Kbatz Krafts: Another Halloween Dress!

 

Yes, it’s November, Thanksgiving, Christmas! 🎃🦃🎄 However after my Halloween Mystery Project turned out to be such a delicious costume, I decided to repeat the process and make a more streamlined seasonal dress. Using leftover black materials from my stash and a thrifted $4 Halloween panel, materials that were once curtains and slipcovers can become an ensemble with sophistication and whimsy! Despite a few late hiccups, adjustments, and design changes on the fly – I won’t call them mistakes! – this unique ensemble came together quickly, is basically free, and feels good!

 

 

For more in progress project photos, visit Kbatz Krafts on Instagram or Facebook

 

Revisit More Kbatz Krafts:

Halloween Mystery Sewing

Halloween Scene Setters Every Day

Memento Mori Sewing

Carving and Baking with Real Pumpkin

 

 

 

Kbatz Krafts: Halloween Sewing Vlog 5 Reveal 🎃🧵

 

It’s time to put on the curtains – yes curtains! – beads, tulle, draping, tassels, and bells together to accessorize the Halloween Mystery project! Find out why Kristin Battestella aka Kbatz has been calling this a mystery as the final product is revealed! Not that there isn’t some doubt, mistakes, and craft regrets. Only $7.50 for new ribbon and trim went into this project, which still comes in under $55 in legacy stash and prior thrift finds. When forced to think outside the box and dig deep in your craft closet for patchwork surprises on Halloween, something magical is possible! Roller skates are also involved in full disclosure. Thank you for Watching!

 

Visit Kbatz Krafts on Facebook and Instagram for more project photos, and don’t forget to show us YOUR Halloween DIY on our Horror Addicts Facebook Group!

Check out More Kbatz Krafts:

Halloween Candle Clusters

Upgrading Masquerade Masks

Pumpkin Cat House

DIY Cardboard Coffin

Spider Ball Topiaries

Halloween Canvas Art

Halloween Pillows

Pumpkin Ottomans

Dark Hallway by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/?keywords=Hallway&Search=Search Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Hot Swing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100202 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Spooky Ride by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://www.twinmusicom.org/song/250/spooky-ride Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org

The Inspiration Behind “Deathly Fog.”

The Inspiration Behind “Deathly Fog”

By Adam Breckenridge

Heading into 2016, I got struck with one of the most insane ideas I’ve ever had as a writer: could I write a short story a day—every single day—for the entirety of 2016? That would be three hundred sixty-six stories, accounting for the leap year, more than I had ever written in my life up to that point. I felt like a lunatic for even thinking the idea, let alone moving forward with it, and yet on January 1, I sat down to turn out the first of the stories.

Writing a story a day for a year is one of the most challenging and rewarding things I’ve ever done. It requires commitment, an intense pace, and it requires you to latch onto any idea that pops into your head, no matter how flimsy, just to have something to work with that day.

And at some point, a strange and quite flimsy idea popped into my head: an image of a boy grasping a globe of fog in his hands, blowing on it to try to keep it between his palms. I can no longer recall what inspired the image, all I knew was that I had something I could spin into a story. It was enough to get me through another day.

On December 31, I wrote story number three hundred sixty-six, and on January 1^st I sat down to start reading through them. When I had started out I had figured that, even going by the old adage that ninety percent of everything is crap, that would still mean I had produced thirty-six good stories in the previous year, an effort any writer could be proud of. I just had to figure out which thirty-six were the good ones.

I think I wound up doing a little better than ten percent, but at any rate, there are a number of stories I extracted from the morass that I thought had promise. “Deathly Fog” wound up being one that particularly stood out. Though the original draft is an anemic and atrophied little wastrel compared to what you get to read today, I immediately saw in it the potential for a sort of Jamesian ghost story of uncertain ghostliness, of boys coming to terms with their childhood fears, of brothers growing apart, and of a girl who may be just a girl or who may be something else entirely, but who awakens in the boys something beyond the limitations of childhood play.

