Tag Archives: horror

Dear Edgar 60 ~ The Cask of Amontillado

Posted on May 26, 2026 by Mark Hayes

In this grim tale of revenge by our Dear Edgar, the promise of sampling a cask of Amontillado is used by the protagonist Montresor to lure his intended victim Fortunato to his grotesque doom. Fortunato considers himself to be a connoisseur of fine wine, though just how true this may be is debateable. Continue reading →

Posted in book reviews, horror, Poe, reads | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dear Edgar 59 ~ The Sphinx

Posted on May 14, 2026 by Mark Hayes

Nor is it related to the character ‘The Sphinx’ in the movie Gone in 60 seconds, played by former football hard man Vinnie Jones. Though in fairness that would have been some what unlikely and remarkable prescient of Poe if that was the case.
Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, book reviews, Dear Edgar, depression, horror | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Creation of Strange Worlds

Posted on May 12, 2026 by Mark Hayes

Did I really want to delve back into the mind of Howard Philips Lovecraft? Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, books, dreamlands, horror, Lovecraft, sci-fi, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dear Edgar 46 ~ The Premature Burial

Posted on November 28, 2025 by Mark Hayes

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 →

Posted in amediting, Dear Edgar, Goth, horror, reads | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Also By Anomaly

Posted on November 21, 2025 by Mark Hayes

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 →

Posted in amediting, amwriting, books, fiction, Hannibal Smyth, Harvey Duckman, horror, men in dark tweed, reads | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dear Edgar 45 ~ A Tale of the Ragged Mountains

Posted on October 31, 2025 by Mark Hayes

Science Fiction is awash with tales of procession or bodily transference… This one by Poe, may have been the first Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, Dear Edgar, fantasy, sci-fi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dear Edgar 44 ~ The Spectacles

Posted on October 29, 2025 by Mark Hayes

love at first myopic blur Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, Dear Edgar, Poe | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Monsters in the to-read pile

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Mark Hayes

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 →

Posted in amreading, book reviews, books, Harvey Duckman, horror, indie novels, indie writers, reads, supernatural, urban fantasy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dear Edgar 42 ~ The Black Cat

Posted on October 1, 2025 by Mark Hayes

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 →

Posted in amreading, Dear Edgar, fantasy, horror, mental-health, reads, retro book reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dear Edgar 41 ~ The Gold Bug

Posted on August 25, 2025 by Mark Hayes

To an extent then, this Poe story shorted the second world war and saved the lives of many allied soldiers… Which is almost enough to forgive its flaws… And certainly more than the DeVince code ever managed to do. Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, books, Dear Edgar, opinion, Poe, reads, retro book reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments