WHISPERS OF WITCHERY:
EXPLORING WRITTEN RECORDS OF
WITCH AND WITCH HUNTER FOLKTALES
Usually, the projects in the RESEARCH section of this site have grown into a book or two — or they’ve grown from one of my books. This didn’t happen with Whispers of Witchery, but it was a fun look at transcriptions of British, American, and Slavic folktales.
TALES TOLD WHEN
THE WINDOWS RATTLE
Tales Told When the Windows Rattle resparks the centuries-old tradition of telling tantalizing tales ’round a crackling fire during nasty weather. The program features thrilling yet unsettling works by Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Catherine Crowe, Algernon Blackwood, and other authors from the 1800s and early 1900s — along with a few much newer tales.
This is primarily designed as a YouTube series, one that lets you to listen to a story while gazing at a cozy fire inside and checking on the inclement weather outside. Click here for that experience. If you’d prefer an audio-only version, visit Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
FRIENDS OF RESPARKING INTEREST
IN GHOSTLY HEARTHSIDE TALES
(F.R.I.G.H.T.)
The same tradition that underlies Tales Told When the Windows Rattle is explored at my other website: F.R.I.G.H.T. There, you can learn about the surprisingly long history of the custom and discover ways to give it new life. There’s also a growing NEWS section that features media befitting the Friends’ mission.
CHARTING CROCKER LAND
Charting Crocker Land was a pet project. I’m intrigued by polar voyages in general, but Robert Peary’s 1907 claim to have glimpsed an Arctic island he called Crocker Land especially holds my interest. Crocker Land drew a lot of attention and discussion, it appeared on maps, and a major expedition was launched to determine if it was real or not. It proved to not actually exist. This raises several questions. What made the word of one man so persuasive? Was Peary seeing things — or was he lying? How does Crocker Land fit with centuries of imagining land at the North Pole and with multiple cases of Arctic mirages? I grapple with these questions and more.
OLD PHANTOMS
WITH NEW CAPTIONS
Old Phantoms with New Captions is made up of my made-up captions for ghost story illustrations I’ve found in old magazines and books. This project depends upon me stumbling across these illustrations, and they’re pretty rare. But — who knows? — if you don’t find a new addition, maybe you’ll chuckle again at the old phantoms!
BROM BONES BOOKS 