One of the problems – or, perhaps, the best things – about Gothic Horror is that it does tend to be sad. Usually, there are at least one or two characters who don’t deserve whatever is happening to them, or who have done something which is being punished in a way which does not in any way fit the crime. M.R. James’s writing is perhaps a constant reiteration of the old proverb, “curiosity killed the cat”, but curiosity in itself isn’t a bad thing; while Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula finds himself in the initial dangerous situation through no fault of his own. Perhaps the saddest story in this anthology is The Lady Who Dances in the Ashes , which was first published by Sley House in Tales of Sley House 2022 . Here is the story of a man who is facing professional and financial ruin as a result of suggesting that mental health patients can be treated in the community rather than institutionalised. He is one of the most sympathetic narrators you will find in the book, but he bad...
The second novel I ever finished - and still is nowhere near publishing standard! - was about two dragoons in the Crimean War. It fits in with my Family Saga through a certain Colonel Josiah Tenterchilt, but the plot really focuses on the two younger officers. It became apparent as I wrote it, that the relationship between these cavalrymen and their horses were as significant as any they shared with other people. A little research soon revealed that it was Drummer Boy, an equine part of the fateful Charge of the Light Brigade (ridden by Lt Col de Salis of the 8th Hussars), who was the first animal in the British Army to receive a war medal. How strange that it took until 1854 for these service animals to be fully recognised. Of the 700 horses involved, less than 200 returned. But this provided me with all the inspiration I needed to explore the love and appreciation between cavalrymen and their steeds, and so I began to explore the fascinating bond between man and beast. “What is the t...