gothic fiction
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A stranded traveller takes shelter at an inn and hears the innkeeper’s dark tale of a murdered duke, a vast and unknowable cook, and a feast that no guest could forget. Based on the #vss365 prompt #divine
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Nightporter Lysand DaVivi carries three people out of their lives in a single shift. The third warrant changes everything he thought he had accepted.
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Ralph Travers, a curate in Exeter, struggles with his conscience after inadvertently making the Devil, Bucky, known to children through a rhyme. As children start disappearing, he faces the consequences of his actions.
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In a series of intertwined tales, women at fairs confront the consequences of seeking love through an ancient ash charm. Each one learns that desires shape their fates, often leading to regret.
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At St Mildred’s, every blessing has a shadow. Cecily Scratcher waits beneath the lychgate to tell seven old warnings of beauty, grace, sorrow, roads, love, labour, and goodness, and of the children made to carry what adults should not.
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About a 14-minute read or 22-minute listen. In Streindarke, Ballion, known as Civic Quiet, navigates the intricate balance of power and duty while investigating the disappearance of Lord Suze Ben-Sashe.
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About a 15-minute read or a 23-minute listen. Rhett lifted the brush, then stopped. Charlotte’s face lay beneath the lamp, pale and beautiful, but not at peace. The docket said ‘Cerebral Haemorrhage’. Her skin said otherwise. For ten years, Streindarke had trusted his hand to soften truth. Tonight, for the first time, he meant to…
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About a 30-minute read or a 41 minute listen. Jess Harwood returns to her late mother’s home after seven years, uncovering memories and remnants of her mother’s life and secrets. As she begins to help the village with herbal remedies, she discovers a powerful stone, the Eye of the Dracan, which deepens her connection to…
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1,440 words · About a 7-minute read. In Streindarke, love is refined rather than suppressed, as Registrar Albrecht Baus discovers through his daily duties. While he certifies bonds, he grapples with the implications of his work and the weight of unrecognised love.