Mortbury Press - where some of these stories were previously published. The links are in the text if appropriate or at the foot of that page.
|
|
|
Post by corpsecandle on Mar 14, 2010 18:21:36 GMT
I am not far off completing a review blog for British horror small presses and new untapped British horror talent. I am going to purchase this book along with a couple more and along with a review of the latest F.C (my story omitted for obvious reasons ) and hopefully shed a tiny bit more light unto this publication.
|
|
|
Post by Calenture on Mar 14, 2010 21:21:40 GMT
An Unwise Purchase by Dr H S Grace: This story opens with Daniel McGachey’s introduction, in which we learn that the late Dr Grace, aside from publishing several scholarly reference works, also published three volumes of supernatural tales.
Daniel’s introduction is something I’d prefer the reader to enjoy without unnecessary comment of mine; enough to say that he presents this tale by Grace “in tribute to an author whose work has had such an effect on my own”.
The story begins when Dr Henry Hartwell visits Mr Barnabus’s antique shop and is shown a brass representation of the Three Wise Monkeys. Hartwell doesn’t like the piece, but after a disturbance caused when a strange voice warns him of the presence of a thief in the shop, he decides that the piece might indeed warrant closer examination, he takes it home.
It quickly becomes clear that as long as Hartwell has the monkeys, no one will be able to deceive him. The monkeys see and hear all, and they tell Hartwell everything. Liars are found out, cheats exposed, and soon Hartwell becomes a force to be reckoned with at the university. He wants to be considered for a senior post which is about to become available, and to that end he invites the Dean and several other members of the college staff to his apartment. Without dwelling on details and spoiling the story, the party soon warms up dramatically, and more than one guest regrets accepting the invitation.
But not everyone is willing to be cowed by his apparent omniscience, and before long Hartwell begins to regret his purchase.
The Unmasking: An Evening of Revels and Revelations: Professor Burwell, the Dean of Montague, is keen on wooing a new prospective benefactor for the university, and to that end intends making him guest of honour at a masked ball. All staff are expected to attend - news that Dr Lawrence receives with displeasure as he prefers staying closeted in his room, engrossed in private studies. Burwell and Lawrence don’t see eye-to-eye at the best of times, as the Dean is a forward-thinking man keen on science and technology, while Lawrence is a historian. Mr Pargetter the Chaplain is another progressive thinker and is determined to rewrite ancient texts so that they’ll have more meaning in the present day.
Knowing Dr Lawrence’s dislike of formal college functions, the Dean is prepared when Lawrence claims that he’s been too late to rent a suitable fancy dress: Burwell shows both him and the Chaplain, to a room where three antique china masks lie.
As the three emerge wearing the masks, Lawrence experiences an odd darkening of his vision. The guest of honour has arrived, and the other guests seem now to be wearing costumes quite unlike the gaudy things they wore at the start. Lawrence doesn’t know the identity of the guest of honour, but it quickly becomes apparent that, whoever he is, he’s not sympathetic to the progressive thinking of either the Dean or the Chaplain; his interests and beliefs seem more attuned to the deeply buried past and the ancient buildings around them. They That Dwell in Dark Places: The last story in this trade paperback edition was actually the first to be written, Daniel explains in the story notes. He explains that he began the story October 30th 2004, “due to my irritation at another Halloween approaching with no plans set to celebrate”, with the intention of emailing the story to a few friends.
The story concerns a gathering of friends who are spending the evening in traditional Halloween fashion, telling a series of increasingly spooky stories, until a young man protesting at the ghoulishness of the talk interrupts the evening. Shortly he apologises and explains that he had once been an obsessive reader of such stories, until his interest had shifted to actually seeking out the unexplained for himself. But what he had seen at a reputedly haunted house had left him with a horror of parted curtains and a fear that when he had left the house he had taken something with him.
The story is the shortest in the book, and succeeds in Daniel McGachey’s intention “that it should attempt to capture the feel of the Fontana Ghost Story anthologies and those Amicus portmanteau films beloved of our little group”.
This as I said completes the stories in the trade paperback edition of this book, though in fact, for the limited edition, Daniel was asked to write two more stories, and I’ll be covering those, too.
I’ve very much enjoyed reading this collection. One of my personal favourites is The Travelling Companion, which immediately struck a chord for me with its chance find of a rare book in an auction room crate, then the descriptions of the stories within the book providing chills within chills.
Finishing They That Dwell I was left with a feeling that the individual stories belonged to a greater whole; that places like Wraithvale and Greymarsh could be found on a map – or should be - and possibly that map is the one illustration that could have been added to the book. To sum up, Charles Black, with his own liking for smoking room stories, was a natural choice to write the introduction; Julia Helen Jeffrey has provided a number of attractive illustrations; and the pages of detailed author’s notes on the stories underline Daniel’s enthusiasm and professional attitude to his excellent writing.
|
|
|
Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Mar 16, 2010 22:46:40 GMT
Thanks, Rog. I'm glad you enjoyed the collection, and I've greatly enjoyed reading your thoughts on it. "The Travelling Companion" was also singled out as a favourite by Rosemary Pardoe, who wrote a small piece about the book for the latest "Ghosts and Scholars M.R. James Newsletter".
That's an interesting notion about a map - although, of course, I could never allow a map precisely pinpointing where Greymarsh (and, with it, Wraithvale Priory) might be found, as I'd hate to be counted responsible for anyone foolish enough to go there...
But it may be time to work out a map of locations within the town itself. Particularly as I'm currently spending a lot of my time there, since my current project for Dark Regions is called "Wraithvale".
|
|
|
Post by Calenture on Mar 16, 2010 23:50:04 GMT
"The Travelling Companion" was also singled out as a favourite by Rosemary Pardoe, who wrote a small piece about the book for the latest "Ghosts and Scholars M.R. James Newsletter". But it may be time to work out a map of locations within the town itself. Particularly as I'm currently spending a lot of my time there, since my current project for Dark Regions is called "Wraithvale". It's always nice to make a fairly spontaneous choice, then find someone else has agreed with it. I did like all the stories-within-stories of The Travelling Companion. Keep us up to date with the Wraithvale project.
|
|