Quite a lot of my writing in the last five years has centered around mining the fruits of my mad undertaking. Several of the other stories have already found homes elsewhere, some have expanded into larger projects, and some are still waiting patiently for me to attend to them. In the back of my head I’ve been aware that, with enough time and patience, I could make something out of every single one of the three hundred and sixty-six stories, but it would require more time and patience than I have. I had to pick and choose among them, and it’s been gratifying to see that my faith in “Deathly Fog” was not misplaced, and I’m glad to have found it a good home.

Adam Breckenridge is a Traveling Collegiate Faculty member of the University of Maryland Global Campus, where he travels the world teaching US military stationed overseas and is currently based in South Korea. He has eighteen short story publications and, in addition to Horror Bites, has most recently appeared in Clockwork, Curses and Coal from Worldweaver Press and Mystery Weekly.

#HauntsandHellions: The Inspiration Behind “Californio Fog.”

The Inspiration Behind “Californio Fog.”

By B.F. Vega

As Americans, we tend to dwell in the derelict castles of England or the haunted forests of Germany when we want to tell spooky stories. However, California has been inhabited for over 10,000 years. Some of the cultures encountered by the Spanish had been unchanged for much longer than any castle has stood. Our forests are brimming with cryptids and myths. Our deserts are haunted with vindictive spirits and capricious gods. Our lakes and rivers are as hungry and as dangerous as any siren/selkie laden pond, and our entire lives are lived in the blankets of dense daily fog.

Early California is a little studied time that even we, whose families have been here for generations, know virtually nothing about. It was a time of mass genocide, slavery, starvation and revolutions. What then do you write about that is scarier than real life? I knew that the story had to be a foggy coastal ranchero. For the early rancheros, it would have been a common occurrence for there to be shipwrecks and bodies being washed up at the foot of their cliff-side haciendas. Enter the Draugr.

Draugr are sort of a catch-all for “used to be human monster” in Norse mythology. The name actually just means “Burrow Dweller” and refers to anything buried that has risen. I knew that our Californio heroine needed an even more foreign European foil and a Norwegian sailor was the perfect way to add that. In a way, the characters in this story are indicative of California herself. She is a feisty land that both lovers and foes come to. Some are heroes, some are monsters, both are necessary to tell her story.

B.F. Vega is a writer, poet, and theatrical artist living and working in California’s Bay Area.  Her poetry has been published in The Literary Nest, Sage Cigarettes, Walled Women, and Blood & Bourbon among others. Her first book of poetry, A Saga for the Unrequited, will be published in August of 2021 by Fae Corp Publishing. She is still amazed when people refer to her as a writer, every time.

#HauntsandHellions: The Inspiration Behind “The Siren and Bowery Jack.”

The The Inspiration Behind “The Siren and Bowery Jack.”

By N.C. Northcott

“The Siren and Bowery Jack” was inspired by the long history of misogyny and male violence against women and my desire to speak out against it. I wanted to write a steampunk love story about a literal monster/creature who wasn’t in fact the true monster of the story. I also wanted a VERY strong woman whose powers were underestimated by the men around her, a woman (like all women back then) who was seen as nothing more than a disposable tool by the users and violators who ran the world in New York in the late 19^th century.

I don’t believe fiction should have happy endings for the villains. No trials, no sneaky lawyers, no redemption. Their ending should be as dark and violent as their lives and their actions. Eye-for-an-eye stuff. I want the reader to fist pump when they read the end of my story, to be terrified for the protagonist all along, but then to cheer when the antagonist meets their end. Of course, the reader should also feel guilty for feeling that way, because we’re not supposed to be happy when a person is punished without due process and proper legal representation. Maybe sometimes evil should be eradicated. In fiction we can do that.

With regards to the romance, I wanted a love so strong that it transcended species, with a mythological creature/monster loved so much by a human who didn’t care about their differences. Of course, my heroine is humanoid, so the relationship breaks fewer taboos. I’m not ready to write a minotaur/human love story, yet.

Writing and researching this story has now inspired me to plan and plot an entire novel about 19^th century human trafficking in the tenements of New York City.

