Ruritanian Tales For Christmas

A story for Halloween, written in 2012.It tells the story of a strange and secretive family and the man who tries to help them and who discovers that man's best friend might not be a dog.It was inspired by an actual experience I had while staying one summer in Sandwich on Cape Cod. Walking back from the sea along the walkway across the salt marshes, we heard a train whistle and then a blood-chilling cacophony of barking and yowling somewhere off in the dimming twilight.The next day I sat on the beach and wrote this story.I'm a real riot on holiday.All the images are from Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/collections/1063...) and I should credit:Steve Halama, Dominik Rešek, Andrew Charney, Fabian, Mikel Ibarluzea, Giovanni Bianchi, Marek Szturc, Thomas Lardeau, David Martin, Stefano Ciociola, Senor Sosa, Mark Boss, Kevin KandlbinderThe sound effects are from Freesound (https://freesound.org/people/redskeli...) and come from:eric5335, foongaz, samwd, Mrthenoronha, felix.blume, buzzatsea, 16F.Panska.Capek_Tomas Get

A story for Halloween, written in 2013Scarred by a horrifying event in his childhood, William Connelly finds himself returning to his family home, scene of the haunting that has changed his life. Might he discover the truth behind what happened? And might he regret it when he does?Both this story and 'The Treasure' were written to accompany an interactive ghost story for what was then The SciFi Channel in the UK. They were supposed to have been written by a fictional writer, who himself had been scarred by a supernatural experience, and contain clues to the mystery in the show. You can find the whole thing archived at: https://themazehouse.wordpress.com/All the images are from Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/collections/1084...) and I should credit:Ashley Richards, Christian Lambert, Claire Brear, Daniel von Appel, Jean Philippe Delberghe,Jim DiGritz, Katherine Hanlon, Mat Reding, Memories on 35mm, Mike Bergman, Remi Bertogliati, Ross Sneddon, Adam Bignell, Alex Motoc, Mitchell Luo and especially Annie Spratt

A story for Halloween, written in 2014.When the unexpected Mr T arrives at his house, Sir Christopher Malpleasance does not expect an unravelling of unexpected coincidences, family secrets and grisly death.On a wintry writing 'holiday' with the author Finbar Hawkins, we took a random turn down a country road and found ourselves at Great Chalfont Manor, a 15th century manor house hidden away in the Wiltshire countryside.It seemed so self-contained and I couldn't help but think about the odd family habits that might grow in such undisturbed solitude, and what if one of those habits was murder?All the images are from Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/collections/1074...) and I should credit:Annie Spratt, Joshua Fuller, Andrew Neel, Karl Fredrickson, Bistrian Iosip, Karim Manjra, Jez Timms, Peter Oswald, Fay Lee, Headway, Stéphane Juban, Pierre Bamin, Dimitri Houtteman, Kovah, Alex Motoc, Aleksei Алексей Simonenko Симоненко, NON, Terry Vlisidis, K. Mitch Hodge, Gabriel Ghnassia, Rafael Garcin, Valentino Mazzariello,

A quick announcement of a few things:1. Some short, creepy Halloween stories are about to appear in the feed - they're more 'atmospheric' than they are horror and they feature sound effects and this music:Thinking Music by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4522-thinking-musicLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/2. They're also on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQh_qRDlz4ukgQJBoV_2ALA, which is the readings accompanied with imagesI'm also plugging a new, seasonally-appropriate book from friend of the podcast Finbar Hawkins: Witch. It's a YA novel set in the 17th century and is a wild and roaring story of revenge, nature and magic.Here's an Amazon link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Witch-Finbar-Hawkins/dp/1838935614/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia-wc-p13n1_0?cv_ct_cx=witch&dchild=1&keywords=witch&pd_rd_i=1838935614&pd_rd_r=0823cfd3-1c0a-4b7c-b8ef-9e94c6b2f45d&pd_rd_w=ilNRe&pd_rd_wg=raPV8&pf_rd_p=01fd0f51-3837-49b3-b7d3-05520a5467f4&pf_rd_r=YVWWK27KPERCVKWE4H6J&psc=1&q

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 24th: the detectives enjoy a Merry Christmas. As should you. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 23rd: the detectives rush to stop the killer before his advent calendar of death runs out Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 22nd: the detectives are on the run from a serial killer, the police and all good sense Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 21st: the detectives visit a seasonal grotto and discover that the list they are on is not the good one Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 20th: the detectives compare notes and identify their suspect Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 19th: the detective attends a Christmas party and gets a most unexpected surprise Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 18th: the detective goes back to Bulliver Toys and discovers a most unChristmassy secret Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 17th: the detectives, shockingly, are no longer in the plural Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 16th: the detectives follow the trail into Clerkenwell and cross paths with exactly the person they should have expected Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 15th: the detectives investigate a film set and witness a cunning stunt with suspenseful implications Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 14th: the detectives visit a toy factory and discover that it is not all fun and games Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 13th: the detectives respectively find a clue and lose the plotRead by Jon Millington Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 12th: the detectives introduce Inspector Street to the Krampus Agency, which doesn’t go well for anyone Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 11th: the detectives go to a meeting. And a pre-meeting. And a de-brief. Mind you, it’s possibly a good thing none of these people get anything done. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 10th: the detectives go on a bike ride through night-time London, on the trail of an elusive food delivery Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deadvent Calendar is a seasonal murder mystery told in 24 crimes. It follows the adventure of amateur detective Shilo Coombes and his companion as they try and unravel a sinister plot to murder the unChristmassy - a plot that doesn’t seem very Christmassy itself.December 9th: the detectives venture into the darkest East End of London and find a derelict factory that mysteriously hasn’t been turned into a WeWork yet Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.