'Fantastic Terrors' - Cooper, James Davis, Old Book Illustrations 2007-2025 There is a folder on my computer called “thoughts of a madman.” It has all the random scraps of early writing and self reflection I’d accumulated and had nowhere else to put: "‘tumblr unfollowing’; ‘am i happy’; ‘Something on communication. Really just a stream od (sic) consciousness though’. The oldest file inside it is, predictably, ‘thoughts of a madman.’ It’s from 2013, written by an 17-year-old A

"A Love Song" - Gibson, Charles Dana (1867-1944); via Old Book Illustrations 2007-2025 Love is hard to write about  But easier than saying it.    I love you is a password to pain and pleasure.  It can mean everything them,   But can they tell it is sincere?  Can the cadence of the first instance set precedent for the rest of it?    Does any moment have as much power as the first time? Should it?  And does the last time make it all seem false,   an actor encouraging an audienc

Written as part of Flash Fiction Horror, a series of tales to tell before Halloween “Lay-Brother” - Rackham, Arthur, (1867-1939), via Old Book Illustrations   PRIDE COMETH: A Short Horror Play Cast of Characters: Brother Albert: A younger, more energetic monk. Brother Edmund: An elder, more serious monk. The Leucrota: An animal that can mimic the sound of human speech. It is the same size as an ass, but with a horse’s head, chest and legs like a lion, hind quarters like a

Written as part of Flash Fiction Horror, a series of tales to tell before Halloween “The Bear and the Beehive” - Griset, Ernest (1844-1907), via Old Book Illiustrations The following is a report from the wildlife management team’s investigation of the “Slim Bear” incident. Subject: Slim Bear Found inside the ruins of a disused train station initially by a former staff member, who contacted local authorities. No further contact made from either party, triggering intervention

Written as part of Flash Fiction Horror, a series of four tales to tell before Halloween ‘Reptile with Spawn Abundant’ - Doré, Gustave (1832-1883) “ You’ll catch your death, going out tonight,” the fisherman warned. “The fog’s hiding all sorts of mischief too.” Peter undid the rope tying his boat to the shore, before pushing it off the stony beach and into the shallows. The sliding pebbles punctuated the silence for a moment, before a short splash marked a return to calm. “Ha

Photo by Johannes W  on Unsplash Dear Twenties,    That was a lot of fun, wasn’t it? Did you enjoy yourself? Did you live for the moment...