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Post by dem on May 27, 2021 17:17:34 GMT
Andrew Garvey & David Saunderson [eds.] - The Spooky Isles Book of Horror (Dark Sheep, 2018) Andrew Garvey - Introduction
David Saunderson - Introduction
Michael Connon - Sparks
Tracy Fahey - The Black Dog
Ed Burkley - Letters from a Toxic Heart
Chris Rush - Lambs to the Slaughter
Catherine Shingler - Havergill's Fetch
Ann O'Regan - Hunger
Phil Davies - Jackfest
Hannah Kate - Dust to Dust
Kevin Williams - Am Fear Liath, the Grey man of Ben Macdui
Ćine King - The Handfast Wife
Barry McCann - Ring around the Rosie
Kevin Patrick McCann - Churchgoing
Jaki McCarrick - The Ear
Rachel Steiner - Creatures of Rath and Bone
Will Graham - The Final Answer
Petula Mitchell - Camp 46
Barry McCann - Stranger than Before
Ra Goli - The Pied Piper of Essex
D. C. Merryweather - Spoor
Tracy Fahey - Come Away
About the AuthorsBlurb: From www.spookyisles.com, the UK and Irelandās favourite horror and paranormal website, this first volume of the Spooky Isles Book of Horror features 20 stories and essays from 18 different authors.
Well-established dark literary voices and new writers explore the UK and Ireland's darkest horror and folklore, from long-dead serial killers to malignant fairies, evil cults, spontaneous human combustion, vengeful ghosts and black dogs...
.... welcome to the Spooky Isles! Neat concept. Each story followed by an essay from its author providing details of the haunting or other authentic instance of paranormal activity inspired it. Plan to bounce back and forth between this and BHF Horror 5 over coming days. Michael Connon - Sparks: The McKennas dream home in the Highlands proves anything but. When six year old Caitlan complains of a horrid man named Spark pestering her in the night, her mother suspects a lifelong fear of falling victim to Spontaneous Human Combustion is soon to be realised. inspiration for this one, the Encounters magazine feature which traumatised a generation. Hannah Kate - Dust to Dust: "Can no one else smell that? it's like paint thinner or something." An attempt to contact Hannah 'the Mummy of Birchin Bower' Beswick via the ouija board instead summons the spirit of he who embalmed her. Dr. White has terrifying news for three of those present. Both very good. Ms. Kate also contributes a cracking American Werewolf prequel to the Fourth BHF Book of Horror.
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Post by šrincess šµuvstarr on May 27, 2021 23:01:43 GMT
Oh, there is one about the Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui. I've read about him. I won't give anything away. I will be interested to see what the story is like. It's a place I wouldn't want to visit when the fog comes...
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Post by dem on May 28, 2021 8:58:05 GMT
Been reading the stories in random order, so will try " ...the Grey man of Ben Macdui" next.
Tracy Fahey - The Black Dog: Recurring nightmare of a young woman plagued by chronic depression who may, or may not be, a werewolf. Based on the legend of the Black Dog of Cratloe. Your days are numbered should it jump out in front of you.
Phil Davies - Jackfest: It is THE FUTURE. State enforced Euthanasia of the over 65's is insufficient to address the mass overpopulation problem, so to meet targets, monthly population culls are encouraged in the form of local festivals. Shrewsbury has the JackFEST, commemorating the town's celebrated 12th Century serial killer, Bloudie Jack Bloudell; a day when men can legally hunt down and butcher their very own 'Mary Anne'!
Brigette, the narrator's fiancee, is jealous. "What's it like, do you think? The killing I mean .... I bet it feels like power. Like real power." It's really not fair that men should have all the fun.
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Post by Shrink Proof on May 28, 2021 13:15:54 GMT
Oh, there is one about the Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui. I've read about him. I won't give anything away. I will be interested to see what the story is like. It's a place I wouldn't want to visit when the fog comes... Am Fear Liath MĆ²r (The Big Grey Man) is generally thought to be a Brocken spectre and/or the effects of wind-generated infrasound, which can induce perceptual disturbances and feelings of anxiety. Given that Ben Macdui is pretty seriously remote, disorientation and exhaustion have also been suggested as factors. That said, you are quite right to not want to be up there when the fog/cloud descends. On a clear day you can make out peaks 80+ miles away. In five minutes that can transform into a swirling whiteout. Even with good compass/navigation skills plus a decent GPS, wandering round in a freezing Arctic snowscape is not for the faint-hearted, given that there are vertiginous cliff drops. I took this shot from Cairn Gorm, the next mountain along from Ben Macdui, looking towards it just after it disappeared behind the advancing cloud. Two minutes earlier it had been a panorama, two minutes later it was a fog bank. To give you a sense of scale, you can just make out two people on the nearest ridge, to the lower left...  |
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Post by Swampirella on May 28, 2021 14:54:34 GMT
Oh, there is one about the Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui. I've read about him. I won't give anything away. I will be interested to see what the story is like. It's a place I wouldn't want to visit when the fog comes... Am Fear Liath MĆ²r (The Big Grey Man) is generally thought to be a Brocken spectre and/or the effects of wind-generated infrasound, which can induce perceptual disturbances and feelings of anxiety. Given that Ben Macdui is pretty seriously remote, disorientation and exhaustion have also been suggested as factors. That said, you are quite right to not want to be up there when the fog/cloud descends. On a clear day you can make out peaks 80+ miles away. In five minutes that can transform into a swirling whiteout. Even with good compass/navigation skills plus a decent GPS, wandering round in a freezing Arctic snowscape is not for the faint-hearted, given that there are vertiginous cliff drops. I took this shot from Cairn Gorm, the next mountain along from Ben Macdui, looking towards it just after it disappeared behind the advancing cloud. Two minutes earlier it had been a panorama, two minutes later it was a fog bank. To give you a sense of scale, you can just make out two people on the nearest ridge, to the lower left... Wonderful shot, Mr. Proof! I envy you being able to take it, being a slothful non-hiking, non-mountain-climbing person. |
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Post by šrincess šµuvstarr on May 28, 2021 15:34:33 GMT
Oh, there is one about the Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui. I've read about him. I won't give anything away. I will be interested to see what the story is like. It's a place I wouldn't want to visit when the fog comes... Am Fear Liath MĆ²r (The Big Grey Man) is generally thought to be a Brocken spectre and/or the effects of wind-generated infrasound, which can induce perceptual disturbances and feelings of anxiety. Given that Ben Macdui is pretty seriously remote, disorientation and exhaustion have also been suggested as factors. That said, you are quite right to not want to be up there when the fog/cloud descends. On a clear day you can make out peaks 80+ miles away. In five minutes that can transform into a swirling whiteout. Even with good compass/navigation skills plus a decent GPS, wandering round in a freezing Arctic snowscape is not for the faint-hearted, given that there are vertiginous cliff drops. I took this shot from Cairn Gorm, the next mountain along from Ben Macdui, looking towards it just after it disappeared behind the advancing cloud. Two minutes earlier it had been a panorama, two minutes later it was a fog bank. To give you a sense of scale, you can just make out two people on the nearest ridge, to the lower left... it's a lovely photo. I had to look up the book I read. It was The Big Grey Man of Ben Macdhui By Affleck Gray. I don't remember much about it. The author was local I think, and knew the mountains well. I don't think there was much evidence other than a feeling of unease and being followed, and hearing footsteps. I think one story was of something trying to get into a bothy. The people who experienced these things would often flee in terror. You mention infrasound and anxiety. I think the book went into some bizarre theories like space men. |
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Post by Swampirella on May 28, 2021 15:42:40 GMT
Am Fear Liath MĆ²r (The Big Grey Man) is generally thought to be a Brocken spectre and/or the effects of wind-generated infrasound, which can induce perceptual disturbances and feelings of anxiety. Given that Ben Macdui is pretty seriously remote, disorientation and exhaustion have also been suggested as factors. That said, you are quite right to not want to be up there when the fog/cloud descends. On a clear day you can make out peaks 80+ miles away. In five minutes that can transform into a swirling whiteout. Even with good compass/navigation skills plus a decent GPS, wandering round in a freezing Arctic snowscape is not for the faint-hearted, given that there are vertiginous cliff drops. I took this shot from Cairn Gorm, the next mountain along from Ben Macdui, looking towards it just after it disappeared behind the advancing cloud. Two minutes earlier it had been a panorama, two minutes later it was a fog bank. To give you a sense of scale, you can just make out two people on the nearest ridge, to the lower left... it's a lovely photo. I had to look up the book I read. It was The Big Grey Man of Ben Macdhui By Affleck Gray. I don't remember much about it. The author was local I think, and knew the mountains well. I don't think there was much evidence other than a feeling of unease and being followed, and hearing footsteps. I think one story was of something trying to get into a bothy. The people who experienced these things would often flee in terror. You mention infrasound and anxiety. I think the book went into some bizarre theories like space men. There's a good chapter on the topic in "Ghost Hunter: Adventures in the Afterlife" by Tom Robertson, a Scottish medium. Here's a clip of him from the 1960s; I think this story is featured in another chapter.
