
On the Ocean Wave!
Poor roads and the danger of coming under attack from robbers or worse when travelling overland can make a journey by boat seem the natural.

Entire Unto Itself: The Island in Horror Fiction
Islands are such mysterious and isolated places, and help is so far away when trouble strikes, it is no surprise that they have been

Greenfingers: The Garden in Fantasy Fiction
For millennia, gardens have been the ideal location for sin and subterfuge, especially when competing forces clash for prestige and power

Soul Eaters in Fantasy Fiction
The soul is that mysterious, invisible, intangible part of ourselves that gives us life and identity. It's so crucial to our existence

The King is Dead, Long Live the Queen
Most royal lines in fiction and in history have had a presumption in favour of a male heir, and even in the modern world there's still...

Creativity and Darkness by John C Adams
Creativity is a complex thing, and horror often explores the darkness it can engender in the human soul. The very act of generating a book

It's Cold Out!
Brrr! But why are we so fascinated by the lure of the cold, indifferent universe? And what does it say about us that we are so willing to...

Ho, Ho, Ho: Christmas in Horror Fiction
There's no better moment to remember how Christmas, its precursor Yule and the Celtic Midwinter events in general feature in horror fiction.

They May Not Mean To
We all know the famous line from Philip Larkin's poem 'They f*ck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do'.

Old Sins Cast Long Shadows in the Fantasy Fiction of David Gemmell
The English proverb 'Old Sins Cast Long Shadows' could easily serve as a motto for the fantasy novels of David Gemmell.