(Images by Gothicrow, used with permission)
“Does something amuse you?’ asked Uncle Montague.
‘I was merely reminding myself, Uncle, that I am getting too old to be so easily frightened by stories.’
‘Really?’ said Uncle Montague with a worrying degree of doubt in his voice. ‘You think there is an age at which you might become immune to fear?”
― Chris Priestley, Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror
Fear is an interesting thing. When it comes from real danger or the weights and cares of this world then it is something to be despised, overcome, beaten. But when it comes to stories it can be quite delicious to embrace fear. In ‘real life’ we may shy away, or run screaming, from that creaking on the staircase or that dread evil settling upon the land. In the world of stories we will go into that darkened hallway; we will open that forbidden door; we will investigate things that go bump in the night; we will walk through the graveyard at the witching hour on the night of the full moon.
As Autumn arrives upon this hemisphere, a beautiful melancholy settles itself over the world. Daylight fades as the darkness descends earlier each night. Nature beds down to rest and the last flashes of gorgeous color give way to the monochrome shades of winter. There is a wistful scent upon the air and the mood generated by this time of year turns my thoughts toward the mysterious, towards stories with gothic undertones, towards darkened streets and death and the men and women sent to detect those who do these dastardly deeds. Stop the alliteration!!!
Seven years ago that mood birthed R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril, or R.I.P. for short, a participatory event wherein we the people spend however little, or much, time we want over the months of September and October imbibing all things ghastly and ghostly.
Continue reading R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VII →
