S.P. Oldham's Blog, page 19

Advent Calendar List Open!

Add your name below to be included in the random daily draw for my Advent Calendar! Names may only be added once, duplicates will be removed. Names added after midnight November 30th will not be counted. Good luck!

Name * First Name Last Name Email * Thank you!

Halloween 2021 Free Read is up!

If you would like to read my Halloween 2021 freebie ghostly poem, click the link: The Ragged Rover Inn

That’s it! Happy Halloween, stay safe and enjoy!

Mega 99p/99c Book Bonanza on Written Undead (Facebook)

Sorry if you missed the Mega sale. These books are all still available on Amazon at great prices, so it’s not too late to treat yourself.

Look out for another treat next Halloween from your Written Undead writers!

Hag Breath - Witches for Halloween

If you can't have witches at Halloween, when can you have them?

Inspired by a building local to me, one that I pass by almost every day, the Ice House in the grounds of Bedwellty Park. Hope you enjoy the extract from 'Ice House Belle.'

"

‘The Ice House Bell is of ancient origin. Upon clearing the land in preparation for building the manor, the peasants were evicted with little notice and no compensation. A wise woman who lived amongst them advised the new owners to keep the bell safe. It hangs from a plinth over the doorway to a strongly built stone hut.

When it was remarked that the cost of erecting such a building must have been beyond the reach of the peasants, the wise woman simply shrugged and said, ‘They did not build it.’

She advised the gentlemen there gathered that should the bell ever sound, they should act to appease the witch who lived there. Only when she was disturbed would she demand recompense, in the form of a new recruit to her coven. The price was always the same; a young woman, still pure and untouched. The bell would ring until the debt was paid.’

Hag's Breath on Amazon UK

Hag's Breath on Amazon US

Review - The Last Person Who Called Me Sweet Pea Ended Up Dead by C J Skuse.

When I first picked up this book I thought it wouldn't be my kind of read. it started out as what I think of as a 'magazine/chick-lit' read which really is not for me. However, something made me stick with it, and I am very glad I did!

This book is great! Very clever, coarse at times, even vulgar. Rude, inventive and at times laugh out loud funny. Who would have thought that reading the inner workings of a psychopathic woman's mind could be so entertaining? I love the kill lists posted at the head of every chapter and the reasons these people have a target painted on their foreheads (so to speak.)

I love how she descends further and further into her own insanity, how her actions begin to close in on her and she puts herself in a VERY tricky situation at the end.

What is subtly done and very impressive as far as I am concerned, is the insights we get into the disparity between the sane (ish) Rhiannon who wants to fit in, who knows that genuine empathy, sympathy and feelings are beyond her, and the crazy, violent, intolerant, selfish Rhiannon who takes very real, sometimes reckless, steps to keep this darker side of her personality satisfied.

We learn about the horrific events of her childhood and of the savage man who was her father, but even this element of the story is not what you might expect it to be. These factors definitely contribute to Rhiannon's state of mind. She knows that. She owns it.

Brilliantly witty, extremely clever, overtly sexual at times, shockingly brutal, this is a unique read, one that is not afraid to be a bit different. Great read. Highly recommended!

Heads up for bucket loads of bad language. If you are easily offended this is not the book for you.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

A - Z of Horror - Red Cape Publishing

Thank you to Red Cape Publishing for including my story from the anthology ‘E is for Exorcism.’ You can read ‘A Grave Mistake’ if you click the link. Loads of horror content to be found in these anthologies, which are an ongoing venture by Peter Blakey-Novis and Leanne Blakey-Novis who together are Red Cape Publishing. Worth keeping your eye on this publisher!

A Grave Mistake by S P Oldham on Red Cape Publishing

E is for Exorcism is available for Kindle, in paperback, and on Audible here

The Squirrel and the Pumpkin

My sister Wendy Mitchell is a keen amateur wildlife photographer. As you know, I love to play with words. It is becoming a tradition for us to produce a calendar together every year, if and when we can. Last year's had a few problems but that aside, I hope you enjoy this little seasonal offering.

Wendy took the photo, I wrote the words. Enjoy x

Could there be a scarier scene,

To hail the month of Halloween?

Can there be any dastardly deeds

To match a squirrel, stealing seeds?

Or is it just, perhaps, preparing?

Nothing at all to do with scaring?

Could squirrel merely be stockpiling?

As for Pumpkin; well, it is smiling…

Halloween Display

Just a photo I took years ago on a cruise ship. We went on a mini cruise - they call it a ‘taster’ for four nights. It was great, the food was amazing and plentiful and I was really impressed with the Halloween displays they put on. Hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween.

Coin Trees or Wish Trees, Portmeirion

Since I had to delete my old account (formerly known as So Lost in Words, now S P Oldham, Author) I am sharing some of the content here that I had on my old blog, simply because I think it is interesting.

We went on holiday earlier this year. While we were away we paid a visit to Portmeirion, where we came across an old tree stump, full of coins that had been buried in it. This intrigued me as I had never seen it before, so I made a point of researching it when we got home. Below is the post I wrote as a result

One of the coin trees we found in the woodland walk area of Portmeirion.

As a friend suggested to me, I might well end up having a go at a short, scary story based on this piece of historical folklore. (Photographs are mine. Feel free to use them but please quote either S P Oldham or solostinwords.com if you do. Thank you.)

Some of the mysterious 'wish trees' in Portmeirion. Apparently there are seven (we found three or four) and there are others like these in other places. I have never seen this before. "...coin-covered trees (date) back to the 1700s, when they were apparently used as wishing trees. People believed that a person suffering from an illness could hammer a coin into a tree trunks and the tree would take the illness away, but if someone removed the coin, they themselves would become ill. Whether some folks still believe this legend, or they do it simply because it’s fun is still a mystery, but the fact is this bizarre habit has spawned some pretty unbelievable sights that apparently unique to the UK" Quote from Oddity-Central, the article is here: https://www.odditycentral.com/.../britains-mysterious...

#folklore#dark dark folklore fairy tales dark fiction myths and legends folklore witches devil ghosts#wish tree#portmeirion#dark fiction#short story ideas

Thank you for your patience.

Please bear with me while I slowly but surely build the site. I have loads of content that I want to share with you, which I hope you will enjoy. I also run frequent competitions (more about that later) and other stuff both horror and non-horror related.

Got a (polite and appropriate) suggestion? A question? A comment? Get in touch, I love to interact with readers.

Back with more soon.