tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11792114391680717662024-03-16T01:09:25.828+00:00Catherine CavendishWriterCatherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.comBlogger164125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-85994439918143549012024-02-12T00:30:00.002+00:002024-02-23T13:45:29.423+00:00Oscar, Dorian and The Canterville GhostBack when I couldn't have been more than ten years old, I saved up my pocket money and bought a paperback called, Mystery and Imagination, containing the stories dramatised in the TV series of the same name. Naturally, I was far too young to be allowed to stay up late and watch that, so I eagerly devoured the wonderful short stories of the likes of Sheridan le Fanu, my soon-to-be-hero M.R. James,Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-27559843959300651712024-01-23T13:26:00.003+00:002024-02-07T14:36:32.575+00:00Jamie's Dream Today, I'm sharing a short - but, literally, chilling - tale of a young man's worst nightmare...Last night, I dreamed I was frozen. Quite literally, frozen. Like most dreams, it seemed to have no beginning or end. Just a middle. I work in a cash and carry and I dreamed I’d gone into the walk-in freezer to top up the frozen mince. My daily task finished, I was all Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-84229691900863457972024-01-10T00:30:00.032+00:002024-01-20T15:18:30.613+00:00Lilith the Demon DivaAs any writer of horror stories knows, nothing beats a good demon. And
there are plenty to choose from, drawn from every religious tradition known to
mankind. Of course, picking your demon carries with it a responsibility of a
similar nature to that held by a writer of historical fiction. While you can
bend history, distort it, and use a modicum of poetic licence, no historical
fiction writer Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-17086970897008151182024-01-03T00:30:00.007+00:002024-01-10T17:20:18.968+00:00M.R. James - Master of the Ghost Story I am often asked whose influence has had the
greatest impact on my writing. This is a difficult question because, over the
years, so many great authors have impacted me, and overtly or subliminally, my writing has been influenced by them in one way or another.
One of the earliest of these was undoubtedly the
master British ghost story writer, M.R. James.
Montague Rhodes James was born on Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-8743610467758891262023-12-11T15:04:00.002+00:002024-01-10T17:21:04.464+00:00Evil Runs Deep In Mordenhyrst Hall... Wiltshire, England, 1928. When Grace Sutcliffe first sets eyes on the imposing Gothic edifice of Mordenhyrst Hall, she is struck with an overwhelming sense that something doesn’t want her there. Within hours of arriving. her fears are realized. Her future as the new Lady Mordenhyrst is threatened on all sides. Her fiancé’s sister heads a coterie of Bright Young Things whose seemingly Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-52572083356058505192023-11-13T00:30:00.012+00:002023-11-13T14:44:36.782+00:00Slipping Into The Past Ever had the feeling time was playing tricks on you? Perhaps you have visited somewhere for the first time - only to find you knew your way around because somehow, somewhere in the deepest recesses of your brain you had the distinct impression you had been there before. Or maybe, even stranger, you have suddenly had a sense of being out of time in some way. As if everything had taken aCatherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-59877465614146972412023-10-29T00:30:00.002+01:002023-11-08T12:21:46.846+00:00Mother Shipton - The Nostradamus of KnaresboroughIn Halloween season, or so it is said, witches take to their broomsticks and fly... Covens meet and dance around fires naked as nature intended on the great pagan feast of Samhain.Well, who am I to say they don't? But truth to tell, an awful lot of people - usually women - suffered extremes of torture and agonizing deaths thanks to superstition, ignorance and, maybe even worse, old scores to Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-21822071751339583152023-10-20T00:30:00.020+01:002023-11-08T12:22:26.723+00:00The Orkney WitchFeatured in my new fiction collection, The Crow Witch and Other Conjurings, The Malan
Witch concerns a haunting by two of the most evil witches you could ever wish
to encounter. They were burned at the stake for heresy during a time when
witch-hunts were in full swing, thanks in no small part to the activities and
