Dark Inside the Haunted Train: An Interview with Karen Heard

British short story author Karen Heard is one of the writers whose stories are featured in the soon-to-be-published anthology The Haunted Train: Creepy Tales from the Railways. Here she answers questions about childhood fears and writing inspiration.

Have you ever seen a ghost? Tell us about the experience.

I haven’t seen a ghost but quite often I dream that I meet people who in my waking life are now dead - and at the time don’t realise that I’m dreaming. Sometimes it’s nice as I get to tell people that I love them, and clear the air about things I’m sorry or angry about. At others I forget that they are dead and we still argue like we would in real life or I‘m trying to take the opportunity to save them from whatever killed them. When I wake up, I have the same mixed feelings you might have if visited unexpectedly by a ghost from your past.

What scared you when you were a child?

When I was a young child I found it really hard to sleep as I was convinced that when falling asleep I might never wake up. At the same time I believed there was a monster living under my bed that came out at midnight, stared closely at my face, and would murder me if it saw that I was still awake after the witching hour.

It’s no wonder I became a horror writer - yeah? I also remember telling myself stories in the dark cold room, to calm and distract myself from the fear and stop myself falling asleep.

After many many terrifying nights screwing my eyes shut, afraid of the monster but also afraid to let myself drift off into death, I realised that I couldn’t go on like this and had to work out whether my fears were true or not. I gathered up the courage to look under the bed.

I must have been very young, because I remember there was a child’s potty under the bed for night time use. I kneeled down, lifted up the blankets, and looked under my bed to prove to myself that nothing was there… But I was right - there was a monster under my bed! Staring at me inches from my face.

I can still vividly see how it looked… and in retrospect what I see is a, head-sized, giant, dead desiccated moth, leaning on one side with its dried out wings splayed out like a vintage aeroplane with a feral stare frozen on its skull. I think, after the first initial terror, and running from the room in horror, I worked out even at the time that it was a dead creature of some kind, but the fear of that first moment when I looked and realised that everything that I thought I must be imagining - it was all true - is probably where I get my love of both horror and irony.

When I wrote my story for this anthology, and realised it needed an extra element, apart from just the events on the train, to tie things together, I used this memory of that intense fear for when the protagonist looks to see what is inside their closet.

For your story ‘Out of Order’ in The Haunted Train, where did you get the inspiration?

I wanted to write a story where the protagonist's senses are restricted in some way, such as hearing noises on the other side of the door but not knowing exactly what is happening. I’m intrigued by the idea that suggestion can do a lot more than actually describing the events. The readers fill that space by imagining what they truly find frightened.

Describe your writing voice.

Psychological and gothic, balanced out with ironic humour.

 

ABOUT KAREN HEARD

Karen lives in London and writes short stories, plays, books and scripts. She works in digital marketing and content creation, and used to manage the website for Railway magazine. Some of her stories are collected in the book It’s Dark Inside. 

 

 

 

  ABOUT THE BOOK THE HAUNTED TRAIN: CREEPY TALES FROM THE RAILWAYS

Come on board for a Gothic journey in a funicular railway in Victorian England, a freight train in the Carpathian mountains, a high tech sky train in Bangkok, an underground railway in Tokyo. Visit stations which lure with the promise of safe shelter but harbour unexpected dangers. Meet the people who work on the tracks – stationmasters, porters, signal-men – and those who travel – commuters, tourists, dead bodies, murderers and ghosts. In this volume, editor Rayne Hall has collected twenty of the finest– and creepiest – railway tales. The book features the works of established writers, classic authors and fresh voices. Some stories are spooky, some downright scary, while others pose a puzzling mystery. Are you prepared to come on board this train? Already, the steam engine is huffing in impatience. Listen to the chuff-chuff-chuff from the locomotive and tarattata-tarattata of the giant wheels. Press your face against the dust-streaked window, inhale the smells of coal smoke and old textiles, watch the landscape whoosh past as you leave the familiar behind and journey into the unknown. But be careful: you can’t know the train’s real destination, nor your fellow travellers’ intentions. Once you’ve closed that door behind you and the wheels start rolling, you may not be able to get out.

The ebook is available for pre-order from Amazon at the special offer price of 99 cents until 31 January 2023. (After that date, the price will go up.) https://mybook.to/Train

The paperback edition will be available soon.

The Problem at Rose Grove

Where's Holmes???

I've joined Specul8 Publishing for their second volume of absent Holmes tales, and I've put a spin on it, which will come as no surprise to my loyal readers. I've often wondered what would happen if my very own investigator, Oscar Tremont, had the opportunity to pit wits against the most famous consulting detective of all time, but in "The Problem at Rose Grove", he's faced with an even greater challenge...saving Holmes, so to speak! Curiosity piqued? The game's afoot! Grab your copy from Specul8. 

