We really do need to discuss Bledbrooke Town and the surrounding areas.
Some places. Dear me, some places. They simply don’t feel …right. Do they?
There might not be anything specific. Or even that obvious. We’re not talking blood in the gutters and body parts strewn on streets. Good grief, no. The feeling is fuzzier, far more ambiguous. But it’s there. That sense of disquiet without necessarily any clear reason for the disquiet. Threat with no apparent threat in sight.
Is there a somehow strange smell to the air? A hint of fragrance which feels foreign and unpleasant, almost otherworldly. Or is it the sky which makes you itch to be gone? That brooding and moody quality which defies weather forecast or logic. And do the people seem rather odd? Are you just imagining a suggestion of suspicion in they way they regard you. Suspicion that could easily morph into hostility.
It’s hard to put your finger on a precise reason. The discomfort remains all the same.
Bledbrooke is one of those places.
Places
There’s no room for doubt, place is important. And of course, Bledbrooke doesn’t exist in a vacuum. There are many other delightfully troubling locations within the page of these books.
Burntbridge, the next town down the line from Bledbrooke, is a good example. Oh yes, Burntbridge is another superficially non-descript yet deeply disturbing little locality. Well worth a literary visit.
Then, there’s Ashton and Whitewood Heath in Bad Pennies. Both are darkly wonderful destinations that offer the weary reader a little distraction from the mundane. These inner cityscapes echo with things ancient and awful. Things beyond the crumbling slum and vicious hoodlum.
Bledbrooke Stories
Bledbrooke Tales on Social Media
Many short Bledbrooke Tales have appeared on social media. These little snippets of Bledbrooke folklore hint at the many stories which are still to be published. For instance, the Seize Tree which features in the Strowg vampiric horror story popped up twice on a Twitter (X) post before the book was published.
Seize Tree
“Locals call it the Seize Tree …it’s said to be furred with souls claimed by the beast beneath the streets”
“the trunk of the Seize Tree is said to be furred with human skin, the remains of those offered as sacrifice to the beast below – a practice of the past which has thankfully died out …well, certainly become far less common”
It’s entirely possible that fleshed out, if you’ll excuse the phrase, versions of these tales will one day be published in a collection.
Here are a few more examples.
Vermyn’s Oak (appears in Strowg)
“An unsigned piece which hangs in Bledbrooke Town’s museum. The subject, of course, is the mythical Vermyn’s Oak.
As an aside, it’s rumoured the maroon smear is blood shed by the artist as she was engulfed by diabolical rodents”
Cenet Chase (Bledbrooke Works)
“This triangular road sign on the edge of Cenet Chase is often ignored by tourists – they don’t understand the strange symbols on it.
Locals know them for what they are …a warning to exercise great caution upon entering eerie ground”
Cindrhoul
“there are many folklore creatures peculiar to this particular region – take the Cindrhoul, undead beings said to crawl the shores of Cinderlake …and drag unsuspecting individuals below into the bowels of the earth”
Odious Cabinet of Bradley Stroat
“Largely forgotten, the Odious Cabinet of Bradley Stroat now gathers cobwebs in the basement of the town museum. Discovered after his disappearance in 1937, it contains severed fingers …thought to be mementos of a lifetime’s devotion to dark arts”
Higgurd Estate
“Scanter & Sons are the oldest known coffin maker in England – established in 1729, their hand-crafted caskets are said to be made from a species of Oak only found on the Higgurd estate near Cenet Chase”
Bledbrooke Women’s Guild of Knowing
“Founded in 1935 by Shirley Lotterby, the Bledbrooke Women’s Guild of Knowing embraces all forms of study including modern science …although it has to be said, a great deal of their time is occupied by matters of a darker, more arcane nature“
The Greedy Eel (Bledbrooke Works & Strowg)
“It takes a late hour and a fair few pints in the Greedy Eel before the sewerage works crew will talk of the strange creatures crawling the subterranean labyrinth below Bledbrooke ..such awful realities seem best viewed through the bottom of a glass”
Esolt Woods (Bledbrooke Works & Strowg)
“some will tell you there’s magic in Esolt Wood – spots where the season stalls, snow on the ground then suddenly autumn beneath your feet and twisting in the trees overhead …others will agree and mutter that it’s dark and dangerous magic”
Esolt River
“the Esolt River rarely freezes even when temperatures plummet – if pressed, locals will tell you there are things in that water which keep it warmer than any river should be in the depths of winter …bad things”
