Today, a classic mystery story you may not have read, ‘The Dead Hand’ (1902) by L. T. Meade & Robert Eustace. And why do we feature this? Because we have oft bemoaned the lack of female occult detectives and psychic investigators in the early supernatural canon, and because this particular tale is harder to find than many. As it is currently Women in Horror Month, it seemed especially appropriate to present this, which was co-authored by a woman, Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Smith (1844–1914), and which features Diana Marburg, one of only a tiny handful of classic female occult detectives.
In saying such, we bow to our scholarly colleague Tim Prasil, who would describe Marburg as a ‘divining detective’, in that she uses unusual techniques – mostly palmistry – to solve quite practical crimes and mysteries. That she is ‘modern’ rather than Gothic is a relief – in one story she discusses the relevance of fingerprint science and even employs it, placing her firmly in the new Edwardian world.
For enthusiasts of the supernatural/strange mystery field, the team of L. T. Meade & Robert Eustace offers many gems. More details of their work can be found in our longer article http://greydogtales.com/blog/master-madame-detectives-l-t-meade/ Therein you will also find a link to Tim’s Giving Up the Ghosts anthology, which includes the other two Marburg stories, as well as thirteen other tales of strange detectives from further period authors.
The Marburg tales are rather enjoyable, and it’s a shame there weren’t more. For your interest and pleasure, we have made a transcription of the original ‘The Dead Hand’, from Pearson’s magazine, 1902, and provided a downloadable pdf version. Any mistakes are probably ours.
Note that Marburg would be an interesting candidate for our forthcoming Sherlock Holmes and the Occult Detectives III, coming from Belanger Books – details here:
(Being the First of the Experiences of the Oracle of Maddox Street)
By L. T. Meade & Robert Eustace
My name is Diana Marburg. I am a palmist by profession. Occult phenomena, spiritualism, clairvoyance, and many other strange mysteries of the unseen world, have, from my earliest years, excited my keen interest.
Being blessed with abundant means, I attended in my youth many foreign schools of thought. I was a pupil of Lewis, Darling, Braid and others. I studied Reichenbach and Mesmer, and, finally, started my career as a thought reader and palmist in Maddox Street.
Now I live with a brother, five years my senior. My brother Rupert is an athletic Englishman, and also a barrister, with a rapidly growing practice. He loves and pities me—he casts over me the respectability of his presence, and wonders at what he calls my lapses from sanity. He is patient, however, and when he saw that in spite of all expostulation I meant to go my own way, he ceased to try to persuade me against my inclinations.
Gradually the success of my reading of the lines of the human hand brought me fame— my prophecies turned out correct, my intuition led me to right conclusions, and I was sought after very largely by that fashionable world which always follows anything new. I became a favorite in society, and was accounted both curious and bizarre.
On a certain evening in late July, I attended Lady Fortescue’s reception in Curzon Street. I was ushered into a small ante-room which was furnished with the view of adding to the weird effect of my own appearance and words. I wore an Oriental costume, rich in color and bespangled with sparkling gems. On my head I had twisted a Spanish scarf, my arms were bare to the elbows, and my dress open at the throat. Being tall, dark, and, I believe, graceful, my quaint dress suited me well.
Lady Fortescue saw me for a moment on my arrival, and inquired if I had everything I was likely to want. As she stood by the door she turned.
“I expect, Miss Marburg, that you will have a few strange clients to-night. My guests come from a varied and ever widening circle, and to-night all sorts and conditions of men will be present at my reception.” She left me, and soon afterwards those who wished to inquire of Fate appeared before me one by one.
Towards the close of the evening a tall, dark man was ushered into my presence. The room was shadowy, and I do not think he could see me at once, although I observed him quite distinctly. To the ordinary observer he doubtless appeared as a well set up man of the world, but to me he wore quite a different appearance. I read fear in his eyes, and irresolution, and at the same time cruelty round his lips.
He glanced at me as if he meant to defy any message I might have for him, and yet at the same time was obliged to yield to an overpowering curiosity. 1 asked him his name, which he gave me at once.
“Philip Harman,” he said; “have you ever heard of me before?”
“Never,” I answered.
“I have come here because you are the fashion, Miss Marburg, and because many of Lady Fortescue’s guests are flocking to this room to learn something of their future. Of course you cannot expect me to believe in your strange art, nevertheless, I shall be glad if you will look at my hand and tell me what you see there.”
As he spoke he held out his hand. I noticed that it trembled. Before touching it I looked full at him. “If you have no faith in me, why do you trouble to come here?” I asked.
