Category Archives: Myth

10 Creepy Choices for a Rattling Good Read (+ 4 great films)

Posted on October 30, 2017 by tthurai

While not all the books on my top 10 Creepy Choices are ghost stories,  I think you’ll agree that they all deliver a certain frisson. For good measure, I’ve also added four films that never cease to get my heart racing, … Continue reading →

Posted in Angela Carter, Books, Charles Dickens, Donna Tartt, Fiction, ghost stories, Halloween, Henry James, John Wyndham, M. R. James, M.R. James, Mary Shelley, Myth, Peter Ackroyd, Seamus Heaney, Short stories, Susan Hill, Vampires | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Vampires, Witches, Myths and Magical Realism

Posted on October 30, 2017 by tthurai

For readers and writers of supernatural stories who are weary of the well-trodden themes of the genre, research can provide new material and a fresh approach. It will help you to understand how some of the common elements of supernatural … Continue reading →

Posted in Angela Carter, Daniel Defoe, Eleanor of Cobham, Fiction, ghost stories, Grease Devils, Halloween, Henry IV, Henry V, History, Italy, Jack the Ripper, Law, Leeds Castle, Magic, Magical Realism, Myth, Plague, Plantagenets, Spring-Heeled Jack, Sri Lanka, The Devil Dancers, Travel, Vampires, Venice, Witches | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Devil’s Advocate? Witches vs The Law

Posted on October 28, 2015 by tthurai

What images are conjured up by the word ‘witch’? Hags silhouetted against the night-sky performing aerial acrobatics on broomsticks or brewing strange potions in a cauldron? Strange old ladies accompanied by black cats? Or children with black pointed hats and … Continue reading →

Posted in Canterbury, Cathedrals, History, Law, Myth, Witches | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Homeward Bound: The Answer to a Riddle

Posted on November 5, 2014 by tthurai

Yesterday I posted ‘Homeward Bound’, a riddle in short story form. Here, as promised, is the answer. The narrator of my story – and the answer to my riddle – is a very special book: the Textus Roffensis. Written in … Continue reading →

Posted in Cathedrals, Fiction, History, Magical Realism, Myth, Riddles, Rochester, Short stories | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shroud-eaters, vampires and plague doctors

Posted on October 31, 2013 by tthurai

In 2007, rare evidence of a ‘vampire burial’ was discovered near Venice. A 16th century skeleton was found, lying on its back, with a brick firmly wedged between its jaws. The skeleton was identified as that of a 60-year old … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, History, Magical Realism, Myth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment