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Post by Swampirella on Feb 1, 2023 15:15:06 GMT
From the blog of an internet author who goes by the moniker Folk Horror Magpie. There is a color photo which purports to be the remains of the first person discussed here but I am unable to post photos. If somebody else wants to post the photo, message me your email address and I'll email it to you. Cheers. "Folk Horror Magpie" writes: Though immurement or ‘live entombment’ is one of my top five no-thankyou ways to go, it has always fascinated me and one of the best stories comes from Thornton Abbey in my beloved Lincolnshire. Dating back to 1139 the site of the abbey has been quietly accumulating ghosts for centuries. Writing in 1722 antiquarian William Stukeley records the discovery of complete skeleton - ‘seated at a table with a book and candlestick before him’ - in a small dungeon space that had been intentionally bricked up and forgotten about. The remains were thought to be Thomas de Gretham, a 14th-century abbot whose life of less-than-holy activities in the local drinking dens and concurrent rumours of practising the dark arts, led him to his dismal end. Unlike live burial, where a person dies fairly speedily by asphyxiation, actual death through immurement is via dehydration or starvation, a lengthy process. It didn’t stop de Gretham’s activities entirely. He still wanders the grounds and is frequently seen around the gatehouse. Tradition has it that if the gatehouse is lit by the evening sun but the golden hue lingers after dark, the abbot will soon appear. Remarkably there is a second story of immurement at the abbey, that of another abbot with a licentious lifestyle, one Walter Multon, who disappeared in 1443. So at least the two of them had things in common. Ghost sightings persisted even after Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries in 1539, with a man seen walking across the parapet and through the wall. Only recently reports of ghosts intensified by the discovery of a plague pit alongside the abbey in 2016. A scout group were camping near the ruins, and two scouts were sent up to get water from the cottage in the grounds. They saw a figure of a woman ahead and approached only for the woman to disappear into thin air. What a coincidence; FHM & I follow each other on social media so I also read & enjoyed this ghost/folklore related str this morning.
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Post by 𝘗rincess 𝘵uvstarr on Feb 5, 2023 18:59:00 GMT
So cool to see these. I guffawed reading her comment about S. T. Joshi's James article having just read that blog review of Joshi's new reference work which sounds as if it is the size of a doorstop but not all that helpful, in the event. I wonder what Rosemary and Darroll's views on the "Pope Joan" legend were. Tarotmancers have discussed this subject since "the Popess" is found in some of the very early Tarot decks. One has to wonder if that image may have come from older "emblem" type material which may have given rise to the stories. There is a printer's device in the front of the Title page of Sidereus Nuncius (The Starry Messenger, 1610) by Galileo Galilei, that shows the use of a crowned female figure as representing the Holy Church. It is the device of the Venician printer Thomas Baglioni. Device: Representació al·legòrica de la Religió i el poder papal, en figura femenina amb tiara de triple corona i rodejada d'edificis de Roma (Allegorical representation of Religion and papal power, in a female figure with a triple crown tiara and surrounded by buildings of Rome) Motto: Hinc vera religio (Hence the true religion) marques.crai.ub.edu/en/printer/a1161030x/a1161030x_0
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Post by helrunar on Feb 9, 2023 22:54:45 GMT
I think I may have posted an earlier blurb for this book, Death Lines: Walking London's Horror History, authored by one Lauren Jane Barnett. This is coming out in a week or two from Strange Attractor Press. A note on one of their social media pages states: "Orders through our web store will include a set of 8 postcard maps drawn by Natalie Kay-Thatcher (while stocks last!)." The latest blurb:
Death Lines is the first walking guide to London’s role in the evolution of horror cinema, inspired by the city’s dark histories, labyrinthine architectures, atmospheric streetscapes, and uncanny denizens. Its eight walks lead you on a series of richly researched yet undeniably chilling tours through Chelsea, Notting Hill, Westminster, Bloomsbury, Covent Garden, and the East End, along the haunted banks of the river Thames, and down into the depths of the London Underground railway.
