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?
I saw the call for submissions for Dark Divinationsa 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.
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.”
How did you become interested in the Victorian era?
As a kid, I devoured stories about Victorian adventurers in distant lands. That’s where it started. I especially loved H. Rider Haggard and Jules Verne. Later on, I was fascinated to learn more about the era through a wider lens.
What is your favorite Victorian horror story?
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. To be honest, I haven’t read all that much horror written during the Victorian era – mainly the usual suspects: Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, etc. I keep meaning to get stuck into Sheridan LeFanu.
Do you have a favorite Victorian horror movie? What attracted you to this film?
One of my favorite films of all time is The Innocents. Chilling and masterfully made, it gets under my skin every time I watch it.
Are your characters based on real people?
Yes and no. I usually draw on the characteristics of people I’ve known, but I don’t recall ever basing a character solely on someone particular. Sometimes, as in the case of “Damnation in Venice,” one of the characters was loosely inspired by a fictional character that was based on a real person.
Do you use an outline to write? Or do you write by the seat of your pants?
I usually prep a loose outline before starting to write – however, it’s very fluid, and I usually replot extensively as I go on. The main purpose of the outline is to help me ensure that the underlying structure is sound.
Do your characters have free will? Or do you decide their fate?
They tell me what they’ll do next. I often find myself revising the plot because it turns out that a character wouldn’t do what I initially thought they’d do.
What are you most afraid of?
A blank page (shudder).
What is your favorite form of divination?
I sometimes perform a Tarot reading for myself. The cards are a mirror.
Who is your favorite horror author?
It’s really hard to pick just one, but if I absolutely had to, Clive Barker had the greatest impact on me, particularly the Books of Blood.
What does the future hold for you? What books, short stories, or works do Horror Addicts have to look forward to?
I’ve vowed to write a saleable novel at some point, so I’m currently working on outlines and fragments to test out viable ideas. Mainly, I enjoy writing short stories, mostly horror and crime. Most recently, I’ve had stories published in Summer of Lovecraft: Cosmic Horror in the 1960s (an anthology from Dark Regions Press) and Shooter Literary Magazine in the UK.
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?
such as Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Chizine and Noir Nation, and most recently in the anthology “The Summer of Lovecraft.”