Category Archives: Writing

No seats, no space, crammed into the rear of a train, body against body. Hot. Dark. Sweaty. Six hours from Prague to Munich in a tin-can carriage. How nice to be reminded that we humans can be considerate. The carriage entertains the poor toddler trapped amongst all these towering adults. Please, thank you, sorry andContinue reading “Ghost Train”

The little house at Number 14, Golden Lane of Madame de Thebes, whose real name was Matylda Prisov. The widow of a pharmacist, tragically waiting in vain for the return of her son from the First World War, A psychic, mystic and a mistress of cartomancy. The Lenormand not the Tarot deck.  She foretold theContinue reading “Mystic Courage”

The Memorial to the Victims of Communism at the foot of Petřín created by sculptor Olbram Zoubek. We are HUMAN. If our freedoms are stripped away, we disintegrate. Without freedom of thought or expression, we are less. Stripped clean of who and what we are. The inscription alongside says, ‘Victims of Communism 1948 – 1989Continue reading “Disintegration”

St. Francis Hospital situated on the banks of the Vltava River is the oldest medieval hospital in Prague, seven hundred years old, and built on compassion for the poor … … but the dark can shade even kindness. With no anaesthetic, no pain relief and no infection control, doctors dealt death with the best ofContinue reading “Ghost Surgery”

Beauty in the Gothic. St Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna. We live in a world that seems keen to abandon reason, while we all sleep. Lauren and Jake rarely find themselves beneath such Gothic splendour. Though once they did. In of all places a northern moor.  There is inspiration in the rafters, shadows beneath the vaulted ceilingsContinue reading “Dreaming of Monsters”

There are places, and there are creations that give birth to the most delicious of fantasies, and this oldest of Ferris wheels, the Riesenrad, set in the delirious grounds of a surprisingly old-fashioned amusement park, is one of them.  Lauren wouldn’t like it. Too Many memories. This is perhaps one of the most iconic filmContinue reading “Ferriphobia”

… outside of our stories. Look what I found to read at my hotel …   Sadly, my skill with language doesn’t go much beyond my own, and even then, that’s questionable.  Last week, I opened Lemarchand’s Box, and now find myself exploring a new darkness with Clive Barker’s ‘The Great & Secret Show.’ I planContinue reading “The World Doesn’t Make Heroes …”

So, over for another year. Book Two is complete. At least in draft form, and I am a little sad that this indulgence is over. Still a lot of work to do in the next six weeks, but I always love a good deadline.    Here’s to THE CARRION ROAD and all of you being ableContinue reading “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye …”

I’ve watched nine Hellraiser movies, read ‘The Hellhound Heart’, and dipped into ‘The Books of Blood,’ all while Christopher Young’s 30th Anniversary Score has been on repeat in the background. I’ve done everything but solve the puzzle box of the toymaker, Lemarchand … It has been a dark horror retreat.   And finally, I have suturedContinue reading “Raising a Certain Hell …”