Book Four is, I warn, far more gruesome than the previous three – far more ‘Grimmsian’. I call this, with caution, ‘The Family’ issue. These stories cut close to the bone of life: our internal conflicts, our demons, our dark sides – that little bit of wickedness that most of us, thankfully, are able to keep a lid on. A good horror story will ensure you arrive at the end of it alone and in a place that leaves you slightly altered and probably too afraid to turn around. For that thing you fear, even on a warm sunny day, is never very far away… And we have a string of eleven little nightmares that are sure to delight your ghoulish minds: Carly Holmes’ macabre, Dropped Stitches, resonates with Grimms’ and is the story of a girl born with an extra two fingers on each hand, born to a mother without four of hers… Mordechai Lazarus’ Butcher’s Stump is a horrifying tale of religious piety, folkloric in narrative, the story of a Butcher and his son that uncovers the chilling consequences of rebelling against your parent’s wishes – and being caught out… Subashini Navaratnam’s disturbing tale of motherhood, nods to far Eastern mythologies and folklore – beware of those assuming the female form, the shape shifters we must be careful of around these parts. Horror at its best. Nigel Jarrett’s ghost story tells of ‘bringing back’ more than you find as strange occurrences unfold during an archaeological dig. Something else wanted to be found… Kirstin Mackenzie Berge’s story, Susan, of a statue at the centre of a child’s game. Those stories that are passed down through generations – those dares we set with the things we are told to fear – by what, or whom, we don’t know, that’s just the way it’s always been and we’ve all been that child afraid to look, afraid to turn around… Drew Buxton’s, Bat Boy, set on a remote farm in America will have you suspended in a state of tension to the very end. Beware of bats falling from the sky… Matt Milone’s, The Bereaved, is a highly evocative and deeply moving tale of a future where the dead aren’t buried… Louise Lloyd’s, Mortuus Sum, where a young boy playing alone near a mausoleum by his house, loses his ball. When he retrieves it, he finds more than just the ball, a spectre pursues… A.S. Ford’s, Burking, explores the grubby world of Victorian graverobbers. Chris Lambert’s peculiar and clever story, The Patient, where a husband believes his wife might actually be a ghost. Tip: paying attention has never been so important… E.M. Edwards, House on Sea Street, tells the tale of an old sea captain’s haunting… All of these stories will haunt you, and some will likely keep you awake at night so perhaps we might consider: there are far more horrors, far more to fear in the living, than the dead and there is much to be afraid of in those we call our ‘family’, it seems.

The Ghastling: Book Four

Literature & Fiction

Literary

Ghastling

This issue is full of women. Women lost, disappeared, heroic, misguided, spurned, haunted, wicked, put-upon, neglected, misunderstood, bedraggled, ghostly and preoccupied. In Bryan Marshall’s ‘the Grin Thief’, grief plants a black seed into the mind of a woman who loses her family to a terrible accident and so begins a ‘frightful scheme’… Callum McAllister’s story ‘the Smog Geist’, a young girl loses her way home from school amidst a thick yellow fog, beware the stranger approaching… Parineeta Singh’s ‘Crocuses in Spring, 1958’ tells of a nanny employed to take care of a troubled little boy whose imaginings become unnerving… Enter the heady, strange Fairy Glen of Claire Savage’s story ‘the Flame Keepers’ where ghostly apparitions float in the woods at certain times of the year and people are spirited away, or are they taken? In Joao Morais ‘Corpse Candle’, a young girl is sent to fetch the doctor for her gravely ill father, but her mother has filled her head with tales and warnings of a witch that may obstruct her route through the woods, ‘whatever you do, don’t look back and don’t stop walking. Get out of the woods as fast as you can.’… Enter a Conjurer’s tupenny show where promises of raising the dead before the audience’s very eyes are made in Kristy Kerruish’s story, ‘the Conjurer’. In Mark Blayney’s peculiar tale, ‘Sexistential’: ever wondered what it is like to actually be a ghost, to live eternally as you died? This story explores the complex relationships of ghosts who, ‘cannot get physically ill – but problems of the mind are frequent…’ Renee Anderson’s ‘Medium Black’ tells the story of a tragic death of a Victorian Medium. Ectoplasm, conjurer of spirits, or mistress of invention? But what killed her? In Melanie Marshall’s sad story, ‘His Garden’, an academic mourns the end of a relationship, finds herself wandering the gardens of a large stately home, she meets an old woman and follows her along a dark path. A strange exile from her empty flat, her abandoned life, she wonders, is she ‘fated to be always out in the garden’… Jennie Owen’s ‘Alternative Therapy’ brings a new meaning to ‘carrying your demons’… Catrin Kean’s terrifying ghost story, ‘Blue’, a single mother, despairing, is offered a fresh start, a new home by the sea, when one day a stranger arrives, soaking wet, at her door…