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Post by šrincess šµuvstarr on May 28, 2021 15:56:12 GMT
Oh, there is one about the Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui. I've read about him. I won't give anything away. I will be interested to see what the story is like. It's a place I wouldn't want to visit when the fog comes... Am Fear Liath MĆ²r (The Big Grey Man) is generally thought to be a Brocken spectre and/or the effects of wind-generated infrasound, which can induce perceptual disturbances and feelings of anxiety. Given that Ben Macdui is pretty seriously remote, disorientation and exhaustion have also been suggested as factors. That said, you are quite right to not want to be up there when the fog/cloud descends. On a clear day you can make out peaks 80+ miles away. In five minutes that can transform into a swirling whiteout. Even with good compass/navigation skills plus a decent GPS, wandering round in a freezing Arctic snowscape is not for the faint-hearted, given that there are vertiginous cliff drops. I took this shot from Cairn Gorm, the next mountain along from Ben Macdui, looking towards it just after it disappeared behind the advancing cloud. Two minutes earlier it had been a panorama, two minutes later it was a fog bank. To give you a sense of scale, you can just make out two people on the nearest ridge, to the lower left... Shrink Proof, what do you do when you are caught in a whiteout? |
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Post by Shrink Proof on May 28, 2021 16:42:00 GMT
Shrink Proof, what do you do when you are caught in a whiteout? I've been in some pretty remote and bleak places but have never had to resort to any Scott of the Antarctic stuff. Like any problem, making a plan beforehand is really helpful, right down to the basics - taking the right gear, knowing where there are "escape routes" to allow a return without having to complete the whole of the original route, that sort of stuff. Likewise, knowing exactly where you are at all times, or at least confirming your location at regular intervals, and to have done this before it all goes Code White (or in some situations, Code Brown...). Knowing where you are and knowing where you want to be (by the fire in a decent pub usually springs to mind) gives you a fighting chance of figuring out a route from one to the other. Hence the benefit of being able to navigate by dead reckoning. If all else fails, hunker down and wait; bad weather always passes eventually, even in Scotland.... |
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Post by dem on May 29, 2021 9:23:21 GMT
Shrink Proof, what do you do when you are caught in a whiteout? I've been in some pretty remote and bleak places but have never had to resort to any Scott of the Antarctic stuff. Like any problem, making a plan beforehand is really helpful, right down to the basics - taking the right gear, knowing where there are "escape routes" to allow a return without having to complete the whole of the original route, that sort of stuff. Likewise, knowing exactly where you are at all times, or at least confirming your location at regular intervals, and to have done this before it all goes Code White (or in some situations, Code Brown...). Knowing where you are and knowing where you want to be (by the fire in a decent pub usually springs to mind) gives you a fighting chance of figuring out a route from one to the other. Hence the benefit of being able to navigate by dead reckoning. If all else fails, hunker down and wait; bad weather always passes eventually, even in Scotland.... .... which is when things can turn really unpleasant. Kevin Williams - Am Fear Liath, the Grey man of Ben Macdui: Our lone mountaineer sits out a snow blizzard in a bothy on Ben Macdui. Whoever last took advantage of the shelter has left behind seriously inappropriate reading matter; a thin hardback, detailing the massacre of a climbing expedition. The storm runs its course. Suitably cheered by Death on the Mountain, our man continues his journey through a thick mist. It becomes horribly apparent that he is being stalked. Will Graham - The Final Answer: On the bitter end of an affair with a married man, Melissa Purcell, criminologist, best-selling author of Who was Jack the Ripper? (as by 'M. J. Kelly'), hits the motorway, destination, wherever the whim takes her. As dusk falls she arrives at Gweneglys an obscure village off the A4, and takes a room at 'The Welcome Inn.' It lives up to its name. If anything, the locals are overly friendly. The baker and his gentlemen friends seem especially eager to show her the ropes. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photo, Dr. Proof. It certainly added to the reading experience. Been a good read so far. Wonder if they're still intent on a Vol 2? |
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Post by Shrink Proof on May 29, 2021 11:50:05 GMT
