In the Copse of Mystic Beasts

There's a new diary entry on hellsborough.com coming soon:

I was out in the greater Wisewood today, not far from the banks of the Loxley river, a part that I call the copse of mystic beasts -- it really is full of some of the strangest creatures that you have ever come across. There was a web. Possibly the largest web you have ever seen. It was suspended between half a dozen trees. At the centre of that web was an eightleg -- they are something of a rarity in The Dark Peak -- strange that, since they are pretty ubiquitous in the off-world. And I say eightleg, since that is what they usually are, but this beast, this was something different altogether. I didn't get too close, you wouldn't would you? I mean, look at the thing, it's difficult to see where the creature stops and the branches begin, it's as if it is melded with the trees -- at one with its hosts. Lying in wait for unsuspecting prey, which I had no intention of being me, or Shad -- I don't even know whether a padfoot like him could handle whatever venom such an heinous monster might be capable of dishing out, and I'd very much doubt that I could; so best to stay away from a character like that.

Other developments…

Last week I mentioned releasing a Tiktok video channel called "Murk Lore", and after sorting out some technical issues, I finally did and launched the video, it’s here.

I’m now working on the sequel, to be called “The gabbleratchets of Sophie Hinchcliffe”. I saw the name Hinchcliffe on a grave stone in Wadsley church yard. Gabbleratchets, if you didn’t know, are a local thing that have been described thus:

Gabble (Gabriel) Ratchets are phantom human-headed barkers that fly through the murk with much whining, whelping, barking and howling; making a great cacophony of noise in the night sky. Believed by some to be the barkers of the underworld, they are said to hunt the souls of the newly dead, of unbaptised children, lost souls and the spirits of the living. It is believed that hearing their din can bring upon madness -- anyone thought to be suffering from such effects of the beasts, also sometimes known as Skriker, meaning to howl or cry, or scream, would loose all reason, to spend the rest of their life wandering, arms outstretched and staring eyes, in grim imitation of the creature.

Work on the first book of The Hellsborough Chronicles continues, if you haven’t downloaded it yet, you can get a free ebook in ePub or Kindle format from the website, as well as my Curated Guide to The Dark Peak, and the novella Junkyard Speedball, just visit Hellsborough Library. If you are struggling to figure out what I am talking about, then the Curated Guide is your friend, you can also read it online.

Cheers, until next time,

Pip :)