“Curiosity brings me to you,” he answered. “Will you grant my request or not?”
“I will look at your hand first if I may.”
I took it in mine. It was a long, thin hand, with a certain hardness about it. I turned the palm upward and examined it through a powerful lens. As I did so I felt my heart beat wildly and something of the fear in Philip Harman’s eyes was communicated to me. I dropped the hand, shuddering inwardly as I did so…
THE FULL STORY CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM US, FOR FREE, IN PDF FORM HERE:
Behind The Book of Carnacki: For many years my late friend Sam Gafford and I delved, quite unbeknownst to each other, into the life and works of writer William Hope Hodgson, one of the ‘uncles’ of 20th century weird fiction. Sam was in fact a leading scholar/expert on Hope Hodgson and his writings; I was a mere enthusiast. And as chance would have it, at around the same time as Sam began his studies, I had conceived of a cycle of strange stories which centred around the Edwardian era, with references – direct or in passing – to the world of Hope Hodgson’s occult detective, Carnacki the Ghost Finder. Not pastiches, but a development of period themes.
Valdemar (2011)
When Sam and I met on-line at last, we found that both of us had great affection for this character. Sam edited two anthologies of further Carnacki adventures (amongst other Hodgsonian publications) via his own Ulthar Press; I finally launched the series of loosely inter-connected stories called ‘Tales of the Last Edwardian’ (though I rarely write anything which features Carnacki directly). Our shared enjoyment of the character was also instrumental in us founding Occult Detective Magazine.
Sadly, Sam passed away too early, in 2019, but I was delighted last year when Belanger Books suggested following up the success of their Sherlock Holmes and the Occult Detectives anthologies with one devoted entirely to Carnacki. So, everything you need to know is laid out below.
THE SHORT VERSION
THE BOOK OF CARNACKI
A Belanger Books Project, edited by John Linwood Grant
Core concept:5,000–10,000 word stories featuring William Hope Hodgson’s character Carnacki the Ghost Finder in a major role. Carnacki’s general behaviour and mannerisms should be canonical, much as in the original tales, though inventive and reasonable extrapolations from those are welcome. We may take a handful of stories with non-supernatural resolutions.
Also: For this particular book, we are interested in 3000–5000 word non-fiction articles relating to Carnacki and his world (see LONG VERSION below).
Your pitch must be accepted for your completed story or article to be read. See PITCH section below.
Pitch Deadline: 16 April, 2021.
Final Submission Deadline: 30 September, 2021.
Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of $100 or $50 plus 1% of the Kickstarter net profits, whichever amount is GREATER, and a paperback copy of the anthology. The Kickstarter will run March 2022, and publication of book is expected early Spring 2022.
You MUST put CARNACKI in the subject line of your pitch or query. Failure to do so may invalidate your submission; it may also get lost in general occult detective queries.
Reprints: We are open to the possibility of taking a small number of reprints, by negotiation. In order to receive full payment, and to increase reader interest, we would prefer that these were ‘refreshed’ or revised versions rather than straight, word-for-word reprints.
LONG VERSION
THE BOOK OF CARNACKI: THE PITCH
IF YOU DO NOT PITCH FIRST, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CONSIDER YOUR STORY/ARTICLE.
Why the pitch system? Because otherwise it’s possible to end up with loads of stories which are very similar, however well written, and thus loads of rejection letters. This allows us to open to everyone, but not be swamped by works we cannot use.
For The Book of Carnacki, we require short pitches – say one hundred to three hundred words – telling us about your planned story:
The period and general physical setting(s), e.g. London in 1905; a decaying Yorkshire farmhouse, just before WWI; a ruined castle in Scotland; Cornwall in 1899.
The sort of supernatural threat/mystery, e.g. classic ghostly appearances; physical monstrosities on the loose; madman possessed by something; cursed item, etc. Get us intrigued.
A hint of plot, to show you already have a story broadly in mind.
For non-fiction articles, give us an idea of your approach and focus.
If you’ve never pitched before, have a go at it, and we’ll tell you if you have something there which we think is worth pursuing. If you’ve done it before, you know the drill.
The authors of the most suitable pitches will be invited to write up a full submission for possible inclusion, so you’ll then have a further five months. No guarantees, but it means that you’re at least on the right lines; your work will get more attention and your chances will have gone up.
Thomas Carnacki as a key protagonist; a proper, authentic Hodgsonian Carnacki, in full character and with the traditional mannerisms.
A strong APPARENT supernatural, paranormal, occult, psychic or other abnatural element which is crucial to the story. We will consider a few ‘debunking’ tales, where a mundane explanation ensues, though we won’t take many of those.
