Review of Clive Barker’s NightBreed Issue 1

The first issue of Boom! Studios eagerly anticipated new comic book series Clive Barker’s Nightbreed hit the shelves in the UK on 28 May, finally expanding on the mythos Clive Barker created in 1988 in the novel Cabal, and in the movie adaptation Nightbreed. A dark, horrific, but ultimately quite moving tale of a group of freaks, misfits and monsters living in Midian, a secret underground community beneath a cemetery, Nightbreed has gained a devoted cult following over the past few decades. An Occupy Midian movement was even formed as an online pressure group to demand the release of the full unedited vision of the Nightbreed movie Barker intended, but never got to release.

Occupy Midian haven’t got their way just yet, but the first issue of this new series of comics is sure to delight Nightbreed fans as much as readers new to the gloriously strange world of Midian. Piotr Kowalski’s artwork is exquisite, truly capturing the macabre settings of the original book and film, and resurrecting the strange cast of disparate characters; the savage, the lonely and the seductive with all their drives, hungers and desires.

In the original novel, we discover little about how the various bizarre citizens of Midian came to arrive there, and this is what the comic series sets out to address. The narrative flits back and forward in time, introducing us to characters before they arrived at Midian, building on their back-story and expanding the Nightbreed mythos. The themes of isolation, prejudice and persecution so evident in the novel are continued and developed as the future citizens of Midian struggle to live above ground amongst ‘normal’ people.

Of course as in the novel and movie, the real monsters are not necessarily who they appear to be. The distinctions between good and evil, beauty and beast are often blurred; the hunted can become the hunter, the freak can become an object of forbidden lust. This was always a big part of the appeal of Nightbreed and it’s great to see this spirit continued in this new expansion of the story.

This first issue shows great promise about what could be a fantastic series, and will please existing fans of Nightbreed and gain many more with its blend of gruesome horror, and strange sensuality. Midian has opened its gates once more.

Update on latest story and upcoming work

Children of the Night,

This post comes with some regret and embarrassment that it has taken me so long to add any new material to my blog, or to my work on Popcorn Horror. I've had a two week holiday away, and since my return I have not had as much time to write as I would like.

The office I currently work in is closing and my last few weeks have been a string of leaving parties, meals and of course my own preparations before I start my new job. Life, basically, has got in the way.

Now I am in a more settled position, I aim to step up my writing more than ever before. I have so many ideas dying to burst out onto the page, I'm very excited about exploring them. I hope you will explore them with me, too.

There will be a short story in the next week or so, numerous flash fiction bloody chunks of hideousness, and the planning stages of my first novel are ongoing. Around 10,000 words written to date.

Nick

Flash Horror Story: A Helping Hand

A Helping Hand

I was alone in the wilds when I found it, hiking deep in the Red Cuillin beneath iron skies. I rounded a bend and saw him; a crow trapped in a baited cage.

He stopped hopping around and looked at me. His eyes gleaming, knowing, filled with a hideous intelligence. Guttural words sounded in my mind, harsh, croaking sounds. Instructions.

I crouched by the cage, put my hand between the bars. He gouged at my palm, greedily devouring the oozing blood until I passed out.

Now I’m in the cage. A trapped bird, frantically screeching at the man walking away.

Legends and Lore at Lochmaben Castle: Spooky happenings with Mostly Ghostly

Legends and Lore at Lochmaben Castle

 

 

A raven greets us from his perch atop the ruins of Lochmaben Castle

 

On Saturday 17th May, my partner Sarah and I attended the Legends and Lore tour at Lochmaben Castle organised by Mostly Ghostly Investigations, a team of paranormal investigators from Dumfries & Galloway in South West Scotland. It proved to be an incredible evening for many reasons, and caused me to reassess my beliefs in the paranormal.

 

We arrived on a cool spring evening to the ruins of Lochmaben Castle, the ancient dwelling of some very illustrious characters from Scotland's often bloody history including Robert the Bruce and James II who took the castle when he defeated the Black Douglas family in 1455. Mary Queen of Scots is also known to have spent at least one night in the castle. Given the history of sieges and bloodshed on the site dating back to the early 1300s, it is perhaps unsurprising that the site is home to a number of local myths and legends, with numerous paranormal experiences reported in and around the ruins.

 

There is an immense sense of quiet and tranquillity at the site; once home to the mighty and the regal, but left to crumble gently by the dark waters of the castle loch since the Union of the Crowns in 1603. That is a very long time for any restless spirits that may reside there to mull over their fate, brutal and bloody as it almost certainly was is most cases. And so, more so than at any other historic building I've ever visited, I felt something beneath the tranquillity. I felt a definite sense of sadness; an aura of melancholy that permeated the whole surrounding area. I'm unable to explain this even to myself. Perhaps it struck me as sad that what would once have been a great place of strength has been neglected for centuries, and the feeling merely came from my own subconscious. Perhaps, but I don't think so.

 

As we waited with the other guests, a large raven landed on top of a crumbling tower and peered down at us, perhaps wondering why this secluded spot had suddenly been invaded. A moment or so later, our hosts arrived dressed in full gothic regalia to make a very dramatic entrance. They led us to the banks of the loch, where we disturbed a group of drunks who'd obviously spent the day fishing, drinking and smoking mind-altering substances. The look of surprise on the face of one particularly intoxicated drunkard was especially amusing as he awoke from his slumbers to find himself surrounded by a ghost tour. Ignoring the slurred and nonsensical contributions of the three drunks, our hosts continued to regale us with tales from the castles dark history, local legends including a reputed local vampire, and tales of otherworldly sightings in the area.

 

 

 

Soon, we moved back to the ruins of the castle to attempt to actually contact any spirits that may dwell there using divining rods and crystals. This was a very interesting experiment and something I'd never heard of before. Using my divining rods, I reached out to anyone or anything that might be able to hear me, and established 'yes' and 'no' movements for the rods. To my surprise the rods did actually move, and it did seem some form of communication was established. I proceeded to ask a number of questions, that seemed to confirm that something could hear me, but not see me, and that it would like to live again. Of course, I have no way of knowing whether I did really establish contact with anything; it could have been the breeze moving the rods, or I could even have been subconsciously moving them myself. But, as with the sense of sadness I picked up on, I did genuinely feel like there was a presence of some kind.

 

The evening concluded in incredibly dramatic fashion when the whole group gathered in one room in the ruin; a place where many inexplicable things have been seen in the past. We were gathered in a circle and Kathleen (pictured above) spoke out to any spirits present to show a sign that they could here us, and distributed question cards amongst the group for people to ask of any entities that may make their presence known. At this point, a number of people in the group became distressed, with one woman close to tears and one gentleman having spotted what appeared to him to be the figure of a small boy. A lady next to me felt a very strong presence, then a few seconds later I felt a cold shock in my left arm and lower back, causing me to jolt my head round. It felt almost like something was tugging me. The atmosphere began to intimidate me a little at this point, and it was a feeling I've never experienced before and can't explain. Of course, it was getting late by this point, the temperature was lowering and there was a breeze, so it could just have been a burst of wind. But I'm convinced it wasn't. Surely I would have felt a gust of wind in more than just my left arm and lower back, and it was  a strong burst of cold energy, far more powerful than a gust of wind.

 

We said our goodbyes on what proved to be an incredibly dramatic evening, and as we moved through the deepening gloom away from the castle, I felt very strongly that I would not have stayed there on my own for the night under any circumstances. Gradually the cars pulled away as we made our way home, leaving the castle alone in the dark once again.

 

Crumbling. Contemplating. Watching?