Author N.C. Northcott (they/them) was born in London and now resides on a plateau near a river with two cats and Yorkshire Terrier. They love writing urban and historical fantasy but also dabble in horror, steampunk, science fiction, mystery/thriller and romantic comedy. An avid photographer who also dabbles in painting and procrastination, their next project is an urban fantasy about a transgender sorceress set in modern-day America, near Boston. As they just invested in a magical electric bread maker, there will be somewhat less writing and considerably more sandwiches in their future.

Freaky Foodies Month: From the Vault / Dark Divinations: Breaking Bread

The Inspiration Behind “Breaking Bread.”

By R.L. Merrill

Breaking Bread begins in the home of Fidelia Meek, the Meek Mansion, which is less than two miles from my house. The house is an historic site and I drive past it every week. The home was built in 1869 after William Meek and his family relocated to what is now San Lorenzo in order to plant orchards. He and his partner, Henderson Lewelling, got their start in the fruit business up in Oregon and brought their know-how to California to start anew. The area is now part of the Bay Area suburban sprawl, but the Hayward Historical Society has gone to great lengths to preserve the home. It’s a glorious white building with many windows and turrets. I’ve been inside a handful of times and it always feels full to the brim of stories, almost as if you could run your fingers along the wall or the banister and absorb the history through your pores.

When I discovered the submission call for Dark Divinations, I fell into a rabbit hole of research on the house, the area, and what women of the time may have been interested in. I discovered the use of Alphitomancy—the use of bread to determine one’s innocence or guilt—and away the story went! I was even able to score a couple of tickets to a paranormal investigation of the home one night and though it was a thrill to attend with my pal Karysa and to hear stories about the people who lived there, nothing much out of the ordinary occurred. Still, we got to explore parts of the house that are usually closed to the public, and I loved every moment.

When the place you live in and love is full of history, it doesn’t take much to be inspired.

Once upon a time… A teacher, tattoo collector, mom, and rock ‘n’ roll kinda gal opened up a doc and started purging her demons. Twenty-five published works later, with more tucked away in her evil lair, R.L. Merrill strives to find that perfect balance between real-life and happily ever after. You can find her lurking on social media, being a mom-taxi to two brilliant kids, in the tattoo chair trying desperately to get that back piece finished, or headbanging at a rock show in the San Francisco Bay Area! Stay Tuned for more Rock ‘n’ Romance.

 

Kbatz Kraft: DIY Flower Pens

I love zany pens – especially goofy or oversize flower pens and buy a bunch at a time whenever I see them in the Dollar Store so I have a back up when one runs out of ink. Yes, the bane of these fun conversation pieces (that no one can nonchalantly steal from us overprotective pen lovers) is that eventually, the ink ceases to flow. Occasionally I’ll leave a cool one in the pen cup, but then you inevitably end up grasping for that one working pen among the pretty but useless accumulation. Bulk pen options online look to be only cutesy daisies or rose wedding favors that feel cheap – a bud topped on a pen wrapped in ribbon. Well then, I can do that my tacky self!

Our on hand ingredients are simple:
*back to school clearance stick pens
*assorted thrift store flowers
*dollar store floral tape.

1.) After cutting single stems from the floral bunches to the length of the pen without its cap, hold the stem and pen firmly together and start wrapping the tape at the bottom of the pen.

2.) Once it is tightly started, continue winding the tape around the pen and stem – the green tape sticks to itself and any rough spots can be smoothed.

3.) At the top of the pen – just beneath the flower – the tape edge can be folded to cover the pen top.

OPTIONAL: On a few flower pens, I hot glued extra leaves from the floral bunches beneath the flower to hide any troublesome gaps.

Mine are red flowers with just the green floral tape stem, but for more dramatic looks one can use a longer flower length, feathers for faux quills, or go totally goth garden with black flowers and a black wrapped ribbon finish. My bunch inside a reused dark candle jar looks misleadingly real, and my husband said, “So THAT’S where you’ve been hiding the pens!”

This craft feels deceptively simple and almost not even worth sharing. However, during these stay at home initiatives, it’s the perfect time to revitalize old artificial flowers as something both summer vase decorative and useful fresh for that new at-home office or classroom. The kids can ritz up their writing utensils with bemusing toppers with this spare change fun, and the best part is that when the pen runs out of ink, you can remove the flowers for another project and make more themed pens per season.