An actual case/investigation – not Carnacki idling in his study, or buying fish for supper and thinking “I haven’t seen many ghosts lately”.
We do NOT want time-travel stories, alternate universes, alien Carnackis or steampunk. We probably don’t want Lovecraftiana, unless the latter is very clever, subtle and original, in which case we might have a glance. Draw on Hodgson’s ‘mythos’ for preference.
A FURTHER NOTE FOR WRITERS
The original six stories were published from 1910 onwards. Hope Hodgson does not mention calendar dates within the tales, so later writers have plenty of years with which to play. You can assume that Carnacki could have begun his work in the late 1880s, with a rather open end-point.
william hope hodgson
For the purposes of this anthology, and to fit with other related Belanger Books we will take the end-point to be the 1920s. So no stories set beyond 1929, please – unless you have a terrific and very imaginative take that you want to pitch. 1890 onwards, up to and including WWI and immediately after, is probably the sweet spot.
The obvious route is to pitch the outline of a Carnacki pastiche, in which the Ghost Finder investigates some strange, unlikely or horrifying event. A request for assistance by a puzzled acquaintance; a cry for help from a haunted soul, or a bizarre report in the newspapers. WE DO WANT THESE. However, the full range of possibilities includes:
Direct and absolutely canonical pastiches, as above
Strange tales taking Carnacki out of his usual zone – ‘weird fiction’
Tales of his early life, and/or why he became the Ghost Finder
Something relating specifically to his electric pentacle and scientific work (fiction or non-fiction)
Stories or articles on his status and activities in regard to his contemporary ODs (fiction or non-fiction)
Crossovers between Carnacki and historical figures/events
Something relating specifically to the ‘circle’ of four men to whom all the original stories were told.
A piece focusing on his cosmology/ theology and occultism (fiction or non-fiction)
Even a parody, if high quality
There were nine original Carnacki stories in total. The six stories published in Hope Hodgson’s lifetime can be read or downloaded for free here:
There are affordable paperbacks of all the stories available on Amazon, though beware of cheap editions which have poor editing. A number of these are in fact exploitative editions – they call themselves ‘Annotated’ to get round Amazon’s rules, but some, for example, simply COPY word for word (without proper editing or layout) the Wikipedia entry. Disrespectful and unoriginal – please do not swell their coffers.
The Casebook of Carnacki The Ghost-Finder (Tales of Mystery & The Supernatural), from Wordsworth, edited with an introduction by David Stuart Davies, is one of the more reliable editions.
If you need a better idea of what an occult detective might be, then check the page for Occult Detective Magazine, which covers the basics and provides other links:
It was perfectly possible in late Victorian, Edwardian and 1920s Britain to be active and respected whilst being a feminist, being Black, being LGBTQ+, or being restricted in physical ability (as just a few examples). And as far as including non-white characters, remember that between the turn of the century and 1920, there were probably 10,000 to 20,000 or more Black people living in Britain, often concentrated in areas such as London’s Canning Town. There also were many Indian and Chinese professionals, workers and students, visiting Africans, and so on. Respectful use of non-white characters is entirely appropriate (no token figures, though, please).
Whilst limited situational discrimination may occasionally be relevant in the context of the period – in order to reflect characters’ life histories or traumas – sexism, homophobia, racism etc. in general will not be accepted.
A LONGER NOTE ON THE CENTRAL CHARACTER
Why The Book of Carnacki? Many have wondered at the enduring nature of the character. The Carnacki tales were not the high point of his writing, in style or content; there had been characters who investigated strange and paranormal events before, and, to be honest, Hope Hodgson himself was never counted as part of the literary circles of the times. Yet Carnacki prospers. We have never had any doubts as to why.
Thomas Carnacki remains the first TRUE independent occult detective. Not a psychologist, mystic, doctor or intellectual; not a policeman or an arm of any agency, Lodge or ‘brotherhood’. An individual who repeatedly investigates reports of ab-natural events, and uses scientific and ordered methods in the process. One who sees each event, report or rumour as a case to which he must apply both logic and his knowledge of the ab-natural. And one who is more than willing to accept that many such events have a rational, non-supernatural explanation.
In many ways, we see him (and have even written of him) as the only occult detective of the period who might have received grudging acknowledgement from Sherlock Holmes himself – who would have been quietly satisfied with those cases where Carnacki proved that mere human perfidy was behind an apparent mystery.