The Ghastling: Book Five

Book Six explores the uncanny, the surreal, the dark reaches of the imagination and the space between the ordinary world and the folklore and superstition that hangs around in the peripheries of daily life. In the case of some of these tales, there is almost no difference, both worlds are one and the same.In Carly Holmes' 'Heartwood', a mother with branches for arms and bark for skin struggles to retain this strange affliction and is betrayed by her son in this dark story. Phil Jones' 'An Eclipse of Moths', a furniture maker discovers some peculiar fungi grown overnight on a cabinet he's been making, perhaps it's the stifling summer heat that causes their appearance? But then other things arrive... On a family visit to the Philippines, Jill, a young expectant mother, becomes convinced she is being pursued by an Aswang - a witch whose long thin tongue will suck out her fetus in 'Tik-Tik', Neil Gravino's contemporary portrayal of this terrifying Philippine folktale. A family bring their mother home to die in Laura Maria Grierson's story 'At the Stroke'. The grandfather clock, stopped for a long time, suddenly begins to tick, but why? In Gary McCrossan's 'The last Laugh', enter the seedy world of The Golden Nugget, an amusement arcade at the end of Yorkshire's Bridley Pier, where an automated laughing clown is linked to Louis the change operator's disappearance... Bernadette, minding some eerily quiet children, decides to liven things up with a game of hide and seek but in this small terraced house they are nowhere to be found. When eventually they do appear, exactly in the room the game started, everything is altered and she begins to question what she had seen before - and how many children were there, really? In Reggie Chamberlain-King's uncanny story, 'Five or Six Children'. Louise Lloyd's 'The Dark Circle', a young anxious widow steps out to attend a s ance in the hopes of reaching her beloved husband but 'the circle' is less welcoming than she hoped... Robert Davies' story 'The Caller' tells the tale of Marlin James who lives alone on the top of Y Drws. A freezing cold night brings a needy traveller to his door, but should he let her in? Old Sir Edward Culverin lives alone in a run-down stately home, woken by a large cracking noise, driven to find out what could have made such a ghastly sound he finds himself following an old passageway in a mausoleum which leads him down into the hot depths of the earth in Chip Limeburner's tale, 'The Folly'.

