The Shadow Booth

The booth juts at an angle from the sand, the canvas taut beneath the weight of the drifting dunes. Janet almost passes it by. But it’s the sign that snags her attention. Painted in rust-red onto three pieces of driftwood, the sun-bleached planks lashed together with lengths of twisted blond twine, it looks surprisingly fresh. Enter the Shadow Booth , it says, and you will never be the same again. The Shadow Booth , a journal of weird and eerie fiction, returns for Volume 2! Drawing its inspiration from the likes of Thomas Ligotti and Robert Aickman, The Shadow Booth explores that dark, murky hinterland between mainstream horror and literary fiction. Volume 2 contains new stories by: Chikodili Emelumadu Dan Grace Kirsty Logan Johnny Mains Ralph Robert Moore Mark Morris Gareth E. Rees Giovanna Repetto George Sandison Anna Vaught Aliya Whiteley Enter the Shadow Booth, and you will never be the same again… Buy The Shadow Booth: Vol. 2 - Paperback Ebook

'FEASTING; FASTING', 'CAVE VENUS ET STELLAS' AND A NOTE ON 'THE SHADOW BABIES'  by Anna Vaught These two (short) short stories are included in Volume 2 of The Shadow Booth , and here’s a little about what I was thinking when I wrote them. You may already have seen my memoir piece ‘The Shadow Babies’ on this site; here - and aren’t you glad it’s not you having to face these terrifying sawdust people whose crimes go hidden and whose auspice is deflected by graciousness? - and in the short stories, I am thinking about what lies beneath or within. We may associate the weird or eerie with gothic tropes and, thereby, with something fantastical, and so remote; my point, though, is that they are everywhere. All around us - yes, in a lovely Victorian house open to neighbours and tea parties - is a compaction of horror that people refuse to see. That is what I was exploring in the ‘The Shadow Babies’. In all three pieces, I am using gothic to satirise, for sati

We'll be celebrating the launch of The Shadow Booth: Vol. 2 on Thursday 5 July, with an evening of readings, conversation, and maybe a drink or two! This is a FREE event, but space is limited so please mark yourself as attending on our Facebook event page to guarantee entry. Reading on the night will be: ALIYA WHITELEY - author of The Beauty and The Arrival of Missives , whose story 'Ear to Ear' appears in Vol. 2 DANIEL CARPENTER - whose story 'Flotsam', from Vol. 1, was recently selected for this year's volume of The Year's Best Weird Fiction GEORGE SANDISON - publisher, editor, and all-round deity at Unsung Stories, whose story 'Keel' appears in Vol. 2 Readings will start at 7.30pm, so please make sure you're at the venue in plenty of time. The event will take place in The Scullery, the private room at Old Marys, 24 Craven Terrace, Lancaster Gate, London. Closest Tube is Lancaster Gate. Just a reminder - we have a l