“In ‘The Girl I Left Behind Me’, the narrator tells her story from the grave,” says Alison Cotton, discussing Muriel Spark’s 1957 short story, the inspiration for her new album of the same title. “The story is about a girl who works in a London office, her first job after a long illness. As she leaves work one evening, she is struck by a strong conviction that she has left something important at the office, but can’t work out what it can be...”
The opening side of this beautiful 10” vinyl release was originally commissioned and recorded for Gideon Coe’s BBC 6 Music Show in 2018, to accompany a Christmas reading of the story itself, by actress Bronwen Price. A single, 13-minute suite for melancholy viola captures perfectly the downbeat, rainsoaked ambience of austerity-era London, underpinned by a fluttering murmur of dread that escalates as the narrative speeds towards its chilling conclusion. “As I was playing, I imagined myself as the main character of the story,” continues Alison. “I composed an eerie melody, following the structure of the story, and building up the suspense with my wordless singing...”
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Lightning Or Legendry?: The Chase Vault Moving Coffin Mystery Revisited
The moving coffins of Barbados have been a staple subject of books on the unexplained for over a century, and yet no one has so far provided a wholly satisfactory solution to the mystery. BENJAMIN RADFORD argues that we might have been looking in the wrong place...
The Haunted Generation
Bob Fischer Rounds Up The Latest News From The Parallel Worlds Of Popular Hauntology...
The House On The Borderland In Search Of William Hope Hodgson
In his new book, EDWARD PARNELL goes in search of the ‘sequestered places’ of the British Isles and explores how these haunted landscapes shaped a kaleidoscopic spectrum of literature and cinema. Here, he arrives in Cardiganshire to look for the house in which the neglected master of weird fiction William Hope Hodgson wrote one of his greatest works.
Fortean Traveller: 117. The Mediæval Crime Museum, Rothenburg, Germany Fortean Traveller
STEVE TOASE feels the thumbscrews tighten as he explores a grisly collection exploring the history of mediæval torture and its relationship with the law
Where Ghosts Gather
In 1977, Usborne published World of the Unknown: Ghosts, the children’s book that inspired a generation of junior forteans. Four decades on, following a concerted fan campaign, the book is back in print... and the perpetually haunted BOB FISCHER tracked down its pleasantly surprised writer, Christopher Maynard, to discuss its genesis and unexpected impact.
A Bang On The Head
MARK GREENER explains how traumatic brain injury can change personality, creating serial killers and even vampires.
Classical Corner
FORTEANA FROM THE ANCIENT WORLD COMPILED
High Priests And Kraken Soup
Richard Freeman in a recent opinion piece (FT357:55) discussed the fascinating life of Pierre Denys de Montfort, who, according to the article, died penniless in the gutter in Paris having seen his career destroyed because he argued for something that the “high priests of science deemed to be an old wives tale” – the existence of giant cephalopods (the taxonomic group that consists of squids, cuttlefishes and octopuses).
It Happened To Me...
The road beyond the village drops and twists steeply, so I drove cautiously.
Living With Gods
DAVID V BARRETT visits a new exhibition at the British Museum with an emphasis on the universals of religious practice
ASK OLD HOUSE JOURNAL
ASK OLD HOUSE JOURNAL
BRO READS MARIAH RIOT ACT OVER ‘LIES' IN HER BOOK
MARIAH CAREY’S brother, Morgan, blasted her memoir as filled with “lies and distortions” and he’s considering legal action, The National ENQUIRER has learned.
When Nimby Met Maga
Liberals on the Upper West Side wanted to oust hundreds of homeless men from a local hotel. Then Tucker Carlson took up their cause.
I TEAL YOU
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. The facts: It’s the deadliest gynecological cancer. There is no screening test. Symptoms (if any) are usually vague and easily dismissible, so ovarian cancer often goes undetected in its early stages.
MARIAH SIS HITS MOM WITH SEX ABUSE CLAIMS!
CHARGES GIRLHOOD ASSAULTS AND SEEING SATANIC RITUALS
NOT READY TO RETURN TO WORK?
Even if you don’t have legal protections, you may be able to negotiate with your boss.
CAGED MAXWELL HAS NOWHERE TO HIDE NOW!
SHOCKING REASON JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S ACCUSED MADAM WAS DENIED BAIL
DAYS: ALLIE GOES INTO LABOR
Sami is relieved when Rafe agrees not to adopt Allie’s baby. “First of all, what I love about this story is I think Sami really feels completely righteous in telling Rafe that he’s not the right person to raise this child,” begins Alison Sweeney (Sami). “She sort of can’t believe anyone is considering it. He’s going to be a great dad someday. He’s a good guy, obviously. She has lots of complicated feelings for him, but the idea of him being a single father to Allie’s baby is just a nonstarter as far as Sami’s concerned.”
The Case for Repairing Wood Windows
Jimmy Carter was President the first time I wrote an article like this one. I have no problem saying it all again.
A VIEW OF LIFE AFTER THE PANDEMIC
Among the forecasts: The work-from-home trend will last, and we’ll welcome more robots.