Hello, children of the dark. I write this in the grip of searing pain, my foot propped up with pillows and an ice pack around my ankle. You see, I clearly subconsciously thought what I really needed for my birthday was a super sprained ankle, especially one that was twisted on the way *in* to London’s glittering West End to see a play. Happy birthday to me indeed.
But I’m so glad I persisted with the travel. I’m glad I gritted my teeth, ignored the fast-swelling mass that once was my ankle, and hobbled my way into the Criterion Theatre – because it is there that I experienced one helluva show. It’s not often that I come away from a play unsure what to focus my attention on; something usually stands out, whether it was a specific portrayal or the staging or an annoying audience member who was playing with their phone the whole way through. This time, though, I was dazzled by everything, for I was experiencing the wonder that is 2.22: A Ghost Story.
I’m going to be *that* person and say I honestly can’t tell you much about the play without spoiling it all, but it’s true. It takes place over one night in a single room in a flat, where two couples try to stay up until 2.22am to discover the source of a noise over a baby monitor. And I sort of lied earlier when I said I was unsure where to focus my attention because, as I reflect on it now, it’s clear: the writing is superb. It is tight as anything, wonderfully paced, gives just enough but holds onto so much for big reveals. Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised, because the writer of this play is Danny Robins.
He’s been called “the audio hero of all things spooky”, “a latter-day Alfred Hitchcock” and a “modern-day Van Helsing” by the UK press, but I’ve recently learned that Mr Robins’ work isn’t so well known on the other side of the pond, so let me point you in one direction for a starting block: the podcast Uncanny, which he produced for the BBC. It’s a simple concept – investigations into chilling first-hand stories of paranormal encounters, from ghostly phantoms to sinister folklore and UFOs – but it’s so well executed. He does the background, the interviews, the skeptic vs the believer theories – but he also gets the audience involved, asks for their theories, and comes back to the cases throughout the series. Again, the writing is tight and hits the mark.
Why am I telling you this? Well, because I like to share good things with total strangers, but also because I’m just 10,000% jealous of Danny Robins’ writing talent. I wish I could be half that good!
Now let’s get to the reason you’re all here, which is not to hear me ramble through the pain. This week’s trembling main course comes from frequent contributor Ron Capshaw, who takes us off to the dentist, Marathon Man-style.
For the quick bites, we have three delicious offerings:
- Charlotte H Lee ponders the unknown dangers of space
- Bill Diamond shows that we should be careful before we seize our moments, and
- Mike Rader takes us to the Australian wilderness, where no one can hear you scream.
If these stories inspire you to get writing, you’ll find details on how to submit to us over here on our freshly-updated submission guidelines page. As always, if you have any questions just contact us or get us on Twitter!
Over to you, Stuart…
The thing about writing is, you have to actually do it to get anywhere with it. 
The Horror Tree Presents…an Interview with Elyse Russell
For the 2nd part of the NEW BLOOD series, I’m here with the great Don Noble, co-owner of the award-winning Rooster Republic Press, freelance artist extraordinaire, and in my opinion (for what it’s worth), one of the best cover designers out there, today. Don, you will be designing the cover to my brutal-yet-snowy little novella The White that will drop this December by D&T Publishing, which I am completely stoked about; I can’t WAIT to see what you come up with for it. But before we get into the meat of design and publishing, I want to nibble around the meat, taste the bread and fixins if that makes sense…
