In Gossia's Garden, I was thinking 'fairy-tale'. But I wanted to recover the older idea that the supernatural may have reasons and need not resemble justice. Gossia was wronged by men, and genuinely does garden, preserving laughter in the least savoury way. LINK IN COMMENT #Edvane #DarkFantasy

#vss365 The prospects for reprieve were always #remote. The king sent his sorcerer. “I can give you an instant with anyone you choose.” “My wife.” She stood before him. He reached for her, but she recoiled. “Who are you?” The sorcerer cackled. “I never said which instant.” #Edvane #DarkFantasy

#vss365 Every night she heard scratching beneath her bed. She was #ashamed to admit that she still feared monsters in the dark. When she finally looked, something pale stared back. “Please,” it whispered. “Don’t let it know you can see me.” The scratching began in the mattress. #Edvane #DarkFantasy

#vss365 The old king was #shrewd. He trusted no adviser twice, changed his guards each night, and had every meal tasted before it reached him. When Death finally came, the king smiled. “You’ll find I’ve prepared for you.” Death nodded. “I know. I advised you.” #Edvane #DarkFantasy

The Severed Heads began with a painting by Géricault and two anonymous dead faces. But while writing it, I realised the story could be about something deeper. I gave them names, Etienne and Claire, and lives. The question the story asks is 'Why do we always wait too long?' LINK IN COMMENT

#vss365 The thing in the marsh never chased. Those who saw it just ran, while it watched from the reeds, glistening and grinning. But its slime would #cling to their ankles, then creep slowly upward. By the time it reached the spine, they could no longer move. Then it followed. #Edvane #DarkFantasy

#vss365 The witch grew every herb in her #garden for a purpose. Feverfew for sickness. Comfrey for wounds. Valerian for sleep. Mothers walked miles for her remedies. The herbs beneath the black cloth puzzled me. “What does that cure?” She looked towards my husband. “Marriage.” #Edvane #DarkFantasy

#vss365 The priest taught that #evil could never cross the chapel threshold. When something in the woods began taking children, we slept inside. Nothing came near. Then the priest locked the doors, and as his skin stretched and split, he said, “Now I have you all in one place.” #Edvane #DarkFantasy

Coming soon. My story, Enoch Venus and the Nightjar, has been accepted for The Unseen Anthology by Crypsis Press. #Edvane #GothicFantasy

#vss365 The ferryman warned that the river took a #toll from every passenger. A merchant paid a silver coin. A soldier gave up his sword. A widow surrendered her wedding ring. When my turn came, I showed him my empty hands. He pointed to the boy. “You brought exact change.” #Edvane #DarkFantasy

#vss365 The priest fought the #urge for weeks. During Mass, he gripped the altar. During confession, he bit his tongue until it bled. Eventually, he begged the bishop to relieve him of his parish. “Why?” The priest leapt upon his superior. “You all smell cooked!” #Edvane #DarkFantasy

#vss365 The witch told him the grave would #sprout something precious if he watered it every night. For a month, nothing came. Then a single white flower appeared. He cursed the witch and crushed it. Later, his daughter vanished. The next day, another flower had begun to grow. #Edvane #DarkFantasy

#vss365 The meal was #divine. The duke praised every course, then summoned the cook, keen to know what meat had been served. The cook smiled. “An old family recipe, Your Grace.” The duke found something hard beneath his tongue. His brother’s signet ring. #Edvane #DarkFantasy

#vss365 A barren queen made a pact with a pixie, and the royal bed grew #fertile. She bore a perfect heir. At the christening, the pixie returned for payment. As the royal pair shrivelled, they understood: it had taken the years they would have spent watching him grow. #Edvane #DarkFantasy

I wrote The Ghosts of Godstow Abbey as a haunting before the ruin. The abbey ruin still stands today, but the spirits of Henry II and Rosamund do not come to save it. They show that power destroys, and all that ever remains is how we bear the loss. #Edvane #GhostStory LINK IN COMMENT

#vss365 When Caoránach rose from the marsh, she swallowed the weakest and churned the sky into #chaos. Finally, they killed her and cut open her belly. There they saw their village, roofless and drowned. On the hill above it, they saw themselves cutting her open. #Edvane #DarkFantasy

#vss365 They left the first blackberries to the fairies and picked none after Michaelmas, when the Devil cursed the #fruit. A hungry drifter ignored them and ate from the hedge until winter. In spring, blackberries swelled beneath his skin, and the fairies came to harvest. #Edvane #DarkFantasy

I wrote A Monk, 2137 for a time-travel writing competition that was ultimately cancelled, and so I published it myself. Looking back, I think the time travel matters less than the collision of morals. #Edvane #TimeTravel LINK IN COMMENT

#vss365 The royal nurse was ordered to #tend the prince until the curse broke. For twenty years, he never aged or stirred. At the moment she died, he opened his eyes. “At last,” he whispered. “She's gone.” #Edvane #DarkFantasy

#vss365 The sculptor’s final #creation was a marble angel so lifelike that mourners began leaving prayers at its feet. One morning, the pedestal stood empty. The next week, the angel returned. It had brought its master's answer. #Edvane #DarkFantasy

#vss365 The mirror promised to show him the face of anyone who wished him dead. For years, he resisted the #temptation to look. At last, dying and alone, he uncovered it. His own reflection smiled. “You took your time.” #Edvane #DarkFantasy

'Nineteen Lies' Read on Substack, Narrated on YouTube. #TalesfromtheWoldwood by #Edvane #DarkFantasy #FantasyLore LINKS IN COMMENT

Folk horror is one of those terms that carries more meaning than it can easily explain. Ask ten readers what it means, and you will get ten different answers, most of them accurate, none of them quite sufficient. How I approached it in two tales #Edvane #FolkHorror LINK IN COMMENT

#vss365 Long ago, they sent a boy to warn the next village. Last night, he returned unchanged, still clutching the message. His mother wept. “I prayed you would #arrive home.” The boy looked back towards the dark road. “They would not let me leave,” he said, “until I was ready.” #Edvane #DarkFantasy

#vss365 The driver applied the #brake when he saw the little girl standing between the rails. The train shrieked to a halt a few yards from her. She approached the cab, pale and barefoot. “You shouldn’t have stopped,” she said. “It can only board a train that isn’t moving.” #Edvane #DarkFantasy

#vss365 Every morning, they found another drowned sailor standing on the #coast. They were buried the same day. After a time, no ships remained at sea. The drowned kept coming. Then the freshest corpse to arrive raised one hand and pointed towards the ocean. “It's behind us.” #Edvane #DarkFantasy

In 'Raven's Sacrifice' I wanted to take an unexplained photograph of a woman pursuing a black horse and reverse the apparent relationship between them. In my story, the horse understands more than she does and is leading her to the place where she will meet her fate. #Edvane #FolkHorror LINK BELOW

'The Hall of Bearing' Read on Substack, Narrated on YouTube. #TalesfromtheWoldwood by #Edvane #DarkFantasy #FantasyLore LINKS IN COMMENT

#vss365 They tied a rope around the youngest knight before he began to #descend into the darkness of the pit. When the line finally went slack, they hauled with all their strength. The thing that reached the surface thanked them for the rescue. #DarkFantasy #Edvane

With His Pretentious Love I had written a story inspired by one of the most impactful goth tracks ever composed. Dark Entries by Bauhaus. It has become the first tale in a series about Streindarke, a city where injustice is a public service. Four tales in, and more to come. #Edvane #Goth #Dystopia