Thanks for sharing your beautiful photo, Dr. Proof. It certainly added to the reading experience. Been a good read so far. Wonder if they're still intent on a Vol 2? No worries, but I had to get it hosted and then link the image URL to my posting. Is there any way the board can be tweaked so that images can be posted direct from a user's hard drive (well, mine actually...)? A Volume 2 would definitely be good. |
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Post by Shrink Proof on May 29, 2021 12:04:52 GMT
Kevin Williams - Am Fear Liath, the Grey man of Ben Macdui: Our lone mountaineer sits out a snow blizzard in a bothy on Ben Macdui. Whoever last took advantage of the shelter has left behind seriously inappropriate reading matter; a thin hardback, detailing the massacre of a climbing expedition. The storm runs its course. Suitably cheered by Death on the Mountain, our man continues his journey through a thick mist. It becomes horribly apparent that he is being stalked. Being stalked seems to be a common thread in reported encounters with Am Fear Liath MĆ²r. Alexander Tewnion, a naturalist and mountain climber, had a close call in 1943. At the time he was serving in the Army and managed to get some leave, so took to the hills for a climbing holiday. He took his service revolver with him:- I spent a 10-day leave climbing alone in the Cairngorms. One afternoon, just as I reached the summit cairn of Ben MacDhui, mist swirled across the Lairig Ghru and enveloped the mountain. (The view in my photograph) The atmosphere became dark and oppressive, a fierce, bitter wind whisked among the boulders, and... an odd sound echoed through the mist ā a loud footstep, it seemed. Then another, and another... A strange shape loomed up, receded, came charging at me! Without hesitation I whipped out the revolver and fired three times at the figure. When it still came on I turned and hared down the path, reaching Glen Derry in a time that I have never bettered. You may ask was it really the Fear Laith Mhor? Frankly, I think it was...But my favourite quote comes from Professor John Norman Collie, chemistry researcher, mountaineer and, according to some, one of the possible inspirations for Conan Doyle when he was working out the personality of Sherlock Holmes:- " Whatever you make of it, I do not know, but there is something very queer about the top of Ben Macdui and I will not go back there again." |
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Post by helrunar on May 29, 2021 16:25:42 GMT
I'm enjoying this thread so much that I added this book to my electronic reading device. I definitely want to read that story about that mysterious mountain in Scotland... and the Thing that walks there in the mists and shadows... alone.
H.
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Post by dem on May 29, 2021 16:26:58 GMT
No worries, but I had to get it hosted and then link the image URL to my posting. Is there any way the board can be tweaked so that images can be posted direct from a user's hard drive (well, mine actually...)? alas, I'm not sure there is. Any and all of the images are hosted remotely, hence how screwed we were when Ph*t*b**ket pulled their extortion number. We do have the 'post attachment' feature, but I had to turn it off as we've used virtually all of our storage allowance with the calendar pdfs. On the plus side, think of all the mega-hilarious memes we dodged ... But my favourite quote comes from Professor John Norman Collie, chemistry researcher, mountaineer and, according to some, one of the possible inspirations for Conan Doyle when he was working out the personality of Sherlock Holmes:- " Whatever you make of it, I do not know, but there is something very queer about the top of Ben Macdui and I will not go back there again." Professor J.N. Collie's account is quoted at some length in the author's accompanying essay, wherein he also cites a less likely influence on the story. Barry McCann - Stranger than Before: "I'm just a blown kiss away" Author is among contributors to Drac Soc's Voices from the Vaults mag , so no surprise when we discover the lady in the low cut, long black dress is trouble with an "ample cleavage". Ruth is aka Lady Ruthwen, the centuries old Lancaster Water Witch who resides in a submersible coffin beneath a bridge on the canal. Paul Harkins, history student, is the latest to fall prey to her fangy charms.
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Post by Swampirella on May 29, 2021 16:32:35 GMT
I'm enjoying this thread so much that I added this book to my electronic reading device. I definitely want to read that story about that mysterious mountain in Scotland... and the Thing that walks there in the mists and shadows... alone. H. I've added it to my "Want List" & will buy it in a month or two; the stories sound great to me too. Enjoy them! |
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