Each tour weaves together London’s stories and takes the reader to magnificent, eerie, and sometimes disconcertingly ordinary corners of the city, unearthing the literature, legends, and history behind classics like Peeping Tom and An American Werewolf in London, and lesser-known works such as mind-control melodrama The Sorcerers; Gorgo, Britain’s answer to Godzilla; tube terror Death Line; and Bela Lugosi’s mesmeric vehicle The Dark Eyes of London. Tinged with humor, social critique, and more than a few scares, Death Lines delights in revealing the hidden and often surprising relationship between the city and the dark cinematic visions it has evoked. Whether read on the streets or from the comfort of the grave, Death Lines is a treat for all cinephiles, horror fans, and lovers of London lore.
The press is also about to publish a book about the band Coil, Everything keeps dissolving, but that seems to be too far off topic to discuss here. I think I listened to a couple of tracks from them around 20 years ago but the memory is vague.
H.
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Post by Swampirella on Feb 9, 2023 23:53:35 GMT
I think I may have posted an earlier blurb for this book, Death Lines: Walking London's Horror History, authored by one Lauren Jane Barnett. This is coming out in a week or two from Strange Attractor Press. A note on one of their social media pages states: "Orders through our web store will include a set of 8 postcard maps drawn by Natalie Kay-Thatcher (while stocks last!)." The latest blurb: Death Lines is the first walking guide to London’s role in the evolution of horror cinema, inspired by the city’s dark histories, labyrinthine architectures, atmospheric streetscapes, and uncanny denizens. Its eight walks lead you on a series of richly researched yet undeniably chilling tours through Chelsea, Notting Hill, Westminster, Bloomsbury, Covent Garden, and the East End, along the haunted banks of the river Thames, and down into the depths of the London Underground railway. Each tour weaves together London’s stories and takes the reader to magnificent, eerie, and sometimes disconcertingly ordinary corners of the city, unearthing the literature, legends, and history behind classics like Peeping Tom and An American Werewolf in London, and lesser-known works such as mind-control melodrama The Sorcerers; Gorgo, Britain’s answer to Godzilla; tube terror Death Line; and Bela Lugosi’s mesmeric vehicle The Dark Eyes of London. Tinged with humor, social critique, and more than a few scares, Death Lines delights in revealing the hidden and often surprising relationship between the city and the dark cinematic visions it has evoked. Whether read on the streets or from the comfort of the grave, Death Lines is a treat for all cinephiles, horror fans, and lovers of London lore.The press is also about to publish a book about the band Coil, Everything keeps dissolving, but that seems to be too far off topic to discuss here. I think I listened to a couple of tracks from them around 20 years ago but the memory is vague. H. . That sounds really interesting, thanks for posting, Steve.
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Post by helrunar on Feb 11, 2023 1:36:49 GMT
I think this is very old news for those who have been around longer, but today I just stumbled across the electronic editions of a few anthologies called Ash Tree Press Macabre. There were at least three volumes. The books reprint tales from various old mags. It looks from the contents page I just glanced at that the authors are mainly from the period between 1920 and 1960--looks like some good stuff is collected in these.
I think the print editions are long OP so for those who are into electronics, this is good news.
cheers, Hel.
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Post by Swampirella on Feb 11, 2023 1:53:30 GMT
That's great news; I'll be putting them on my TRL.
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Post by Shrink Proof on Feb 11, 2023 8:15:09 GMT
I think this is very old news for those who have been around longer, but today I just stumbled across the electronic editions of a few anthologies called Ash Tree Press Macabre. There were at least three volumes. The books reprint tales from various old mags. It looks from the contents page I just glanced at that the authors are mainly from the period between 1920 and 1960--looks like some good stuff is collected in these. I think the print editions are long OP so for those who are into electronics, this is good news. cheers, Hel. I have these - purchased at the time, back when Ash Tree Press was still going and regularly putting out new/old stuff. There are 3 volumes, still available via Amazon (World Domination) Inc. They're a sort of "greatest hits" collection. Between 1997 and 2005 Ash Tree Press put out a series of volumes entitled The Ash Tree Press Annual Macabre. Some of these were themed annuals, others merely collections of lost stories. For the ebooks they collected a few volumes together so the total numer of e-titles was less than the printed ones. The first e-volume includes the contents of the annuals for 1997, 1998, and 1999, the second volume contains the contents of the annuals for 2000 and 2001 and the third one comprises thirty stories from The Cornhill Magazine, which means stories published between 1920 and 1939. Excellent stuff!