Halloween pen bouquets, oh yes!

Revisit more Kbatz Krafts including:

Repurposed Black Topiaries

Creepy Cloches

How to Make Stuffed Pumpkins Video

For more Project Photos, Follow Kbatz Krafts on Facebook! 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kbatzkrafts/

Dark Divinations: The Pocket Watch

The Inspiration Behind “The Pocket Watch”

By Emerian Rich

Have you ever woken from a dream and aren’t sure if it was a dream, a memory, or reality? Yeah, me too. A few years ago I woke from a dream so real, I could still smell the perfume, hear the scream, and feel the dread creeping over my shoulders.

In the dream, I was a Victorian lady who’d just found a pocket watch in the drawer of my vanity. I remember thinking it was strange that an object of such obvious wealth was just left in my drawer when I had never seen it before. Had my dream-husband left it there as a gift? Was it misplaced by a servant?

Upon opening the latch, I thought perhaps I’d find an inscription, but instead, I found a mirror. Not any old mirror. This mirror showed me visions and if I held it up in the room, it would show me echos of another time. And the most unsettling thing, I witnessed a man murder his wife. Was it just a vision? Was it a past occurrence, or one to come?

I woke in the same fear as I experienced inside the dream. Was I about to be killed by my husband? Was I supposed to stop a murder? Or was it a murder that had already taken place? Was I supposed to avenge her death or tell the authorities?

With a few deep breathes I came back to myself. I was not an English, Victorian lady of wealth, I was me… plain old Emz here in California in the 2000’s.

But this dream got me to thinking… What would happen if you found a pocket watch that either showed echoes of past transgressions or predicted future ones? And what would be the rules for such a gift?

I started to study the moons and found that many of the 2nd New Moons in October occurred on or about Halloween. And thus the mythos for “The Pocket Watch” came to be. I hope you enjoy this story and I wonder… what would you do if you knew your murder was imminent?

Emerian Rich is the author of the vampire book series, Night’s Knights, and writes romance under the name Emmy Z. Madrigal. Her romance/horror cross over, Artistic License, is about a woman who inherits a house where anything she paints on the walls comes alive. She’s been published in a handful of anthologies by publishers such as Dragon Moon Press, Hidden Thoughts Press, Hazardous Press, and White Wolf Press. She is the podcast Horror Hostess of HorrorAddicts.net.

 

Dark Divinations: Of Blood and Bones

The Inspiration Behind “Of Blood and Bones.”

By Jeremy Megargee

I love the concept of Edward Hyde, this hulking abhorrent savage that emerges from behind an innocent veneer. I dressed as Hyde for Halloween last year and did a few little Instagram video skits to “get into character”…and it was so much fun. It’s cathartic to tap into that animal side which I think resides in all of us. I borrowed the classic monster for my story, and Camille gets to face him head-on…

I think with Camille, I got to really explore the aesthetic of the Victoria era. The style, the decorum, I focused more on the grimy back alleys of the time period, more of a Jack the Ripper vibe as opposed to elegance and frilly fashion. I feel like it’s the perfect time capsule for a horror story, there’s just this potential to introduce bloodshed, and I took full advantage of that. You can taste the muddy thoroughfares, feel the gore streaked across little boarder’s rooms, and when Hyde comes, that smothering presence just pulls you in…

I’m always aiming to inspire emotion with my stories, and I hope I was able to convey what a force Hyde was in this one, a dark and primal force, but a force nevertheless.

Jeremy Megargee has always loved dark fiction. He cut his teeth on R.L Stine’s Goosebumps series as a child and a fascination with Stephen King’s work followed later in life. Jeremy weaves his tales of personal horror from Martinsburg, West Virginia with his cat Lazarus acting as his muse/familiar.

Dark Divinations: Ghost of St. John Lane

The Inspiration Behind “Ghost of St. John Lane.”