And although some have questioned the sketchiness of Carnacki’s characterisation, here we have a man who admits fear, who expresses human doubts, who can laugh at his own misjudgements. Not the dry intellect or abstruse philosophies of his contemporaries, but traits of an inquisitive man trying to do his best under the circumstances.
He has no secret training from far-off monks, or natural gifts of psychic revelation; no skill at occult summonings or mastery over those beyond the Veil. He is reasonably intelligent, well-read, and willing to take risks. To augment those qualities, he has burrowed into physicists’ theories of vibrations and wavelengths; has learned the practical use of such devices as electrical apparatus and cameras, turning such use towards his occult detecting. Ellery Queen praised the character as a “ghost-breaker after Houdini’s own heart”.
We admire him for what he is, and especially for what he is not. Let Dr Silence pontificate on moral urges and spiritual alchemy; let Flaxman Low claim he knew the answer all along and then shoot everyone. Give us Thomas Carnacki, in a bit of a funk, but resolute, at our side.
For writers, the recent open call for pitches concerning the next volume of Sherlock Holmes and the Occult Detectives (Volume III) can be found here:
“One could be forgiven for assuming Grant was a contemporary of Edwardian authors M.R. James and Arthur Conan Doyle. Each of the stories in this collection are utterly steeped in that bygone era, both in terms of setting and style.” Ginger Nuts of Horror
“Reminiscent of Saki’s stories, as a dry wit is mingled in with a singular dread. The dread is not only supernatural in nature, but also stems from the very reality that for many in the Edwardian age (and now) domesticity is a trap with teeth.” Turn to Ash
After the success of Sherlock Holmes & the Occult DetectivesVolumes I and II (Belanger Books, 2020), we are back, dear listener, to announce that we are now open to story pitches for a new anthology,Sherlock Holmes and the Occult Detectives III! So do read on for everything you need to know…
THE BACKGROUND
Last year I had the pleasure of editing the two anthologies mentioned at the start, in which we presented almost 200,000 words of brand new stories from a host of contemporary writers, all based on the possibility that Sherlock Holmes chose, or had of necessity, to work with those figures of the time who called themselves occult detectives, psychic investigators and the like.
Sherlock Holmes and the Occult DetectivesIII will once again be about detection, logic and mysteries. It will concern an authentic Sherlock Holmes, but with the same simple twist:
Perhaps Holmes is already privately aware that there may be supernatural elements in the world, but has tried to close off such thoughts, finding them too illogical. Or perhaps he is disturbed to find something quite inexplicable affecting his resolution of a particular case, and has to step beyond his normal boundaries. He may, of course, still be highly sceptical.
And maybe Dr Watson was never allowed to include any such explicit references when he wrote up his friend’s adventures, but now these instances can be brought into the light.
Does this ruin the core of Holmes’s original position? Not necessarily, for as we have oft said, Holmes’s most quoted comments on the supernatural are not quite as definitive as some might believe. Do you remember ‘The Sussex Vampire’? That particular Conan Doyle tale contains the famous lines, where Holmes tells Watson:
“This agency stands flat-footed upon the ground, and there it must remain. The world is big enough for us. No ghosts need apply.”
In ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’, what he states is that normal investigative techniques and logical deduction would be of no use in supernatural cases.
“If Dr. Mortimer’s surmise should be correct, and we are dealing with forces outside the ordinary laws of Nature, there is an end of our investigation. But we are bound to exhaust all other hypotheses before falling back upon this one.”
We could therefore say Holmes’s concern is that none of his peculiar intellectual talents can be of value in a situation where normal ratiocination is overthrown. He has dismissed that which will not yield to him.
If there are such cases, genuine ones, who will take them on? More foolish, credulous or cash-hungry ‘consulting’ detectives? Fraudulent psychics? Or, now and then, the true occult detectives, those who have developed a different blend of investigative skills and knowledge of matters apparently ‘outside the ordinary laws of Nature’…
Will they come to him for advice, will they cross his path during a case, or will he, however reluctantly, turn to them when only the impossible can explain what has happened…?
You may be able to tell us.
THE SHORT VERSION
Sherlock Holmes and the Occult DetectivesIII
A Belanger Books Project, edited by John Linwood Grant
Core concept: A 5,000–10,000 word story featuring the canonical Holmes/Watson which has them encountering and working with, or even working against, an occult detective/psychic investigator. Existing literary characters or your own inventions both welcome. Period: c.1880-1925. English language, no reprints.
Your pitch must be accepted for your completed story to be read. See PITCH section below.
Pitch Deadline: 16 April, 2021.
Final Submission Deadline: 31 August, 2021.
Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of $100 or $50 plus 1% of the Kickstarter net profits, whichever amount is GREATER, and a paperback copy of the anthology.
The Kickstarter will run March 2022, and publication of book is expected early Spring 2022.
THE LONG VERSION
This part is more detailed because it all increases the chances of us taking your story. And it has a few hints. The more in tune with us you are, the more we’ll wag our tails when we read what you send. If you’re confident that you’ve already grasped the concept, or you’re an experienced writer, you might use it just to double-check. We’d still prefer you read it through.
Stories MUST have all the following four key elements:
Sherlock Holmes (and/or Watson) as a key protagonist; a proper, authentic Conan Doyle-type Holmes, in full character and with the traditional mannerisms.
One or more occult detectives as the other key protagonist(s), ones who could have taken up a case at the same time as Holmes was alive and functioning. This means Public Domain figures from around 1880 – 1925* OR your own original character operating in the same time period. The latter are very welcome.
A strong supernatural, paranormal, occult, psychic or other abnatural element which is crucial to the story. You can try a ‘debunking’ tale, where a mundane explanation ensues, but we won’t take many of those.
An actual case/investigation – not Holmes and Dr Silence happening to see a ghost pass by, whilst they argue about the price of stamps over coffee.
We do NOT want time-travel stories, alternative universes, robot Watsons or steampunk. We probably don’t want Lovecraftiana, unless the latter is very clever, subtle and original, in which case we might have a glance. Think more of Algernon Blackwood, William Hope Hodgson, Arthur Machen, L T Meade and so on. Classic late Victorian, Edwardian and Twenties mysteries and scariness.
* Do check that any literary occult detective is in the Public Domain. Seventy years after the author’s death is the usual rule-of-thumb, except for some important characters where an Estate is still active and protecting its copyrights – Agatha Christie, for example.
THE PITCH
IF YOU DO NOT PITCH FIRST, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CONSIDER YOUR STORY.
Why the pitch system? Because otherwise it’s possible to end up with loads of similar stories, however well written they are, and thus loads of rejection letters. Seventeen cases where Holmes and Dr Hesselius prove that the apparition at Gruntling Hall was in fact the butler in a sheet (but that the family was genuinely cursed anyway, because a wicked ancestor ate cheese too late at night). Or twelve cases of werewolves, phosphorescent pain and missing boots.
For this anthology, we require short pitches – say one hundred to three hundred words – telling us about your planned story:
The decade and general physical setting(s), e.g. London; a decaying Cornish farmhouse, before WWI; a fancy hotel in Paris.
The sort of supernatural threat/mystery, e.g. classic ghostly appearances; physical monstrosity on the loose; madman possessed by something; cursed item. Get us intrigued.
The occult detective(s) involved, e.g. Van Helsing late in his career; John Bell having decided spirits do exist; Carnacki at his wits end and needing a co-conspirator.
A hint of plot, to show you already have a story broadly in mind.
If you’ve never pitched before, have a go at it, and we’ll tell you if you have something there which we think is worth pursuing. If you’ve done it before, you know the drill.
The authors of the most suitable pitches will be invited to write up a full submission for possible inclusion, so you’ll then have a further four months. No guarantees, but it means that you’re at least on the right lines; your story will get more attention and your chances will have gone up.
Literary and historical figures featured in Volumes I and II included:
Dr John Silence
Mary Morstan
Luna Bartendale
Dr Hardacre
Auguste Dupin
Van Helsing
Rose Mackenberg
Queen Victorian
Irene Adler’s daughter
Conan Doyle himself
It is entirely possible that you can come up with a new spin on any of the above, and pitches with these characters are fine. However, some of the potentially interesting literary ‘occult detectives’ (they are a varied bunch in their approaches) still unused include:
Mr Dyson (Arthur Machen)
John Bell (Meade & Eustace)
Flaxman Low (E & H Heron)
Carnacki (William Hope Hodgson)
Dr Hesselius (Sheridan Le Fanu) (barely overlap)
Aylmer Vance (A & C Askew)
Gerald Canevin (Henry S Whitehead)
Semi Dual (Giesy & Smith)
Simon Iff (Crowley)
Norton Vyse (de Crespigny)
Dr John Taverner (Dion Fortune)
If you don’t have the books to hand, most of the above can be found in Public Domain versions on Project Gutenberg, Gutenberg Australia, Internet Archive, shared on other sites, etc.
There was a sad shortage of female ODs in fiction at the time, with only Diane Marburg (Meade & Eustace), and Shiela Crerar (Scrymsour) as strong candidates. But all the more reason to create new period female ODs – which was done to great effect in Volumes I and II. Or even utilise other female literary detectives of the time such as Catherine Pirkis’s Loveday Brooke or Orczy’s Lady Molly, having them develop an occult, spiritualistic or paranormal sideline.
