This one is based on something I heard one time, as is often the way. I don't know whether I came up with the little details, or whether they were part of what I heard, but either way I'm pretending I invented them. Mr. Chicken walked up and down Tall Man Road for as long … Continue reading Mr. Chicken
Loup-Garou Kid
Who was thatdog-faced man? they asked, the day I rodefrom town.- Ishmael Reed, I Am a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra I've said before that I have a handful of favourite poems, and Ishmael Reed's 'I Am a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra' is at the top of that list. Do yourself a … Continue reading Loup-Garou Kid
The Blind Man
They are at the mouth of the Miskatonic now. But I am ready.- Dr. Laban Shrewsbury, The House on Curwen Street, 1934 ‘...an elderly man who wore his hair long and white...a firm, almost prognathous chin, half-pursed lips and a strong Roman nose. His eyes were not visible at all, for he wore dark glasses … Continue reading The Blind Man
Turkey Drop 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGFtV6-ALoQ I've never been big on Thanksgiving, for a variety of reasons, but I have one tradition I refuse to break. Every Thanksgiving, whatever else is going on, whatever sort of mood I'm in or what sort of deadlines I've got looming, I watch the "Turkeys Away" episode of WKRP in Cincinnati. You probably know … Continue reading Turkey Drop 2021
The Victorian Occultist
Today’s instalment of the Royal Occultist Compendium takes a look at a previous holder of the office – Edwin Drood. Sir Edwin Drood had the honour to hold the position of Royal Occultist at the close of the nineteenth century. Elevated in the wake of Aylmer Beamish's disappearance, Drood's assumption of the post brought a … Continue reading The Victorian Occultist
A Dreadful Emptiness
Just a pinpoint monsieur. In a flower. Or perhaps in a glass of wine.- Murder Legendre Murder Legendre is well named. Perhaps the most well-named character ever portrayed by the redoubtable Bela Lugosi. He is the Faustian influence at the heart of 1932's White Zombie, the dark star around which the rest of the cast … Continue reading A Dreadful Emptiness
The Haunted Wanderer
I know the price a man must pay for calling forth the nameless shape that roams the gulfs of darkness.- John Kirowan, The Haunter of the Ring, 1934 While Robert E. Howard is perhaps best known for creating Conan, he had his share of occult investigators of one stripe or another. There was Steve Harrison … Continue reading The Haunted Wanderer
Tenebre
This one is based on a snippet of nothing I came up with a few years ago, about a town sunk into a swamp and a painter by the name of Tenebre. The town - and its inhabitants - have been mentioned or appeared in several of my stories, most notably "Night Falls on Tenebre" … Continue reading Tenebre
Rattle-Bone Wire
This one is based on a thing my father once showed me, way back a few years ago. A wire fence, stretching across a property line, studded with animal bones and tiny flags. No reason for it that I could see. It seemed too odd not to turn into something. So here's something. The Rattle-Bone … Continue reading Rattle-Bone Wire
The Night Has Teeth
Today is Bram Stoker's birthday, which is probably as good a time as any to draw another corpse from its grave. This is a brief essay about Dracula and his popularity that I wrote several years ago. I think it still holds up, so here it is again. Dracula. If there were just one word … Continue reading The Night Has Teeth
HUNTING MONSTERS 