 

About the anthology:

In 1887, Arthur Conan Doyle first published A Study in Scarlet in the 27th issue of Beeton’s Christmas Annual, a popular London magazine which had entertained 19th century readers for well over two decades. Yet this particular issue would introduce the world to something entirely new, a literary icon who would move on to become the greatest fictional character in modern history. Holmes certainly casts a great shadow, and what would we ever do without him? That is precisely the question this collection dares to ask. We have challenged nine exciting Australian authors to take up the daunting task of writing a Sherlock story, where the great man himself is conspicuously absent. The resulting work has been utterly fascinating, and we have found that even in his absence Sherlock Holmes is still a force to be reckoned with. As the man himself would often say, “The game is afoot!”

 

Into the Woods: An Anthology of Sylvan Stories

"Forgotten Falls", a sylvan story about a German metaphysicist on a personal journey to a haunted waterfall in remote Australia, is out now in "Into the Woods". It joins a host of atmospheric tales set in forests from the likes of Ramsey Campbell and Tracy Fahey. Hannah Kate, the editor, has kindly answered a few questions about the anthology, forests, and her publishing project, Hic Dragones.

 1. The title of the anthology, Into the Woods, is very evocative. What inspired you to choose this theme?

A lot of our favourite fiction has a distinctive sense of place – from Stephen King’s New England to Agatha Christie’s country houses – and so we do tend towards publishing stories that have a strong connection to particular spaces (real and fictional). The novels we’ve published all have this – with the seaside (Blood and Water), the city (Aimee and the Bear and Psychic Spiders!) and the forest (The Tattooed Wolf) – and our anthologies also tend to have this focus. A lot of the stories in Hauntings focused on uncanny and unsettling inside spaces, so it made sense that our next collection would be outside. The woods were an obvious choice, because there are just so many different types of forests and woodlands, and they evoke so many different types of response.

2. Do you have a favourite forest, and what draws you to it?

I have a soft spot for those ‘forests’ that are called ‘semi-natural woodland’ in the UK. These are patches of woodland that have mostly grown up naturally – often on the site of ancient forests – but which may only be a few hundred years old and may be the result of replanting. As a child, I lived near Inglewood Forest in Cumbria and then next to Blackley Forest in Manchester, so these are the sorts of woods that I’m used to. What fascinates me about these woodlands is the way the history of trees interweaves with the history of people. Trees are felled and houses built, but then houses are demolished and a forest is planted. I think people often overlook this complex history, because they assume that a forest is either ancient woodland or a new cultivation, and that once a forest is cut down that’s the end of the story. I like the places in between, the places that aren’t ancient but aren’t new either. My story in Into the Woods takes place in urban woodland spaces – those places where the trees came back. Officially, these woodlands are created and maintained by people… but maybe the forest also finds its own ways to exert control?

My current favourite examples of urban woodland spaces are all in North Manchester: Bowker Bank Woods (in Crumpsall), Baileys Wood (in Blackley) and Boggart Hole Clough (also in Blackley).

3. Forests have always had a deep-rooted effect on the human psyche, whether as places of refuge or of danger. Why do you think this is? Has this changed over time as the world’s forests dwindle?

I think our fascination with forests goes hand-in-hand with our project of deforestation, to be honest. In Britain, ancient forests began to be systematically cut down during the Anglo-Saxon period (it’s not a new phenomenon!), but a kind of folk memory of the forest has persisted. For instance, despite the fact that it hasn’t been true for over a millennium (if, indeed, it was ever true), it’s still reasonably well-known that once upon a time you could cross the entire country without ever touching the ground. On the one hand, I think there’s a nostalgia about the forest – it’s part of the ancient landscape, and so it’s a romantic and imaginative place. On the other hand, there’s a sort of buried guilt about its destruction – it’s something natural and powerful that was destroyed (is still being destroyed) by the relentless march of human progress. In a way, it’s a bit like our relationship with certain wild animals, like wolves (in the UK particularly). We don’t have to live in the forest with the wolves anymore, so we’re free to idealise and romanticise them – but we also know it was us that killed the wolves and uprooted the trees, and there’s always the fear of being somehow held to account one day.

4. What are your aims for Hic Dragones?

Hic Dragones is a micropress with ambitions of becoming a small press – we’re not after global domination just yet! At the moment, we’re focusing on publishing a small number of new books each year, and on publishing our new editions of Victorian penny dreadfuls. As well as Into the Woods, we have another anthology coming out this year (Nothing) and then we’ll be opening submissions for our next project. We’re currently publishing instalments of our edition of George Reynolds’s Faust – an early Victorian penny dreadful about the man who sold his soul to the devil. We’re really pleased to be able to publish Faust, as this is the first modern edition of Reynolds’s serial, and we’ve been able to include the original illustrations as well. Once Faust comes to the end of its run, we’re going to be announcing the publication dates for Spring Heel’d Jack. In a nutshell, I guess our aims are pretty simple: we just want to keep publishing stories that we like and encouraging people to read them!