Bear in mind that as you enter the 1920s (as some of the above characters do), you have to allow for a Holmes and Watson who are now elderly gentlemen.
If you need a better idea of what an occult detective might be, then check the page for Occult Detective Magazine, which covers the basics and provides other links:
It was perfectly possible in late Victorian, Edwardian and 1920s Britain to be active and respected whilst being a feminist, being Black, being LGBTQ+, or being restricted in physical ability (as just a few examples). And as far as including non-white characters, remember that between the turn of the century and 1920, there were probably 10,000 to 20,000 or more Black people living in Britain, often concentrated in areas such as London’s Canning Town. There also were many Indian and Chinese professionals, workers and students, visiting Africans, and so on. Respectful use of non-white characters is entirely appropriate (no token figures, though, please).
Whilst limited situational discrimination may occasionally be relevant in the context of the period – in order to reflect characters’ life histories or traumas – sexism, homophobia, racism etc. in general will not be accepted.
FOR AUTHORS WHO WERE WITH US LAST TIME
We’re not at all averse to pitches which include the same protagonists as before – i.e. if you wrote of Holmes and Madame X last time, another Holmes and Madame X story for Sherlock Holmes and the Occult Detectives III is absolutely fine, with a brief allusion to their previous encounter if relevant.
Pitches will once again be selected according to their individual merit, not by who sends them or the fact that they are a ‘sequel’. This does mean, though, that you don’t have to come up with a different OD if you have a good idea for the one(s) you used before. You can still propose someone totally new to work with Holmes, of course.
To get the feel of the concept, you can also purchase Sherlock Holmes & the Occult Detectives Volumes I and II on Amazon – Kindle and print:
Today, dear listener, we’re all about creepy tales and horror stories, as Dave Brzeski reviews three works by veteran crime and horror writer Paul Finch, who may already be known to you for his Detective Mark Heckenburg series, or for his ‘Terror Tales’ anthologies…
THREE FROM PAUL FINCH
by Dave Brzeski
When I saw a promo post on Facebook for a new collection, Ill Met By Darkness, the other day, I felt I had to investigate. And when I contacted the author to see if there might be a review copy available, thankfully there was, but would I be interested in reviewing these two volumes of Christmas themed stories while I was at it… Hmm? There was no implied threat, at least nothing concrete that I could report to the police… Just a faint snicker-snack sound… Besides, Finch used to be one of them, didn’t he? I felt it prudent to simply comply.
Thus I ended up with no less than three collections by Paul Finch to cover. Four, if you count Major Craddock Investigates, which I plan on reviewing for Occult Detective Magazine!
It would, considering the fact that two and a quarter of these three books are Christmas themed, have been better if I could have got these reviews online before the season was over, but this was never going to be possible. If you like this sort of thing, and appreciate good writing, it’s never too early to start picking stuff up for next Yuletide.
paul finch
IN A DEEP, DARK DECEMBER: FIVE FESTIVE CHILLERS
Author: Paul Finch
Publisher: Brentwood Press
Format: Paperback
I’ll be honest here… I’m not really a fan of Christmas themed anthologies & collections. They often tend to be an odd case of the whole being somewhat less than the sum of their parts. By which I mean that, irrespective of how good the individual stories are, they can get tiresome when read all at once. This, however, is a Paul Finch collection…
I first read Finch in a collection he had published by Gray Friar Press some years back, and had been greatly impressed by the sheer variety in his stories, so I started this book with less trepidation than I otherwise might.
In a Deep, Dark December was originally published on Kindle only in 2014. This is the first paperback edition.
‘The Christmas Toy’s’ is a variation on the possessed doll concept, only writ rather larger than usual. A pair of thieves encounter far more than they anticipated when attempting to burglarize a posh house over the Christmas holidays.
One of our most primal fears is that of being lost in a place that is not safe. ‘Midnight Service’ plays on that fear. Capstick is left stranded, after the bus driver announced that weather conditions were too bad to continue their journey. Most passengers waited for the driver to give them directions to a place they could stay overnight, but Capstick knew better, and set out on his own. Can you guess how well that worked out for him?
While ‘Midnight Service’ is a good, creepy tale, ‘The Faerie’ is rather better. A father, who has taken his young daughter away to spend Christmas with him at her aunt’s, admittedly more to spite his abusive wife than any other reason, is caught in a heavy snowstorm. Unable to see where he’s going, in conditions that are becoming ever more unsafe, they see a remote house with lights on. This one is genuinely scary.
