"All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered."

― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

#Spooktober 15: The Dark Power

At the end of September, we have taken a look at the monster as a basic plot device: the existence of great evil is revealed to us (and to the hero), and the hero sets off to vanquish it.

Following that trope, we take a look at circular vs. linear patterns and at the different kinds of “Dark Figures”, since we’re in the middle of the Spooky Season, and let’s see what happens when we step out of the metaphor and we don’t have a literal Big Bad Wolf, a literal Witch or a literal Troll to spell it out for us.
Advent Calendar

Sabine Baring-Gould — A Christmas Tree

Tom Mountstephen was dressed in his very best—a black coat, a tie of blue satin studded with veritable planets, and in it a new zodiacal sign—a fox in full career, that formed the head of a pin. Tom’s collar was so stiffly starched and so

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December 14, 2025 1:00 am
Advent Calendar

Marjorie Bowen — Raw Material

Linley was fond of collecting what he called “raw material” and, as a fairly successful barrister, he had good opportunity for doing so. He despised novelists and romancists, yet one day he hoped to become one of these gentry himself, hence his collection of the

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December 13, 2025 9:00 am
books and literature

Return from the Stars

Though I think I get what Lem was trying to do with this novel, I also understand the many people whose reaction has been “what the fuck did I just read?” The novel is about alienation, social estrangement, post-traumatic stress and culture shock, which are

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December 12, 2025 9:00 am
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RELATED POSTS

Sabine Baring-Gould — A Christmas Tree

December 14, 2025

Tom Mountstephen was dressed in his very best—a black coat, a tie of blue satin studded with veritable planets, and in it a new zodiacal sign—a fox in full career, that formed the head of a pin. Tom’s collar was so stiffly starched and so

Read More

Marjorie Bowen — Raw Material

December 13, 2025

Linley was fond of collecting what he called “raw material” and, as a fairly successful barrister, he had good opportunity for doing so. He despised novelists and romancists, yet one day he hoped to become one of these gentry himself, hence his collection of the

Read More

Return from the Stars

December 12, 2025

Though I think I get what Lem was trying to do with this novel, I also understand the many people whose reaction has been “what the fuck did I just read?” The novel is about alienation, social estrangement, post-traumatic stress and culture shock, which are

Read More