By Daphne Strasert

The inspiration for “The Ghost of St. John Lane” was threefold. Dark Divinations gave me the opportunity to blend several ideas that had long lived in my imagination, but had yet to find a narrative home.

First, the concept of a house haunted not by a spirit, but by a living person. I shudder at the thought of someone whose body persists, but their soul has moved on in grief. Blurring the lines between death and life is interesting to me. After all, can’t a living person be just as frightening as a dead one when they bring no life to the world around them?

Next, in divination, much is said about the ‘third eye’. Usually considered to be an internal ability, the phrase caught my attention from the first moment that I heard it. I was fascinated by the idea of the third eye as a physical manifestation, an outward mark of an inward ability. When imagining a psychic, I always pictured that they were mentally unstable, their mind torn between the past, present, and future, experiencing it all as a jumble.

Finally, while researching the Victorian Era and the Spiritualist movement that so influenced the times, I was struck by descriptions of mediums and, more importantly, false-mediums who used trickery to maintain their ruse. Their commitment to fooling others for financial gain struck me as singularly wicked and worth exploring.

Daphne Strasert is a horror, fantasy, and science fiction author located in Houston, Texas. She placed 3rd in the 2017 Next Great Horror Writer Contest. She has had many short stories published through HorrorAddicts.net and others. When not writing, she plays board games and knits.

 

Dark Divinations: Broken Crystal

Before the Crystal Broke: The Inspiration Behind “Broken Crystal.”

By Rie Sheridan Rose

I have been a fan of Victoriana since I was old enough to know it existed, and that was far too many years ago. I fell in love with the fashion, the architecture, the society in general. So, when I saw the call for Dark Divinations, I wanted desperately to earn a spot in it.

I had written a story about the spiritualism of the period before, but it was humorous, and that wasn’t the sort of story I wanted to tell this time. When it came time to choose a focal point for the divination type I wished to feature, the crystal ball was really the only option that resonated.

Crystal balls have been associated with divination as far back as the first century CE, when Pliny the Elder wrote of “crystallum orbis” used by soothsayers. What gypsy fortuneteller worth their salt is without one? For my story, I wanted the spiritualist to be the real thing—able to see the future and communicate with the dead. She doesn’t like to monetize her gifts, but her mother insists.

Researching the story was fascinating. A brief history of Victorian spiritualism in general (Turning the Table by Bekah June) came my way several years ago by way of a convention panel. It provides an interesting, if brief, overview of the spiritualism scene in the period.

But it wasn’t until I found an article titled “How to Use a Crystal Ball” on themoonlightshop.com that several key elements of the story came together. Using the information in that article, I was able to give some “verisimilitude” to what Madame Rose saw in her crystal ball.

One final thing of interest to the reader, perhaps, is the story was originally written in third person. One of my beta readers asked me if I had considered putting it in first person, and the rest—as they say—is history. I feel what makes it most haunting is that it is told by Molly herself.

Rie Sheridan Rose multitasks. Her short stories appear in numerous anthologies, including On Fire, Hides the Dark Tower,  and Killing It Softly Vol. 1 and 2. She has authored twelve novels, six poetry chapbooks, and lyrics for dozens of songs.

Dark Divinations: Breaking Bread

The Inspiration Behind “Breaking Bread.”

By R.L. Merrill

Breaking Bread begins in the home of Fidelia Meek, the Meek Mansion, which is less than two miles from my house. The house is an historic site and I drive past it every week. The home was built in 1869 after William Meek and his family relocated to what is now San Lorenzo in order to plant orchards. He and his partner, Henderson Lewelling, got their start in the fruit business up in Oregon and brought their know-how to California to start anew. The area is now part of the Bay Area suburban sprawl, but the Hayward Historical Society has gone to great lengths to preserve the home. It’s a glorious white building with many windows and turrets. I’ve been inside a handful of times and it always feels full to the brim of stories, almost as if you could run your fingers along the wall or the banister and absorb the history through your pores.