‘The Mummers’ tells a tale of ghostly revenge, but this time it’s revenge enacted by the living, using the ghosts as the method. This tale with a twist, or two, further underlines Finch’s mastery of the gradual, build up of dread. If he can do that so successfully in 20-30 pages, what could he achieve in a longer work? Well, those first four tales, of five, take up about half the book, so it looked like I’d soon find out in the final novella length tale.
‘The Killing Ground’ introduces us to husband & wife, Ruth and Alec Whitchurch – ex-coppers, who quit the force to raise a family. When they discovered that for medical reasons that just wasn’t going to happen, they set themselves up as a private investigators.
Ruth and Alec do not believe in the supernatural. Neither does the obscenely rich American actor who hires them to investigate the seriously nasty legend about the estate he’s bought in Herefordshire. His Catholic wife, and mother of the child that she’s terrified might be in serious danger, certainly does believe, though, which is why Ruth and Alec find themselves faced with what looks to be a very lucrative Christmas holiday.
As one might assume, we’re straying into occult detective territory here. It’s a classic case of a vengeful spirit, but in this case it’s written by a successful crime writer who happens to be an ex-copper himself, so that side of things is extremely well-handled.
I won’t say more about the story itself, for fear of spoilers. I will say, however, that the first thing I did on finishing it was search for evidence that Ruth & Alec Whitchurch turn up in more stories. As far as I can see, they haven’t in the six years since ‘The Killing Ground’ was originally published, but I sincerely hope they will at some point.
THE CHRISTMAS YOU DESERVE: FIVE FESTIVE TERROR TALES
Author: Paul Finch
Publisher: Brentwood Press
Format: Paperback
Unlike In a Deep, Dark December, The Christmas You Deserve is not only a new collection, but it contains a previously unpublished story.
The book opens with ‘The Merry Makers’, a tale that revisits the trope of a lone traveller, lost in the snow on Christmas Eve, finds possible sanctuary at a mysterious house. The lesson learned here is, if you find yourself broken down and stranded in the snow on Christmas Eve, stay in your car until morning. Your chance of surviving unscathed may be marginally higher!
‘The Unreal’ is the story of an atheist ghost debunker, who I would be in complete sympathy with, had he not been such a mean spirited, miserable bugger. He’s called to investigate a haunted theatre, which most recently put on a travelling puppet show version of ‘A Christmas Carol’, so we can easily see why Finch made him that way. It’s a return to that classic slow build up of terror, which Finch is so good at.
In ‘Krampus’, Finch does a very good job of explaining the differences behind the various Christmas… spirits? In the UK we have Father Christmas, a kindly gift-giver with pagan roots, America has (and we have since adopted) the rather more commercialised Santa Claus. Germany, though, has a version with two aspects – Saint Nickolaus, a rather more religious themed version of our Father Christmas, and Krampus. Krampus deals with the naughty children, and is truly a figure of terror. Another interesting aspect of this story is the way Finch highlights the differences between the attitudes of children in the post-war years and modern times. Again, there’s a gradualy growing terror to be found here. Read it to your kids next Christmas eve. They’ll enjoy the nightmares, really they will.
‘The Tenth Lesson’ is original to this collection. It’s the longest of the 4 shorter pieces, and it’s worth the cost of the book on its own. Tregarron is a successful children’s author who has made a fortune with a series of Christmas themed fantasy novels. What no one, other than his family and a few close confidants know is that he’s an atheist who does not believe in, nor celebrate Christmas in any way, shape, or form.
After a phone call, in which he manages to deeply offend his pagan, hedge-witch sister, he arrives home in a snow storm, to find his housekeeper has brought in a very large parcel – a present of some sort. I loved this little morality tale with all it’s little twists.
As with In a Deep, Dark December, the final story is a 100 page novella.
‘The Stain’ opens with a long quoted passage from Understanding Extreme Cinema by John Jackson-Brown. Finch is so good at these fake references that you may be tempted to rush off to Amazon to seek out a copy. I did. Don’t bother – it doesn’t actually exist. Neither does the film, Daemonia (1969), which is held up in this non-existent critique as a prime example of the depths to which the British horror film sank, after the classic years of the late fifties and early sixties.