beliefs of the then King, James VI of Scotland, who later became James I of
EnglandCatherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-42668236252146904522023-10-13T00:30:00.075+01:002023-10-13T15:29:58.180+01:00The Real Witches of North Berwick In my fiction collection – The Crow Witch and Other Conjurings – my story, The Malan Witch – takes place in a remote corner of England and features some of the most evil long-dead witches you could ever (not) wish to meet. But in reality, most accused of witchcraft were actually ‘wise women’, condemned because of fear, ignorance or because they had managed to upset one of their neighbours Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-3973398931477088852023-10-06T15:41:00.002+01:002023-10-15T14:32:14.837+01:00Dark Avenging Angel - My Writing Catharsis I am delighted to announce that Dark Avenging Angel is now out in paperback! Thanks to the lovely people at Crossroad Press, I can, for the first time, hold this short novel in my hand and flip the actual pages. Result!Dark Avenging Angel has had a bit of a history actually. In terms of publication, it started off at Samhain Press, and then migrated to Crossroad Press a few yearsCatherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-20839663022699486882023-08-24T15:04:00.002+01:002023-08-24T15:04:24.553+01:00The Ghosts of Baker StreetSay the name ‘’Baker Street’ to most people and their immediate thoughts will turn to Sherlock Holmes, the seemingly infallible detective of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s extraordinary (if occasionally flawed) imagination. Ask them to name anything else connected with this street and many (including me) will mention the haunting and poignant autobiographical song by Gerry Rafferty.Baker Street is in Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-10886164991064517692023-07-13T15:25:00.012+01:002023-08-11T16:43:11.750+01:00The After-Death of Caroline Rand - Out Now! At a weekend house party at ancient Canonbury Manor, Alli is caught between fantasy and reality, past and present, in the life of Caroline Rand, a famous singer from the late Sixties, who reportedly killed herself in that house. Alli soon learns that evil infests the once-holy building. A sinister cabal controls it, as it has for centuries. Before long, her fate will be sealed, and Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-55918861118923126222023-07-09T16:55:00.000+01:002023-07-09T16:55:14.174+01:00The Wickedest Man's Wicked HouseDo you believe that buildings have the
power to retain the imprints of past events that took place within their walls?
It’s a theme I have explored on a number of occasions – including in my latest
novel, The After-Death of Caroline Rand. Canonbury Manor is a prime
candidate for one such house. and, while that is fictional, the one I am
talking about here is entirely real and was once owned by Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-52681740944507874872023-04-06T15:13:00.003+01:002023-04-06T15:13:28.680+01:00Diabolus ex MachinaIn Damned by the Ancients (part of the Nemesis of the Gods trilogy), a
child’s doll becomes possessed and, indeed, there are many well-documented cases
of toys and furniture seeming to have been appropriated by dark forces.These days, though, the devil has added technology to his arsenal. You’ve
probably heard the phrase ‘Deus ex machina’ (‘God from the machine). Well here
is the evil Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-40257054712140066692023-02-15T00:30:00.015+00:002023-02-15T00:30:00.226+00:00The Curse and Miracle of Gleichenberg CastleI have set a large part of Nemesis of the Gods in Vienna, Austria where many ghosts and restless spirits walk among the verdant parks and lavish palaces. But Austrian ghosts do not confine themselves to their nation’s imperial capital. They can be found in towns, cities, villages and the depths of the countryside all over this beautiful land.
Deep
in the heart of the picturesque province of Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-88005896472561982312023-01-25T13:46:00.001+00:002023-02-26T14:10:00.991+00:00The Viennese Way of Death “Only in Vienna…” If I had a penny for every time I have heard
that expression, I would be living in splendour right now. Weird House Press has just released my trilogy – Nemesis of the Gods.
For the first time, all three novels – Wrath of the Ancients, Waking the
Ancients and Damned by the Ancients – are together in one volume.
