Thank you for visiting us for our Dark Divinations Book Events. Did you miss any of this fab stuff? Read more about your favorite authors and get insight on the stories are each of these links.
Rie Sheridan Rose, author of “Broken Crystal” from our anthology Dark Divinations,
has done much research on each of the divination techniques used in our book.
She explores each one in this awesome series of blog posts.
It’s the height of Queen Victoria’s rule. Fog swirls in the gas-lit streets, while in the parlor, hands are linked. Pale and expectant faces gaze upon a woman, her eyes closed and shoulders slumped. The medium speaks, her tone hollow and inhuman. The séance has begun.
Can the reading of tea leaves influence the future? Can dreams keep a soldier from death in the Crimea? Can a pocket watch foretell a deadly family curse? From entrail reading and fortune-telling machines to prophetic spiders and voodoo spells, sometimes the future is better left unknown.
Choose your fate.
Choose your DARK DIVINATION.
Join us as we explore fourteen frightening tales of Victorian horror, each centered around a method of divination.
“Power and Shadow” by Hannah Hulbert / A young woman, with the power to manipulate the future using tea leaves, teaches her friend a lesson at her mother’s behest.
“Copper and Cordite” by Ash Hartwell / On the eve of her fiance’s departure for the Crimea, a young Englishwoman discovers the power which lies in dreams. Can she use it to save him?
“Damnation in Venice” by Joe L. Murr / When a roguish fortuneteller counsels an aging writer, he ends up in danger of damning his own soul.
“The Pocket Watch” by Emerian Rich / When a young American bride returns to her husband’s English estate, she receives a present from his deceased mother that can foretell a deadly family curse.
“They Wound Like Worms” by Naching T. Kassa / A man writes his sister concerning a method of divination which reveals his true love. But, as his obsession grows, the method grows bloodier.
“Miroir de Vaugnac” by Michael Fassbender / A widowed seer, augmenting her skills through an antique scrying bowl, faces grim choices when she learns she is not fully in control of its power.
“The Bell” by Jon O’Bergh / A physical medium, who earned his fortune faking necromancy, finds he’s buried in a coffin and must call upon his powers to save himself.
“Romany Rose” by Stephanie Ellis / A penny gaff mysteriously appears outside a London shop, awaking a spirit with a terrible agenda.
“Miss Mae’s Prayers” by H.R.R. Gorman / A preacher seeks to rebuke an Appalachian witch for her use of the Bible to divine the future, but ignoring her warnings leads to dire consequences
“Broken Crystal” by Rie Sheridan Rose / A young, Irish fortuneteller discovers her true fate when she reads for a dangerous man who won’t accept her prophecy.
“Breaking Bread” by R.L. Merrill / A wife, suspecting her husband of infidelity, tests him with a magic loaf of bread, but her quest for knowledge might be more trouble than she asked for.
“The Ghost of St. John Lane” by Daphne Strasert / While conducting a seance to contact her dead husband, a woman discovers a girl with strange gifts and provokes a man who seeks to destroy her.
“The Moat House Cob” by Alan Fisher / In a tower of fortune-telling animals, a spider spins a web over London. What ominous force may be headed their way?
“Of Blood and Bones” by Jeremy Megargee / When a woman throws the bones in search of her sister’s murderer, she finds an unimaginable evil. Will she avenge her sister’s death? Or share her fate?
“Power and Shadow” started life as a steam-punk flash. I participate in a non-competitive monthly flash contest and the theme for this story was “vintage.” At the time it was written, I had been meaning to write a story about magical tea for a while (inspired by my real-life obsession with tea drinking) and so the vintage tea set became the focus of the story.
It was only a month later that I found the Dark Divinations submission call, and I knew my little story might be a good fit after a bit of work. So, with the feedback from the other participants, I rewrote the flash into the first scene.
The fairground was the second place my mind went when I thought of Victoriana, after the tea parlor. It’s a cross between that scene in Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang and the wonderful Wookie Hole (where the kids and I love to visit, in Somerset). I’ve always found carousel horses rather sinister and this was a fun way to play with that feeling.
The characters? I’m never too sure where my characters spring from. Some facet of my own personality, usually. I love writing bad mothers, they’re so much fun. And the shadows lurking at the periphery of your vision, waiting to manifest dark destinies? Well, that would be telling!
Hannah Hulbert lives in urban Dorset, UK. She is on a permanent sabbatical from reality as she raises two children and devotes her time to visiting imaginary worlds, some of her own creation. You can find her short stories in the British Fantasy Society’s Horizons, the anthologies Curse of the Gods (ed. Sarah Gribble), Once and Future Moon (ed. Allen Ashley) and the forthcoming Beneath Strange Stars (TL;DR Press). You can find her tweeting and doodling when she should be writing.
Hannah Hulbert lives in urban Dorset, UK. She is on a permanent sabbatical from reality as she raises two children and devotes her time to visiting imaginary worlds, some of her own creation. You can find her short stories in the British Fantasy Society’s Horizons, the anthologies Curse of the Gods (ed. Sarah Gribble), Once and Future Moon (ed. Allen Ashley), and the forthcoming Beneath Strange Stars (TL;DR Press). You can find her tweeting and doodling when she should be writing.
