I'm not the Crowvus writer who publishes horror. I've appreciated the brilliant books by Judith Crow, but I know it's not something I can write. The supernatural is different. People will - quite rightly - tell you that horror can encompass the supernatural, but the supernatural is not only confined to that genre. The supernatural, by definition, have their roots in the natural. In the case of ghosts, they were once alive, now having transcended from the natural (i.e. worldly) existence, into the supernatural on an unknown plain. The best ghost stories (my opinion only!) are the ones which unite the natural and the supernatural, looking at the shadows and imprints left on the natural world by those now occupying the supernatural one. In essence, when I read through the submissions for the Crowvus Christmas Ghost Story Competition , I'm looking for the human aspect of the story. I love the idea of ghosts trapped in time, I love the idea of ghosts trying to commune with ...
There are so many things we have today which were almost beyond imagination in the past. This has been particularly brought home to me this week as I'm making a few trips to our county town (more than 100 miles away), and because we lost the internet which brings home just home much we use it! Technology certainly has its benefits!
In fact, looking around the room (and this is a comparatively old-fashioned room) as I'm writing this, there are so many things we take for granted which would simply not have existed even a couple of hundred years ago. You can, of course, discount anything which uses electricity and, more interestingly, all of the paperback books - of which there are hundreds - and none of the MDF bookcases either. There would have been no photographs, although there may well have been paintings and sketches of the people in them.
But it's not just about taking away what is here now. It's also about what we have lost since then. Rooms needed lighting, and there were many different ways of doing this, from candles to lamps, using resources such as tallow and whale blubber, to more sustainable (and expensive) alternatives including beeswax and butter. The fire, of course, has been the centre of human homes since we were in caves, but the fuel being burnt here would traditionally have been peat, not coal or wood.
Soft furnishings, too, would have been different. Furniture was hand-crafted and provided a unique appearance. Soft seats were often stuffed with horsehair or straw, dependant on cost, and cushions were stuffed with feathers. Upholstery flourished in the Middle Ages with many earlier cultures using stone or wooden seats and softening them which cushions or blankets. Door curtains were amongst the earliest use of soft furnishings, sometimes replacing internal doors altogether. They were not printed, but were often woven wool or tapestry. Interior doors were not often a consideration for poorer people.
Things we take for granted, such as books and ornaments, would have been treasures in the past. Reading was not as universal as it is nowadays, and it was not commonplace to have so many in your house. Perhaps on that we are sadly regressing once more, for very few people compared to when I was a child now have more than a selection of books. There would have been fewer ornaments in most homes, but they might still have represented places visited (such as pilgrim badges) or have been hand-crafted gifts for a loved one. Whittling was a skill often handed down from father to son rather than taught in an apprenticeship.
So, all things considered, even our old-fashioned living room would have been significantly different 200 years ago. For a site which was been occupied for more than 1,000 years, just imagine all the different evolutions of the rooms... It is almost as impossible to imagine as today's must have been for the people who lived in them!
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