The arrival of book 22! An invitation to our Sunday afternoon tea party! A special edition AND writing workshops coming soon!

Dear Ghastlings,

We have so much news to share, it’s hard to know where to start but I will begin with letting you know that our climate horror themed issue (no.22) has arrived from the printers and the mailout has just been completed. All orders will be arriving before the week is out! Inside we have eight new tales of terror…

In Dustin Triplett’s ‘The Last Good Season’, strange things are happening in Marrowbone, a weather system that’s impossible to adjust to, but when one member of the community notices the walls are bleeding, it seems the environment, the atmosphere has its own agenda. In ‘Blood Tomatoes’ by Sarah Blackshaw, the harvesting and simple act of ‘picking’ this delicious ripe fruit is more akin to a cull. What if these plants were found to be sentient? What if they don’t like to be picked? In ‘Leviathan’s Womb’ by Alistair Rey two marine biologists are sent to explore a rare ‘whale fall’ far too close to shore. A terrifying discovery is made. In Nathaniel Spain’s ‘Meadow Seep’, a couple move into their new home knowing full-well it’s not perfect but no neighbours, a beautiful view and a big house in the countryside, they can make it work, right?It’s lambing season in Rhianna Jones’s story, ‘The Undrowning’, and Efa Powell is confronted with a horrifying discovery in the lambing shed and the once drowned village is visible once more. In J. Rosina Harlow’s ‘Corn Sister’, Master Sage makes the rules in this small village community and they should be grateful for him. One child is enough, any more and ‘sacrifices’ must be made. In Katherine Stansfield’s tale, ‘Record’, a woman all alone in the world finds a recording from an old broadcast, decides to reach out and record her own, but is there anybody left to hear?In ‘Cold Front’ by Andie Weber ‘The’ place to escape to is New Erebus (if you can’t afford to leave Earth for a prestigious Mars colony). Here people go on immersive tours to imagine what the Arctic must have been like, but one day the Arctic returns of its own accord…

Some of you very lucky folk will have received one of our special edition copies, our ‘anomaly’ issue… pictured here:

We wanted to do a little experiment with this and create a little treat for some of our patrons and subscribers, only 60 copies were printed so if one of these did appear on your doorstep, you were very fortunate! But if you’ve missed out, fear not, there is still a chance to win one of these in our Halloween giveaway, just send us a picture of your best carved pumpkin before the 31st of October to be in with a chance. You can do this via Instagram, Facebook, or email: titled, Pumpkin Picture Competition to editor@theghastling.com.

I would also like to invite you to our launch party on Sunday 26th October at 4.30pm (GMT). This is a gathering of some of the authors from the new issue and the ghosts at Ghastling Towers. The event is held online so no need to even leave your chamber! Tickets are free and you can find out more and book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1825753711499?aff=oddtdtcreatorhttps://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1825753711499?aff=oddtdtcreator

Lastly, I have been planning some winter ghost story writing workshops, I will announce details in November. These will be held in person online so will be accessible wherever you are in the world. If you would like to register your interest, please email me at: editor@theghastling.com and you’ll be the first to hear the news.

And finally, if you haven’t ordered your copy of book 22 yet, you can purchase here! https://theghastling.com/shop/

Thank you for reading and I wish you all a Happy Halloween!

Rebecca Parfitt

Editor