Sunday, 27 June 2021

Vampire Hunter meets the Vampire of Blackpool

I am looking forward to visiting my favourite seaside town, Blackpool, when pandemic restrictions are eased in the next month or so. For now, I share an excerpt from Vampire of Blackpool for your reading pleasure.

 


Excerpt

“I know you are up there,” the man said suddenly, and I stifled a gasp, crouching still and silent, “Come out and face me, vampire.”

He was a hunter. I knew immediately by the bitter tone of his voice, and the courageous nature of his words. For the first time in over seventy years, I was facing a vampire hunter who wanted my head on his sword. I felt nothing. I could easily dispatch of him. I had done so with all the other vampire hunters throughout the centuries. In the early years they truly believed in the power of crosses, holy water and garlic. At first these tools had caused a little discomfort, but I had learned to overcome them. Wooden stakes were still a problem. There was something about wood that simply disagreed with a vampire’s body. It was one of the few materials from which we could only heal at human speed, unless it pierced our heart, in which case it killed. We had the same problem with pure silver. The metal contained a natural repellent, and it worked for both vampires and shape shifters. We were still unsure of the reasons why. Our ancient texts and teachers believed it was all tied to the magic of the moon. All I knew was that I avoided coming into contact with wood and silver at all costs. 

The man paced a few steps in a tight circle, looking up to where I crouched in the shadows. He knew I was here. He was not about to give up. I found myself intrigued.  I could descend upon him now and kill him immediately. I would drop his body into the ocean, and nobody would be any the wiser. But I still smarted from Samantha’s attack earlier that evening. Despite my crazed feeding in the nightclubs, I felt weakened, exposed. I was also angry. How dare such a young upstart as her do that to me? I warned her that she was in danger, and still she pursued me. It was her fault.  She brought it on herself. The anger that had been bubbling just below the surface suddenly burst forward, and I hissed, leaping down from my perch and aiming for the vampire hunter. I landed on his shoulders almost immediately and he crumpled to the floor with a shout, sprawling in the soft, dry sand at the very edge of the beach. 

 


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Wednesday, 23 June 2021

Book Review: Paranormal Warwickshire by SC Skillman

Here is my review of Paranormal Warwickshire by S.C. Skillman:

This is a delightful book that mixes local history with paranormal stories. The author describes local places of interest and includes snippets from Shakespeare plays at the beginning of each chapter as she connects the area with the famous playwright. There are eyewitness accounts of ghostly sightings, strange phenomena and other paranormal occurrences that leaves me wanting to visit the area again soon. This book belongs in every ghost hunter's personal library!

 


(I received a copy of the book for review purposes, views are my own)

 Warwickshire is a county stepped in the supernatural, as befits the county of Shakespeare and the many ghosts and spirits that he conjured up in his works.

 The towns and village of Warwickshire, its castles, house, churches, theatres, inns and many other places both grand and everyday have rich and complex stories to tell of paranormal presences.

 In this book author SC Skillman investigates the rich supernatural heritage of this county at the heart of England in places such as Guy’s Cliffe House, the Saxon Mill, Kenilworth Castle, Warwick Castle, St Mary’s Church in Warwick, Nash’s House in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Stoneleigh Abbey, as well as in the towns of Rugby, Nuneaton and Leamington Spa.

 She explores the spiritual resonance of each location, recounting the tales of paranormal activity associated with it and examining the reasons for this within the history of the place. 

Paranormal Warwickshire takes the reader into the world of ghosts and spirits in the county, following their footsteps into the unknown. These tales of haunted places, supernatural happenings and shadowy presences will delight the ghost hunters and fascinate and intrigue everybody who knows Warwickshire.



Download your FREE copy of It’s Complicated (A Redcliffe Short Story) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England. Click here