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Post by helrunar on Feb 28, 2023 22:18:41 GMT
Notice seen in an M. R. James Appreciation Group on social media:
Friends, may I present the result of five year's research; the true identity of mysterious ghost story writer Lettice Galbraith! THE BLUE ROOM AND OTHER TALES: The Ghost Stories of Lettice Galbraith. Includes all of Lettice Galbraith’s ghost stories in one volume, and the previously unpublished tale The Ghost of Vittoria Pandelli. With a full biography/bibliography by Alastair Gunn. Foreword by Melissa Edmundson.
The book was published earlier in February by Wimbourne Books.
cheers, Hel.
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Post by weirdmonger on Mar 2, 2023 16:56:12 GMT
Notice seen in an M. R. James Appreciation Group on social media: F riends, may I present the result of five year's research; the true identity of mysterious ghost story writer Lettice Galbraith! THE BLUE ROOM AND OTHER TALES: The Ghost Stories of Lettice Galbraith. Includes all of Lettice Galbraith’s ghost stories in one volume, and the previously unpublished tale The Ghost of Vittoria Pandelli. With a full biography/bibliography by Alastair Gunn. Foreword by Melissa Edmundson.The book was published earlier in February by Wimbourne Books. cheers, Hel. Just received this book. Thanks for the heads up.
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Post by helrunar on Mar 2, 2023 17:10:42 GMT
I hope you enjoy it! I noticed that Galbraith has been anthologized in a few recent compilations, so it seemed interesting that somebody had devoted a volume to this author and their work.
cheers, Hel.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Mar 2, 2023 19:28:50 GMT
I hope you enjoy it! I noticed that Galbraith has been anthologized in a few recent compilations, so it seemed interesting that somebody had devoted a volume to this author and their work. cheers, Hel. It has been done before, notably by Wordsworth.
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Post by helrunar on Mar 7, 2023 17:22:45 GMT
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Post by weirdmonger on Mar 9, 2023 9:52:04 GMT
I hope you enjoy it! I noticed that Galbraith has been anthologized in a few recent compilations, so it seemed interesting that somebody had devoted a volume to this author and their work. cheers, Hel. A GHOST’S REVENGE by Lettice Galbraith “Accept the possibilities of terrestrial elementaries and left-hand magic if you like; but the common or garden ghost, never.” Despite (or because of?) its melodramatics and coincidences, the skilled prose of this story makes a compelling, suspenseful ghost story with a chase across the country in a train, to save a friend in a large legend-haunted house in the back of Creamshire’s beyond. Featuring a ghost sceptic who becomes a dogged rescuer of one his gentleman friends from an actual vengeful ghost, resulting in some catharsis that makes me forget the repeat of number 112 from the previous story (The Missing Model) and the ‘cart tract’ in the snow, let alone the letters and wired telegrams that were received (almost?) too late! Upon an (almost?) endless turning of the old year into the new! A story that was was said to be repeated, ‘turned it inside and out and discussed it threadbare…’
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Post by helrunar on Mar 24, 2023 18:35:17 GMT
Of interest, as seen today on the interwebs, from Tartarus Press: We are pleased to announce the publication of The Peacock Escritoire with At Dusk by Mark Valentine. This new Tartarus Press edition of The Peacock Escritoire, a very rare collection of tales first published in 2011, adds previously uncollected stories. In addition, we include At Dusk, a sought-after collection of brief vignettes of interwar European writers and visionaries, described by Michael Schmidt of PN Review as ‘a very interesting set of cameo meditations’. tartaruspress.com/valentine-the-peacock-escritoire.htmlH.
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Post by helrunar on Apr 10, 2023 18:41:10 GMT
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