The Ghastling: Book Six

Holmes, Carly

This edition is a very special monster issue in celebration of the Bicentenary of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. In Nigel Jarrett's Spectres of Innocence a son and daughter help their grieving father start afresh after the death of their mother. He moves into an old rectory with a troubled history. Unsettling events begin to unravel: who is the woman keeping their father company? And what might be pushing the empty swing on a still summer's day? Ever walked into a building and felt the hairs on the back of your neck prick up? Two travellers rent an old apartment but one becomes convinced it harbours something - a grudge, a dislike, perhaps it wants her out? Or is it just the intense heat closing in around her in Mark Blayney's peculiar tale Straits Eclectic. Catrin Kean spins a yarn of an old woman who lives alone on the old family farm by the sea. She is visited by a couple who want to buy her home. She agrees, but a secret is buried that threatens to rise and spill out if she leaves in Birdcage. Jess Thomas's Don't Stop Playing tells a story of monsters guarding treasure in a cave and a girl whose flute playing seduces them to sleep. Think of the old saying, 'Finders keepers' - but will what you find keep you...' Charlotte Symons, mesmerising tale, The Man Who Gathered Sorrow, the seemingly good deed of a man becomes monstrous - he has no choice but to destroy the thing before it destroys him... In Ewan Hannah's story, The Creature, a notorious and fiendish whisky hunter returns from his journey to Antarctica with bounty - Magnus MacSorley's lost ninth bottle. But beware on opening, this contains more than the warming amber liquid... Kevin O'Connor's Inis Suil a party of teenagers head to an island in what is supposed to be a night of camping, catching up and having fun. But something lurks in the darkness... A grave is dug up and the body of a young girl is exhumed because a farm settlement in America is disturbed by a revenant - a restless corpse. Measures must be taken to rest her soul in Mat Troy's The Connecticut Tradition Tina Rath's The Banks of the Roses tells the story of two young lovers who meet at a quarry on a hot summer's day. There is a rumour a murder happened there and something called Jenny Greenteeth will pull you in and drown you if you get too near to the pool. Heed the warning, it is not always hearsay... In Chip Limeburner's story Along the Road set in the time of the Crusades a lone highwayman ambushes a team of horses and their cavalcade. He finds a casket of pristine bones but this is far from treasure - a very sinister loot...

The Ghastling: Book Seven

Blayney, Mark

Book 8 is our seasonal edition compiled especially for Hallowe'en & Samhain. In Damien B. Raphael's story THE SCULPTURE, an artisan suggests that the flesh of a pumpkin is far more forgiving for this type of work than the more traditional turnip - but what exactly has he been commissioned to carve in his dimly-lit studio? Grinning, hand-carved faces light the town in Catrin Kean's FOGTIME, as children in bedsheets run from door to door swinging rattling buckets. Dressing up as someone else - or something else - and demanding treats is another odd custom that we've grown to accept as part of the season. This too is traced to the Celts, who were said to leave offerings of food and drink to placate the fairies, witches, demons and unfortunate souls who wandered between this world and the next on Samhain. Perhaps it isn't just the young trick-or-treaters, then, that make Mammy lock the doors and pull the curtains. In Alys Hobbs' IN WE COME, it's adults who roam the streets disguised - a troupe of actors, to be exact, searching for an audience for their folk play. "Make room, for in we come! We've come a-mumming, three-two-one!" However, this troupe's antics seem to go beyond mere performance, and it may not just be money or food that they're looking for in exchange. The Celts believed that the sun began to grow weak during Samhain, and so bonfires were lit not just in honour of the dead, but also to guide them on their journey - and keep them away from the living. So when Jenny watches a constellation of flickering lights appear on Kristy Kerruish's THE HILL, she should probably keep a safe distance - but Trevor has been gone for a while, and it's all mumbo-jumbo anyway...isn't it? Mr Fanner certainly hopes not, as he walks AMONG OCTOBER'S FIELDS with the derelict Riverbrook Home for Boys in his sights. Callum McKelvie's story begins with whispers: the tragic fire, all the children gone and mysterious sounds across the fields at night. Mr Fanner is searching for inspiration for his next ghost story, but he may wish that he had looked elsewhere. Leaving the restless bonfires of Samhain behind, let's instead turn to the quietness of the fireside, where storytelling has long been the preferred form of entertainment. At Halloween, the attention of the fireside storyteller unsurprisingly turns to ghosts and the macabre, and so we felt it was important to include a selection of tales that, if not specifically Halloween-themed, were befitting of this seasonal tradition. So read aloud if you dare the DIARY OF A DEADMAN by N. A. Wilson, follow Mark Sadler into the sweltering woods in THE POACHER'S BALL and enter Florence Vincent's THE TEMPLE to experience foreboding in a foreign land. Then, we suggest you gather friends around the campfire to share HOW SHADOWS FALL, C. L. Hanlon's fresh take on the legend of the vanishing hitchhiker.