When I discovered the submission call for Dark Divinations, I fell into a rabbit hole of research on the house, the area, and what women of the time may have been interested in. I discovered the use of Alphitomancy—the use of bread to determine one’s innocence or guilt—and away the story went! I was even able to score a couple of tickets to a paranormal investigation of the home one night and though it was a thrill to attend with my pal Karysa and to hear stories about the people who lived there, nothing much out of the ordinary occurred. Still, we got to explore parts of the house that are usually closed to the public, and I loved every moment.

When the place you live in and love is full of history, it doesn’t take much to be inspired.

Once upon a time… A teacher, tattoo collector, mom, and rock ‘n’ roll kinda gal opened up a doc and started purging her demons. Twenty-five published works later, with more tucked away in her evil lair, R.L. Merrill strives to find that perfect balance between real-life and happily ever after. You can find her lurking on social media, being a mom-taxi to two brilliant kids, in the tattoo chair trying desperately to get that back piece finished, or headbanging at a rock show in the San Francisco Bay Area! Stay Tuned for more Rock ‘n’ Romance.

 

Dark Divinations: The Bell

The Inspiration Behind “The Bell.”

By Jon O’Bergh

During the nineteenth century, epidemics like cholera periodically swept through the population and brought reports of premature burial. Although most of these reports were undoubtedly fake news, the resulting fear of being buried alive fueled a demand for “safety coffins.” I initially wrote a story about one such burial, told by an omniscient narrator but focused on the graveyard watchman, in which a wife deliberately buries her sick husband before he is dead.

When I saw the Dark Divinations call for submissions, I realized my story had the seeds of something ideal for the anthology. I’ve always loved the Victorian style of writing: the fancy turns of phrase, the old-fashioned word choices, the heightened emotionalism. I thought it would be fun to craft a story using that kind of voice—a Poe-esque story told from the perspective of the person trapped in the coffin. What would he experience? What thoughts would go through his mind? How would he deal with the situation?

Of course, that meant writing the story in the first person and completely re-working it. I decided it would be even more interesting to invest the character with occult abilities, another fascination of the nineteenth century. Not an outright charlatan (although there were plenty of those), but a flawed yet sympathetic character with some amount of real ability. The transformed story now had only a superficial resemblance to the original. Dark Divinations had inspired me to write an even better tale, one I hope is worthy of comparison with Edgar Allan Poe.

 Jon O’Bergh is an author and musician who loves a good scare. He grew up in Southern California, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of California at Irvine. A fan of ghost stories and horror movies, Jon came up with the idea for his horror novel “The Shatter Point” after watching a documentary about extreme haunts. He has published four books and released over a dozen albums in a variety of styles, including the album “Ghost Story.” After many years living in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., he now spends his time in Toronto.

Dark Divinations – They Wound Like Worms

The Inspiration Behind “They Wound Like Worms.”

By Naching T. Kassa

Inspiration is the spark which ignites the fire of imagination. It comes in a myriad of forms and from many different places. The inspiration for “They Wound Like Worms,” came in two forms, one from a book and the other from a BBC documentary. The book is Dracula by Bram Stoker. The documentary is The Diary of Jack the Ripper.

Dracula is written in Epistolary Style. This means every chapter is a letter or journal entry written by one of the characters. When I first read Dracula, I’d never seen anything like it. The reader sees Dracula, the other characters, and the scenes in the story from many points of view and attitudes. This got me thinking. What if I wrote a story from my main character’s point of view? What if I wrote it through letters he had written his sister? The idea was an intriguing one and I decided to go for it.

Now that I had my main character and style, I began to wonder who the story would be about. Who could make such a story interesting? The journal entries in Dracula led me to think of diaries and a documentary I’d seen as a teen. The Diary of Jack the Ripper was narrated by Tom Baker—of Dr. Who fame—and concerned the controversial book by Shirley Harris. The show claimed the diary of the Ripper had been discovered in 1992. It also claimed the author was James Maybrick, a cotton merchant from Liverpool. True or untrue, it was a fascinating take on the Ripper legend.

A second spark lit my imagination. I decided to create my own Ripper, someone with a different motivation for killing. My Ripper doesn’t kill for pleasure. He kills women because he needs to read their entrails and see the future.

And so, two sparks became an inferno and a fun story entered the world. I hope you enjoy “They Wound Like Worms,” and all the stories in Dark Divinations.