5. You chose to include my story, Forgotten Falls, in the anthology. Thanks, by the way. What was it that appealed to you?

For me, the story’s appeal lay in the way that all-important sense of place was combined with a sense of character. Without any heavy-handed exposition, we get to know the protagonist Schenker and the things that have brought him to where he is at the start of the story – but Schenker’s history (and his future) are completely bound up with the forest in which he finds himself. He believes he is completely in control of his surroundings – in fact, he’s so busy thinking about people that he barely gives the forest itself a second though – but is he really in control?

Another thing I liked about the story was the type of forest that you chose. As I said, there are so many different types of woods and forests, so we were keen to reflect this in the stories we chose. ‘Forgotten Falls’ takes us to a subtropical rainforest, a place that’s very different from the ancient forests, urban woodlands and patches of wilderness found in other stories in the collection. One of the real pleasures of putting together Into the Woods came from seeing the ways in which writers evoked such an interesting array of settings.

6. Lastly, where can we buy a copy?

The book is available in paperback and eBook from our website and from all good online retailers, including Amazon. For readers in the UK, the paperback edition can also be ordered by local bookshops and libraries.

Bio: Hannah Kate is an editor and writer based in North Manchester. She is the founder and editor-in-chief at Hic Dragones, and has had stories and poetry published in a number of anthologies and magazines. She also presents a weekly literature show on North Manchester FM, imaginatively entitled Hannah’s Bookshelf, and she is currently the treasurer of the Friends of Crumpsall Park.

Links: Hic Dragones – www.hic-dragones.co.uk (FB: hicdragones, Twitter: @HicDragones) Hannah Kate – hannahkate.net (FB: HannahsBookshelf, Twitter: @HannahKateish)

The Man behind the Shadows

It's Christmas soon - very soon - and bookworms know what that means, right? Yes, you got it, ghost story time! "The Sorrowful Wife" is one of three ghost stories of mine to be published in 2016; an eerie accomplishment that took me by surprise. Mark Nixon, the editor of Shadows at the Door, which is a fully illustrated hardcover anthology of new ghost tales in the old tradition, has kindly accepted to answer a few questions for you, the fan of all things phantasmal.

1. What inspired you to produce Shadows at the Door? 
A love of classical horror and sharing stories. Ghost Stories are meant to be shared, and that's exactly why shadowsatthedoor.com was founded. To tell new and terrifying horror stories in an accessible way. Of course, after a while, fans of the site began to call out for a published book featuring their favourite authors, and I'm nothing if not a servant to them.

2. Where did the idea for the title come from?
Shadows at the Door represents what I believe is the true strength of horror: the implied. Once you see a monster, or a killer, fear can be deconstructed, you can plan, spot weaknesses and so on. But the unknown? A silhouette stood at the foot of your bed? Well, that could be anything, and that's terrifying! Anyone who has been home alone and spotted an unknown shadow at the door knows true fear.

3. Why would the anthology make for a great Christmas gift?
Ghost Stories are a quintessential part of Christmas, it's one of life's great pleasures to sit by the fire and read a pleasing terror. M.R. James in particular continued this tradition and many of the stories in the anthology are inspired by him. It's also a beautifully presented book, and a handsome addition to any bookshelf.

4. What are your other (not in this anthology) favourite ghost stories?
How much time do you have? I'll limit myself to some favourites such as Oh Whistle and I'll Come to you My Lad, The Signalman, Rats, Canon Alberic''s Scrapbook, The Monkey's Paw, The Upper Berth, The Mezzotint, Number 13 and controversially, The Price as I'd like to think it counts as a ghost story.

5. Where can we grab a copy of the anthology?
Hardbacks can be bought on the Shadows at the Door website, and the ebook is coming to Amazon before Christmas. The fully scored Audiobook is due in the near year!

Thank you, Mark.

2015: The Year of Darkness and Lighthouses

The year is drawing to a close, and I'm certainly looking forward to a holiday from the day job as an English teacher. Perhaps, just perhaps, I'll even have an hour or two to get some writing done before the clocks herald the midnight hour on the 31st of December. Please join me as I look back on what I accomplished in 2015.

Australian Horror Writers' Association

This year, as vice-president of the AHWA, I wanted to carry out a project that would become part of the association's history. That vague idea soon grew clearer and I decided it was time for the AHWA to publish its first anthology of horror stories written by members. With an enthusiastic nod from my fellow committee members, In Sunshine Bright and Darkness Deep: An Anthology of Australian Horror was published in the lead-up to Halloween. It is now available for purchase in print or as an ebook.

