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Post by dem bones on Dec 23, 2022 13:08:05 GMT
Marion Bondage Wapping Lane, 23 Dec. 2022 This was gonna be the Vault Christmas Annual, but it came out too terrible for words, so will post these early Rosemary Timperley horror shorts from Reveille and take it from there: Brief Encounter (16 January, 1948) and Electric Hell (2 July, 1948). British Newspaper Archive are currently in the process of scanning Reveille (as I write they've reached end of Jan. 1948)
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Post by Swampirella on Dec 23, 2022 13:37:17 GMT
Can't wait to read them, thanks for posting!
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Post by Shrink Proof on Dec 23, 2022 13:57:51 GMT
Those were great. Thanks dem. In the spirit of Christmas gift giving, here's another Timperley tale, though not this time from the pen of the good lady Rosemary. Published earlier this year in "Tangled Web", a resolutely Scottish journal of both speculative fiction and what it calls Tartan Noir, here's a chilly little number for you, appropriately titled Refrigerate After Opening. Compliments of the season to all who haunt this cursed place. Wassail!
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Post by Swampirella on Dec 23, 2022 15:58:49 GMT
Thank you; compliments of the season to you too!
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Post by dem bones on Dec 23, 2022 18:39:19 GMT
One more sleep before last minute panic shopping! Here's Gina Haldane to help prepare your Grocery List.
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Post by helrunar on Dec 23, 2022 19:13:33 GMT
That is poetry. Beautifully accomplished!
cheers, Hel.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Dec 23, 2022 20:29:44 GMT
Happy holidays!
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Post by jamesdoig on Dec 23, 2022 20:46:30 GMT
Yep, happy holidays everyone. I've been mucking around with Chat GPT, the artificial intelligence tool developed by Open AI that came out a few weeks ago. I asked it to 'write a Christmas ghost story based on the short stories of M.R. James' and here's the result. The upshot is I don't think computers are going to replace human writers any time soon: It was Christmas Eve, and the snow was falling heavily outside as Dr. John sat in his study, surrounded by books and papers. He was a scholar of ancient languages and folklore, and he had spent years delving into the obscure stories and legends of bygone eras. As he sat by the fire, lost in thought, he couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation. It was his favorite time of year, and he loved nothing more than to curl up with a good ghost story on a cold winter's night. As the fire crackled and the snow continued to fall, Dr. John reached for one of his favorite books: "Ghost Stories of an Antiquary" by M.R. James. He had read it many times before, but he never tired of the eerie tales it contained. He began to leaf through the pages, searching for a story to read aloud. And as he read, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease creeping over him. The stories were all so strange and unsettling, full of ghosts and otherworldly creatures that seemed to haunt the pages. Finally, he settled on a story called "A Warning to the Curious." It was about a man named Paxton, who becomes obsessed with finding an ancient treasure hidden in the Suffolk countryside. But as he searches for the treasure, he finds himself pursued by a ghostly figure that seems to be guarding it. Dr. John read the story aloud, his voice trembling slightly as he described the eerie events that befall Paxton. And as he finished the final paragraph, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him from the shadows. He looked around the room, but there was nothing there. Just the flickering firelight and the sound of the wind outside. He told himself it was just his imagination, and he went to bed, hoping to banish the strange and unsettling thoughts from his mind. But as he drifted off to sleep, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him, waiting for him to let his guard down. And he knew, deep down, that he would never be able to forget the ghostly tales of M.R. James, no matter how hard he tried.
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Post by Swampirella on Dec 23, 2022 21:56:51 GMT
The same to you and your loved ones!
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Post by Swampirella on Dec 23, 2022 22:25:29 GMT
Wishing everybody at the Vault a very Merry Christmas/Yule/whatever you celebrate if anything, and good health and happiness in 2023. May all your plum puddings be friendly.
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Post by ripper on Dec 24, 2022 10:35:48 GMT
Thank you for the stories. I will be saving them for tonight.
A happy and peaceful Christmas to everyone on the board and their loved ones.
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Post by dem bones on Dec 24, 2022 12:17:49 GMT
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Post by johnnymains on Dec 24, 2022 13:30:19 GMT
Hope everyone has a good one!
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Post by andydecker on Dec 24, 2022 13:54:50 GMT
A safe and good Christmas to everyone in the Vault!
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Post by dem bones on Dec 24, 2022 14:38:59 GMT
".... So here, take his dogtag, son. I know he'd want you to have it now ..." F.G. H. Salusbury's "The Ghost of El Ageila" a "true" ghost story from Daily Express, December 1942. Reprinted in Maria & Andrew Hubert [eds.], A Wartime Christmas, Sutton, 1995
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