The Ghastling: Book 8

Kean, Catrin

Step Right Up And Get Your Tickets at Christopher Long's TERMINUS, a decrepit old bus station that you'll do well to leave. Our first act is a musical one, a catchy little number that you may have heard before. But isn't midnight a little late for buskers? And why does everyone else at the station seem to be whistling the same tune? Family Fun is found in Damien B. Raphael's story RUPERT'S LITTLE BROTHER. The Wynfords are stupefied by grief following a recent family tragedy, but one nanny won't let the rumours ruin her chances of working at Weston Manor. Eleanor's heard the talk about Weston, but she won't be going anywhere - especially not because of any silly old ghost stories. And she's already passed the first test of her nerves, having met the strange barefoot boy on the gravel path. See Wild Animals beneath the waves in Dan Mitchell's DRIFT. Under the surface of the water everything changes. Dive down and leave the sounds, stresses and worries of the world above behind. Just watch out for those ghost nets still searching for their catch! Supernatural Illusions abound in Chip Limeburner's A FORK IN THE WOODS, where a ride home through the trees is halted by an otherworldly intervention. Others might shrink from the prospect of riding the road through the woods alone at night, but not Sir Jonathan. It's a path he's often travelled after enjoying Sir Walter's hospitality, and truth be told he relishes the ride through the cool night air. That is, until he is confronted by a portrait of terror, and something glinting among the leaves. For One Night Only see DILYS finally take centre stage. Josie Turner's wardrobe mistress is more comfortable amongst the shadows of the workshops beneath the boards, but this evening she'll threaten to steal the show - much to the distress of an aging actress who isn't used to supporting roles. Stand Spellbound by the mould stain with no odour in Annie Greene's WATER DAMAGE. A feature that's baffled for years - it never gets bigger! What Is It? To find out the truth, you'll need to spend some time alone with this freakish blemish. Just make sure you lock the door... Feel The Magic Up Close in ON THE MOUNTAIN, as Nia Morais takes us on a journey across the arctic-like Ben Macdui, the second highest peak on the island of Great Britain. Taller than Braeriach, wilder than Ben Nevis - the summit of Ben Macdui is said to be haunted by the wraith-like Old Grey Man. But don't let that stop you from following us up there! Hot and Cold Refreshments! Ice cream. Cotton candy. Hotdogs. Popcorn. Or perhaps you'll fancy a spoonful of something sinister from THE PICKLING JAR. Gaynor's been working hard on perfecting her culinary creation in Lucie McKnight Hardy's tale, testing out different recipes and tweaking the ingredients each time. Now it's finally ready to be judged, but do you dare take a taste?

The Ghastling: Book Nine

McKnight Hardy, Lucie

In Ann Wuehler's 'The Little Visitors' a house on Garwood avenue is visited by trick-or-treaters, nothing out of the ordinary there, right? But look closer, something is very, very wrong. In Christopher Long's story 'The Cleanest Cut' number 10, Chapel Close is unnervingly noisy with rattles and floorboard creaks, but it's the garden you should be wary of. In Ellen Davies' 'Woman Downstairs' a woman longing for a baby experiences a time-slip - or is it? In Carrie Hardman's 'The Missing List' a community is afflicted by the disappearance of their youngest children. Nobody knows why or who is taking them. Annie Greene's chill-to-the-bone story, 'Monster in a Box' tells of a single woman sending off for a mail-order monster that can be moulded into whatever form she desires. Her creation fulfils more than she could dream of. Dan Coxon's 'Ones and Zeros' tells of a troubled programmer's arrival at her new home - is the house really moving? Or is it just her imagination? Who are the ten little boys that watch Dafydd outside his window in Alys Hobbs' 'Cross the Beck'. Something happened to Amy Shelling and she has returned after ten years away. But how has she changed? Make sure you look at her photograph very carefully, in David Hartley's story, 'The Incorcist'. In Verity Holloway's tale 'Florabelle' a photograph stolen from the pocket of a dead girl's father unfolds a series of unnerving events in this wonderfully atmospheric Christmas ghost story. Catrin Kean's 'Sirens' is a chilling story that tracks the journey of a girl running away from something dreadful. She finds herself at the edge of the sea in a strange hamlet of abandoned and dilapidated houses. But she is not alone.