I was also pleased, as the AHWA's competitions coordinator, to have organised the Flash Fiction and Short Story Competition, which was won by J. Ashley-Smith (short story) and Zoe Downing (flash fiction). Their winning entries will be published in the next issue of Midnight Echo, the magazine of the AHWA. The guidelines for the 2016 competition are available now and entries can be submitted as of the 1st of January.

Black Beacon Books

In 2013, I founded Black Beacon Books, one of just a handful of Australian small press publishers dedicated to horror, suspense, and mystery short fiction and novellas, and the only one currently active in Brisbane. This year, we published our second anthology, Lighthouses: An Anthology of Dark Tales, which features tales set in and around lighthouses by authors from around the world - but predominantly Australian. It was no mean feat publishing two anthologies in one year and making sure that both were of the highest quality in terms of content and design... but it happened!

Writing

Needless to say, with so much editing and marketing taking up what little free time I had, this year wasn't my most productive when it came to penning my own tales. All the same, I did manage to work on several short stories this year, and two of them have found homes. They are both strange and disturbing, and that's all I'll say...

The Crows of Eildon Hill

Blue Crow Magazine #4

Milk

The Literary Hatchet #13

Next Year

Can this momentum be kept up? Well, probably not, to be frank. That said, one of my resolutions is to find more time to work on my own writing, and I'm intent on making the AHWA Flash Fiction and Short Story Competition even more successful than it was this year. What about another anthology? Well, you've probably worked out that I'm hooked, so yeah, you can expect submissions guidelines to be announced early next year for the next Black Beacon Books anthology. After all, there is a wealth Australian writing talent out there but a lack of psychological horror and suspense markets these days.

So, stay tuned for 2016! 

The Crows of Eildon Hill

It's not every day that a writer finds himself penning a tale that explores the very essence of what it is to be human, and, more particularly, a man. What separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom? Is evil the inability to guard the veneer of civilisation we have constructed over time and to resist our most bestial urges? In writing "The Crows of Eildon Hill", I found myself seeking to answer these questions. The story follows a protagonist who deals with a horrific situation the only way he deems morally acceptable and dares the reader to walk in his shoes. It wasn't an easy work of fiction to write, and I suspect it won't make for light reading either.

For three weeks, Blue Crow Magazine #4 will be available for just $17.99 AUD

In Sunshine Bright and Darkness Deep

You can order your copy of the debut anthology from the Australian Horror Writers' Association for the special launch price of just $9.95 USD. This offer ends after Halloween.

Createspace Online Shop

Amazon 

In Sunshine Bright and Darkness Deep is an anthology like no other. The tales herein will take you on a weird and terrifying journey. You will set out on a road trip and find yourself trapped in the arid Australian outback where a little girl and her grandfather struggle to survive. There are isolated farmhouses threatened by bushfires and bullets, and rainforests teeming with bloodthirsty bugs. The cities are full of trouble too. The murky waters of the Brisbane River hide spiteful spirits and the suburbs are infested with insane inhabitants masquerading as ordinary human beings. Then, you will leave Australia, departing from Melbourne, to hunt down vampiric gangsters in Southeast Asia, before sailing future seas and visiting realms beyond this world altogether.

This inaugural showcase anthology features the work of just a handful of the many talented and darkly imaginative authors who make up the Australian Horror Writers' Association. If you are unfamiliar with Australian horror, let this book be just the first step on a long voyage of discovery.

Table of contents:

The River Slurry Rue Karney                                              

Triage Jason Nahrung                                              
Upon the Dead Oceans Marty Young                                  
Beast Natalie Satakovski                                
The Grinning Tide Stuart Olver                                          
Our Last Meal J. Ashley Smith                                             
Veronica’s Dogs Cameron Trost                                          
Bullets Joanne Anderton                   
Saviour Mark McAuliffe                                
The Hunt Mark Smith-Briggs                                               
The Monster in the Woods Kathryn Hore               
Road Trip Anthony Ferguson                                               
Bloodlust Steve Cameron                                          
Elffingern Dan Rabarts    
    

Of Devils and Deviants

Crowded Quarantine Publications have just announced that "Of Devils & Deviants: An Anthology of Erotic Horror" is now available to pre-order from Barnes & Noble. It is available as a hardcover or paperback, the ebook will be available in late May. 

This stunning anthology features artwork throughout and stories from Graham Masterton, Lucy Taylor, Aaron J. French, Mandy DeGeit, J. Daniel Stone, Kenneth W. Cain, Taylor Grant, Maynard Sims, and many, many more. My contribution, "Lauren", is a tale about what happens when boy meets girl in one of Brisbane's grooviest cocktail bars, The Bowery. Where it goes from there, you can't possibly imagine... suffice to say, it's kinky and creepy.


Place your order today at:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/of-devils-and-deviants-adam-millard/1119120676