Centreing on the sinister archaeologist Dr. Emeryk Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-24466769005124966202022-12-23T14:47:00.003+00:002022-12-28T13:15:44.903+00:00Living with Ghosts, and Other Dark ObservationsAt this time of the year, what better than a ghost story? It's a tradition, isn't it? And how much better when that ghost story happens to be true?I have often been asked (understandably, given the nature of what I write) if I believe in ghosts. I answer, ‘yes’. The next question is invariably. ‘Have you ever seen one?’ Again, ‘yes’ is my response. People want details. I tell them, but, of courseCatherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-69603288067197299312022-10-18T00:30:00.010+01:002022-12-04T13:05:50.781+00:00The Crow Witch is Here - and She's Brought a Few Friends“Each story
sucked me in immediately and I just couldn’t stop reading until the end. So be
careful if you’re prone to telling yourself you’ll read just one more page…” – Erica
Robyn Reads"This collection is perfect for an evening as you await the witching hour or a banging on your door. Full of tricks but in itself a treat of good supernatural horror. Highly recommended for the season of the Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-85625375837424936022022-10-10T00:30:00.027+01:002022-10-29T14:01:39.510+01:00The Secrets of Wewelsburg Castle My new
novel, Dark Observation, centres on the occult and contains references
to some sinister beliefs that found favour with the Nazis during some of the
darkest days of the twentieth century. Indeed it could be said to be cursed with the horrors its walls have witnessed.
The
unique and imposing triangular Wewelsburg Castle built in Renaissance style
between 1603 and 1609 was Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-68078877770786775872022-09-13T14:02:00.006+01:002022-09-13T14:02:41.920+01:00"Have You Always Written Horror?"People ask me if I have always written horror – or dark fiction if you prefer. The simple answer is ‘no’. In fact, over the years, I have written stories for children (the still unpublished The Adventures of Henry the Toad and All His Friends springs to mind) and light romantic fiction (until I got so fed up with the wimpy heroine that I left her stuck in a lift/elevator from where she hasn’t Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-54901162666753867972022-07-30T00:30:00.002+01:002022-09-06T13:13:34.583+01:00The Cult of the Vril In my latest novel, Dark Observation, my character Heather learns of a secret organisation that thrived in
Nazi Germany. Known as the Vril Society, this all-too-real, strange, and sinister
group had its foundations in, of all things, a novel called The Coming Race
penned by British author, Edward Bulwer Lytton and published in 1871. In his
story, Lytton writes of a race of super-beingsCatherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-18272676467748074892022-07-11T00:30:00.004+01:002022-08-19T16:11:18.226+01:00The Woman Who Inspired Me To WriteDoris Buttery When I was a little girl and, okay, I'll say it first, that was a long time ago, one of my enduring memories is of my mother sitting at the dining room table, her pencil sharpened and busy as she transcribed memories of her childhood onto sheets of lined foolscap paper. These were her happy years, spent simply, living in a small rural village called Elford, in Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-11613166538000171472022-05-09T00:30:00.001+01:002022-05-09T00:30:00.238+01:00Dark Observation Eligos is waiting… fulfil your destiny1941. Typist Vi Harrington works in the subterranean, top-secret Cabinet War Rooms, where Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes the key decisions that will dictate Britain’s conduct of the war. Above, the people of London go about their daily business, unaware of the life that teems beneath their feet.Night after night the bombs rain down, yet, in thatCatherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-83506707607712437232022-02-28T00:30:00.005+00:002022-03-19T15:26:15.839+00:00The Unexpected Woman in HorrorI recently had an interesting and fun chat with a group of fellow female authors (we share a mutual publisher) about the whole subject of women in horror. Perhaps not surprisingly there was a lot of common ground between us. Why aren't there more women horror writers? What can we do to attract more of them? Over half an hour, we debated the subject from many different angles. One conclusion we Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1179211439168071766.post-32559598221505273322022-02-23T00:30:00.054+00:002022-02-23T13:30:45.441+00:00The Haunting of Henderson Close - only 99c! But Hurry - This Week Only In the depths of Edinburgh's Old Town, an evil presence is released. Who is the mysterious figure that disappears around a corner? What is happening in the old print shop? And who is the little girl with no face? The legends of Henderson Close are becoming all too real. "In this atmospheric novel, Cavendish tells what happens when tour guides go from telling dark and Catherine Cavendishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17449903323633317080noreply@blogger.com0