Naching T. Kassa is a wife, mother, and horror writer. She’s created short stories, novellas, poems, and co-created three children. She lives in Eastern Washington State with Dan Kassa, her husband and biggest supporter. Naching is a member of the Horror Writers Association, Head of Publishing and Interviewer for HorrorAddicts.net, and an assistant at Crystal Lake Publishing.

Dark Divinations: Damnation in Venice

The Inspiration Behind “Damnation in Venice”

By Joe L. Murr

I saw the call for submissions for Dark Divinations a week or so after I read Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice. So I had Venice on my mind. I had the character of Gustav von Aschenbach – the sickly, doomed writer and his unrequited passion, a self-portrait of Mann – on my mind. Then images from Nicolas Roeg’s film Don’t Look Now – the foggy passageways of Venice leading to a death foretold – flashed into my mind. And all of that suggested a story and characters. The final story evolved into something very different from what I originally had in mind – but that was the moment the seed was planted.

Joe L. Murr has lived on every continent except Antarctica and now divides his time between Finland and the Netherlands. His short fiction has been published in magazines such as Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Chizine and Noir Nation, and most recently in the anthology The Summer of Lovecraft.

Dark Divinations: Copper and Cordite

The Inspiration Behind “Copper and Cordite.”

By Ash Hartwell

Hi, I’m Ash Hartwell and I wrote Copper and Cordite.

Being English I often find inspiration in the country’s long, rich and varied history, and Copper and Cordite is no exception. In 1854, during the Battle of Balaclava, the Light Brigade charged headlong into the Russian guns. Although a military catastrophe, their action and bravery became immortalized in the poem by Tennyson, The Charge of the Light Brigade. My grandmother used to own a house built as officer’s accommodation during the Napoleonic wars and as with all houses of this age, it had its ghosts or rather, the whole street had its ghosts. Many people have reported seeing officers, dressed in full uniform, riding down the street, some even say they can hear the horses’ hooves.

To write Copper and Cordite, I took both events and merged them into one story. If a mother could foresee her son charging into a valley of death, would she not try and stop him? At whatever cost?

I hope you enjoy my story and the many others included in this anthology. And, while you’re about it, why not check out Tennyson’s classic poem as well.

Ash Hartwell has had over fifty short stories published in a range of anthologies from Stitched Smile publications to The Sinister Horror Co. JEA published a collection of his stories Zombies, Vamps and Fiends in 2015 and his first novel Tip of the Iceberg was awarded Best Horror Novel 2017 by Critters.org and made the reading list for both the HWA and BFS awards for the same year. Ash lives in the English countryside with his wife, kids and too many animals.

 

Dark Divinations: Power and Shadow

The Inspiration Behind “Power and Shadow.”

By Hannah Hulbert

“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.

HorrorAddicts.net 112, Horror Addicts Guide to Life

Horror Addicts Episode# 112

Horror Hostess: Emerian Rich

Intro Music by: Valentine Wolfe

writer’s workshop winner | lacuna coil | frankenstein: the true story

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201 days till halloween

malcolm stewart, jesse orr, kathy bates, misery, stephen king, american horror story, hotel,  addict on the street, the walking dead, talking dead, salem, izombie, dan shaurette, lady gaga, poltergeist, jurassic world, mad max, fury road, unfriended, kbatz, kristin battestella, frankenstein: the true story, horror addicts guide to life, baycon, once upon a scream, laurel anne hill, j malcolm stewart, sumiko saulson, heather roulo, david watson, the undying, ethan reid, zombie, plague, top five, mimielle, makeup, vids, dj pitsiladis, nightmare fuel, werewolves, wisconsin, morbid meals, dan shaurette, berry fool, april fools, free fiction friday, emerian rich, dark soul, dawn wood, music corner, lacuna coil, swamped, jesse orr, grant me serenity, black jack, dead mail, nadine, writing, james, how to get on the show, sandra, zombie movies, scared of the dark, marc vale, advice, horror writer, inspiration, murderer, victim, jesse orr, genesis

 

 

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