How did you become interested in the Victorian era?
I first studied the Victorians at school when I was nine and loved the aesthetic – the ornate architecture, the heavy fabrics, the way that even the most mundane items were made beautifully.
What is your favorite Victorian horror story?
I find Victorian fiction rather stodgy, but there’s a lot to enjoy in Poe’s ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. I am a bit obsessed with the decay of man-made structures, as they are reclaimed by nature. I also really like fiction within fiction interacting with itself. And you just can’t beat a bit of pathetic fallacy.
Do you have a favorite Victorian horror movie? What attracted you to this film?
It’s a bit early, but I adore ‘Sleepy Hollow’. I mostly like my horror hammy, beautiful or ecological, and this ticks two out of three.
Are your characters based on real people?
Not at all. I love writing wicked mothers, but my mum is the best!
Do you use an outline to write? Or do you write by the seat of your pants?
‘Power and Shadow’ actually started life as a steampunk flash. It evolved to fill the specifications for the anthology call and is a lot better for it.
Do your characters have free will? Or do you decide their fate?
I think my characters grow alongside the plot symbiotically. The two are inseparably entwined, affecting each other simultaneously.
What are you most afraid of?
Anything that might harm my kids.
What is your favorite form of divination?
I chose tasseography for my story because I adore tea! But I prefer my future to reveal itself in real-time.
Who is your favorite horror author?
Shirley Jackson. I love ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle.’
What does the future hold for you? What books, short stories, or works do Horror Addicts have to look forward to?
My story ‘The Librarian’ is in The Cat Ladies of the Apocalypse anthology from Camden Park Press. I also have a story forthcoming from Metaphorosis about witches and mushrooms that I am excited to share with the world.
Welcome Horror Addicts, to the Dark Divinations Book Event Calendar. We have many delightful events planned for your enjoyment and edification. Be sure to join us for interviews, tales of inspiration, excerpts, and parties galore! We would be most honored by your presence.
It’s the height of Queen Victoria’s rule. Fog swirls in the gas-lit streets, while in the parlor, hands are linked. Pale and expectant faces gaze upon a woman, her eyes closed and shoulders slumped. The medium speaks, her tone hollow and inhuman. The séance has begun.
Can the reading of tea leaves influence the future? Can dreams keep a soldier from death in the Crimea? Can a pocket watch foretell a deadly family curse? From entrail reading and fortune-telling machines to prophetic spiders and voodoo spells, sometimes the future is better left unknown.
Choose your fate.
Choose your DARK DIVINATION.
Join us as we explore fourteen frightening tales of Victorian horror, each centered around a method of divination.
“Power and Shadow” by Hannah Hulbert
A young woman, with the power to manipulate the future using tea leaves, teaches her friend a lesson at her mother’s behest.
“Copper and Cordite” by Ash Hartwell
On the eve of her fiance’s departure for the Crimea, a young Englishwoman discovers the power which lies in dreams. Can she use it to save him?
“Damnation in Venice” by Joe L. Murr
When a roguish fortuneteller counsels an aging writer, he ends up in danger of damning his own soul.
“The Pocket Watch” by Emerian Rich
When a young American bride returns to her husband’s English estate, she receives a present from his deceased mother that can foretell a deadly family curse.
“They Wound Like Worms” by Naching T. Kassa
A man writes his sister concerning a method of divination which reveals his true love. But, as his obsession grows, the method grows bloodier.
“Miroir de Vaugnac” by Michael Fassbender
A widowed seer, augmenting her skills through an antique scrying bowl, faces grim choices when she learns she is not fully in control of its power.
“The Bell” by Jon O’Bergh
A physical medium, who earned his fortune faking necromancy, finds he’s buried in a coffin and must call upon his powers to save himself.
“Romany Rose” by Stephanie Ellis
A penny gaff mysteriously appears outside a London shop, awaking a spirit with a terrible agenda.
“Miss Mae’s Prayers” by H.R.R. Gorman
A preacher seeks to rebuke an Appalachian witch for her use of the Bible to divine the future, but ignoring her warnings leads to dire consequences
“Broken Crystal” by Rie Sheridan Rose
A young, Irish fortuneteller discovers her true fate when she reads for a dangerous man who won’t accept her prophecy.
“Breaking Bread” by R.L. Merrill
A wife, suspecting her husband of infidelity, tests him with a magic loaf of bread, but her quest for knowledge might be more trouble than she asked for.
“The Ghost of St. John Lane” by Daphne Strasert
While conducting a seance to contact her dead husband, a woman discovers a girl with strange gifts and provokes a man who seeks to destroy her.
“The Moat House Cob” by Alan Fisher
In a tower of fortune-telling animals, a spider spins a web over London. What ominous force may be headed their way?
“Of Blood and Bones” by Jeremy Megargee
When a woman throws the bones in search of her sister’s murderer, she finds an unimaginable evil. Will she avenge her sister’s death? Or share her fate?