Rick Schaefer is a full time author/screenwriter, now working for the remnants of Lionheart Films, the company responsible for Daemonia. His boss, Stafford Wilkes, has conceived a plan to make a follow-up to Daemonia, by revisiting the actual house that was the location used for the original film. They would stay there for a few days, absorb the atmosphere and workshop a script. It goes without saying that the original movie was one of those productions fraught with bad luck, leading to speculation about a curse… and it still had enough of an evil reputation, that it hadn’t managed to hold on to any tenants for very long – the current owner being an Australian who didn’t actually live on the premises.
One can immediately imagine so many possible situations, and, indeed, some of them do occur, but this novella has enough twists and turns to keep any fan guessing right up until the end.
ILL MET BY DARKNESS
Author: Paul Finch
Publisher: Sarob Press
Format: Limited, Numbered Hardcover (250 copies)
Finally, we come to the book which led me to writing this review in the first place. Given that this one is not a themed collection, in the way that the previous two are, I was expecting the usual Finch level of variation in setting and theme. I was not to be disappointed.
‘Snicker-Snack’ introduces us to Mr Cranbourne, at least that’s the name Horace Gilpin gives the aged Miss Hollowbrook when he goes to see her. He’s on a mission, you see, to get a copy of an unpublished painting in her brother’s ‘Terry’s Terrors’ series in the Kreature Feature comic – the one in which he depicts the Jabberwock… To be able to make this legendary banned painting available to collectors would be a gold mine. Unfortunately, he’s told that not only may he not borrow it to scan, he may not even see it!
‘Down To a Sunless Sea’ tells the story of one Donald Crowfoot, and how he came to obtain the solid gold bejewelled artefact that he was currently trying to sell to the representative of a museum. Having ascertained that, while Crowfoot’s initial explanation couldn’t be proven, neither could it be disproven – which meant the museum was safe from legal challenges from the Greek government. However the buyer insisted on hearing the true story of how Crowfoot came to acquire this statuette of the goddess, Europa.
Young Milo Sowerby was heir to a criminal empire, and his father had insisted that Lassiter take him along on a mission. “He has to learn the ropes sometime.” was the reasoning, but Lassiter wasn’t happy about it. They’d had a tip as to the whereabouts of an old colleague, who had turned rat, and was hiding out in a small town under the witness protection scheme. Their job was, as one would imagine, to quietly dispose of him before any evidence is given in court. ‘The Hell Wain’ is another of those tales involving city folks travelling to a small, quiet town named Hackenthorpe… According to a quick Google search, it had a deeply dodgy reputation. The sign they’d seen as they entered, which read, ‘No Popery’, should perhaps have been enough of a clue.
Finally, ‘Spirit of the Season’ brings us full circle, with another Christmas tale. This time Phil Percival, who has made a fairly successful career out of writing books about folklore, wants to investigate what he thinks is the first ever reference to Father Christmas in the written word. A reference which strongly suggests that ‘Old Christmas’ himself may have gate-crashed the Christmas feast in the castle to berate them about their perverting of the sanctity of the season to celebrate the taking of lives in battle. To do this, he’s hired, at great expense – which his wife and business manager does not approve of – Wenlock Castle, or rather the mansion house that now sat on the site of the long ruined castle. His family and friends would enjoy a sumptuous Christmas feast at the manor, which was now a popular, if rather expensive venue for weddings, birthday parties and the like.
He has also hired Miss Scrivener – a ‘diviner’, who claims to have the ability to send her consciousness into the past and witness events first hand.
Needless to say, things do not go according to plan. This is a weird tale, and as is so often the case with Paul Finch’s work, includes a character strong enough to support further stories, if the author ever has the inclination. Miss (no first name given) Scrivener is a fascinating character. Her divining abilities are unusual, and the fact that she’s already sworn off divining scenes of death and violence, suggests some interesting previous experiences.
I’ve purposely held back on giving too many story details, otherwise why would you need to read the books? But I do recommend them without reservation. Granted Finch uses the lost traveller trope a few times, but this was only noticeable because I read the first two collections in a single day. Taken as collections to dip into – most of the stories were originally published separately in magazines and anthologies, don’t forget – and that’s not an issue.
Should you be in the mood for more winter chills, you might also find something of interest in this recently published tome:
A Winter’s Tale: Horror Stories for the Yuletide
“The Yuletide. The time of the longest, darkest evenings of the year, and once, a time for stories of ghosts, demons, and other night creatures, by authors like M.R. James, E.F. Benson, Jane Gaskell, and Amelia B. Edwards. A Winter’s Tale seeks to revive those days with all new stories by some of the best horror writers of today. These stories run the gamut in setting and time, from traditional Victorian ghost stories to all too contemporary tales of terror. This is an anthology to be read by the fireside on cold nights with the wind howling at the windows.”