The Ghastling: Book Ten

Coxon, Dan

Timothy Granville's story, events take a strange and sinister turn for a group meeting in a disused care home for pre-night out drinks but there is one member, the story's namesake, 'Mark's Friend' who nobody is quite sure of - is he Billy or Bobby or something... ? In Steven Sheil's tale, Case, some lost luggage finds its way back to its owner who is pleased until she notices something inside it move. In Christopher Long's story, 'What will the Silence Bring' an old, rare computer game is the centre of a relationship's demise leaving you wondering where the blurred reality between real life and 'the game' really is. Hailey Piper's, What the Girls are Doing, bereaved sisters call a séance for their deceased mother but the event reveals a more sinister plot. In Carrie Hardman's, Changed, a recently widowed young mother starts to notice changes in her baby son in this deeply disturbing folk horror. Tim Jeffrey's story, The Path Through the Woods, a man down on his luck returns to a familiar haunt of his childhood to reconnect with the ghosts of his past. But what were the circumstances that brought him here? Mat Troy's, Laughing Cavalier, an ancient Tudor inn hosts a resident ghost, but that's not what terrorises the current landlord, there's something down there, in the cellar, in the well... Drew Nicks' story, Down by the River, set in the time of the frontiers, a group of white trappers hunting on Native American soil suspect something is messing about with their traps - stealing whatever was caught. They commit a heinous act and a horrifying series of events follows. It is clear the landscape and the water is turning on them, and cursed they should be...

The Ghastling: Book Eleven

Jeffreys, Tim

A collection of eight stories of the macabre, psychological horror, ghost stories and the oh-so-strange. Including Tom Johnstone's 'Creeping Forth Upon Their Hands' intricately weaves the events of the first English mass plantation in Ireland, at Munster, enforced under order of Queen Elizabeth 1st. This is a chilling contemporary ghost story masterfully told. In Kieron Hazel's story 'Devil in My Eye', a wanderer of the Black Country finds an abandoned farm to sleep on a snowy night. Surely he should be comforted by the old tramp markings he sees there? This is a literary take on the 'slasher' and is a rare and delightful find for us. Barry Charman's 'Doom Warnings' is a great piece of dystopian horror for our time. A couple begin noticing 'May Contain Traces of Doom' signs on the packaging of their food. They avoid eating the food but soon they realise the rest of the people in their town are beginning to change ... Victoria Day's tale 'Mr Price's Bed' is a brilliant reimagining of the strange events surrounding Mr James Price's deathbed in 1658. What was it that possessed him and how could he have possibly predicted his own death? Bess Lovejoy's unsettling story 'The Nondescript' tells of a junior museum worker who finds an odd artefact in a drawer and shows it to each of the museum's experts - all of whom offer a different explanation. The last one she shows it to asks her to leave it with him. But what is it that she sees through the window? Damien B. Raphael's story 'Firstborn' is a wonderfully atmospheric tale about belief, witchcraft and the ritual protection marks and concoctions that are supposed to keep evil out ... Kristy Kerruish's 'Night-Treaders' is a creepy tale about a couple who renovate an old seventeenth century lodge, a cautionary tale warning that some things found are better left where they are. Beware what blows in on the wind ... In Lucy Ashe's story 'Where the Waters Meet' an anxious mother-to-be awaits the arrival of her twin babies. This is a sad and haunting story exploring the places we go to for comfort when we seek those we grieve for.

The Ghastling: Book Twelve

Lovejoy, Bess

A contemporary horror magazine based on the Victorian penny dreadful, publishing short stories of horror, ghosts, folk horror, the macabre and the uncanny. The magazine is illustrated throughout and boasts a truly unique vintage design and typography, making it a very attractive addition to any horror-lover's bookshelf.

The Ghastling: Book Thirteen

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