Category Archives: horror

Dear Edgar 48 ~ The Oblong Box

In September 1841 John C Colt, the brother of renown gunsmith and industrialist Samuel, found himself in the unenviable position of being choked to death with his own cravat. In fairness to the elegant neck wear it was not responsible for the attempt on its wearers life, rather Samuel Adams, a printer of text books who had been employed by Colt, was using the cravat as an improvised garrote. This was over the matter of $1.35, an inconsiderable sum even in 1841 to motivate an attempted murder by neckwear, one would think. Continue reading

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Dear Edgar 46 ~ The Premature Burial

In 1844, the second great cholera pandemic (1826 – 1837) had been over for seven years, fear of the disease had not lessoned and minor outbreaks had continued to occur. More importantly perhaps than the minor out breaks that the … Continue reading

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The Also By Anomaly

I decide to do something different for Auguries of Euryale, my forthcoming anthology of my own work. I decided instead to write it in a more narrative style, telling a story of my novels and other works. I think it sort of works as a more interesting way to do the Also by pages… Continue reading

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3 Turns Widdleshin’s: For she is Devine

Whom ‘She’ is, is a matter for your conjecture. She could be ‘The Sibel’ of ancient Rome. She could just be a woman who claims that is the case to add mystic to her illegal den of vice and corrupted youth. A dark forbidding goth club named for an ancient standing stone. Continue reading

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Monsters in the to-read pile

I have little doubt one day the police will break in my house after i have been ‘missing’ for several weeks to discover my body, under this pile of books.
There are worse ways to go. Continue reading

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Dear Edgar 42 ~ The Black Cat

Pluto the cat was not named for Pluto the planet. Pluto the planet was not discovered until 1930 (though one suspects it was always there…) which was almost ninety years after this story was written. Continue reading

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Dear Edgar 39 ~ The Pit and the Pendulum

It is a perfect tale in that respect, in that it does exactly what Poe set out to do. It gets under your skin, and crawls about… Continue reading

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Dear Edgar 28 ~ The Mystery of Marie Roget

‘Based on true events’ is a cliche, a trope so common we pay it no mind. Writers have been using it for years… In fact it is not unreasonable to say they have been using it since the autumn of 1842 when our own Dear Edgar dipped his toes in that particular well. Continue reading

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Dear Edgar 36 – The Masque of the Red Death

In the world of art there are many indisputable masterworks. True masterpieces that transcend the art world. Van Gothe’s Sunflowers. DeVince’s Mono Lisa. Vermeer’s Girl with a pearl earring. Goya’s The nude Maja, Giorgione’s The Sleeping Venus, that one by … Continue reading

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Researching Lovecraft

So here me, back up to my neck with old tentacle hugger, getting annoyed at him. Just like old times… thus here are a few ‘notables’ which will probably find the cutting room floor in the end but have amused me for one reason or another in the meantime. Continue reading

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