research, Writing

Slavic Folklore: Domovoj

A domovik (also called domovoj, domovoy) is from Slavic folklore and is a household spirit residing in every home. The domovik traditionally is bonded to the ancestral founder of the family and moves with them from household to household. A domovoj is typically portrayed as small old man with a gray beard. The household refer… Continue reading Slavic Folklore: Domovoj

Writing

Carmilla: Week 3

III. We Compare Notes We followed the cortege with our eyes until it was swiftly lost to sight in the misty wood; and the very sound of the hoofs and the wheels died away in the silent night air. Nothing remained to assure us that the adventure had not been an illusion of a moment but the… Continue reading Carmilla: Week 3

research, Writing

Carmilla: Week 2

I. An Early Fright In Styria, we, though by no means magnificent people, inhabit a castle, or schloss. A small income, in that part of the world, goes a great way. Eight or nine hundred a year does wonders. Scantily enough ours would have answered among wealthy people at home. My father is English, and… Continue reading Carmilla: Week 2

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American Rapture

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ** I received an ARC for an honest review ** Description A virus is spreading across America, transforming the infected and making them feral with lust.  Sophie, a good Catholic girl, must traverse the hellscape of the midwest to try to find her family while the world around her burns. Along the way she… Continue reading American Rapture

research, Writing

Avoiding Vampire Creation

Vampires, Burial and Death by Paul Barber includes a chapter which has been part of my current research rabbit-holes. This chapter looks at the various methods of body disposal and the cultural beliefs surrounding death and corpses particularly to the prevention of creating vampires or revenants. A summary of the relevant points: Summary The importance… Continue reading Avoiding Vampire Creation

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Carmilla: Week 1

To celebrate the approaching Spooky Season and coinciding with my deep dive research into vampires, I’ll share a chapter each week from the classic book Carmilla By Sheridan Le Fanu Prologue Upon a paper attached to the Narrative which follows, Doctor Hesselius has written a rather elaborate note, which he accompanies with a reference to… Continue reading Carmilla: Week 1

research, Writing

Reviewer Hack!

Do you prefer to read ebooks? I do because I love reading so many different books at a time and my Kindle is my portable library. But if you also like to do reviews and you’ve been given an electronic ARC version? You want to support the authors you’re reviewing for or judging but I… Continue reading Reviewer Hack!

research, Writing

Why ebooks? Accessibility!

I read ebooks and I’ve enjoyed the switch. Of course many textbooks are more affordable and conversely, sometimes research tomes are better suited to the physical shelf. So, why do I prefer ebooks (and Kindle preference here) is the light-weight tablets and easier physical reading process. As part of my disability, I often get cramped… Continue reading Why ebooks? Accessibility!

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The Haunting of Alejandra

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Description Alejandra no longer knows who she is. To her husband, she is a wife, and to her children, a mother. To her own adoptive mother, she is a daughter. But they cannot see who Alejandra has become: a woman struggling with a darkness that threatens to consume her. Nor can they see what… Continue reading The Haunting of Alejandra

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The Haunting of Hill House

Publisher’s Description Four seekers have arrived at the rambling old pile known as Hill House- Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of psychic phenomena; Theodora, his lovely assistant; Luke, the future inheritor of the estate; and Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman with a dark past. As they begin to cope with… Continue reading The Haunting of Hill House