Some creatures exist twice: once in the flesh, once in the imagination. Wolves, lions, demons, politicians - take your pick. In the wild hills of Gévaudan between 1764 and 1767, one such double-lived beast stalked the countryside. To the peasants it wasn’t simply a wolf, but la Bête - a monster, a terror, and an … Continue reading The Beast of Gévaudan: Folklore in Fur, Politics in Fangs
Category: Writing
Strangers on a Train
The premise is diabolical in its elegance: two strangers meet, exchange idle talk, and one proposes a pact so grotesque it seems almost a joke. “You do my murder, I’ll do yours.” A child’s logic, but a murderer’s ingenuity. This was Patricia Highsmith’s debut novel in 1950, and like the serpent in Genesis, she slithered … Continue reading Strangers on a Train
King & Conqueror: A Royal Mess of Mud, Murk, and Misfires
History, we’re often told, is written by the victors. But in the BBC’s latest offering, King & Conqueror, history is rewritten by screenwriters who appear to have skimmed a Wikipedia stub, lit a few candles in a cowshed, and declared themselves medievalists. The premise was promising. Harold Godwinson versus William the Bastard - England’s last … Continue reading King & Conqueror: A Royal Mess of Mud, Murk, and Misfires
Wilde’s The Canterville Ghost: A Ghost Story that Refuses to be Gothic
Ghosts, we are told, ought to terrify. They ought to shuffle about in winding sheets, rattle chains, and mutter warnings about imminent doom. In the long Gothic tradition - from Horace Walpole’s Otranto to the shadowy corridors of Mrs Radcliffe - apparitions exist to unsettle our digestion and our theology in equal measure. Yet Oscar … Continue reading Wilde’s The Canterville Ghost: A Ghost Story that Refuses to be Gothic
The Demons at the Trailhead
“If you talk to any serious hiker they’re like yes, demons are real, make sure you don’t walk along a stream for too long, sometimes a witch trails me for miles, avoid wearing bright colours, and pray before entering the forest. The ancient is still very much alive along the edges.” I stumbled upon that … Continue reading The Demons at the Trailhead
Wording 