Shipping Update: All orders placed between December 23 and January 2 will be shipped the first week of the new year.

A Night of Ghostly Tales: Recently, I was fortunate enough to gather with friends around a fire on a cool autumn evening. Through the crosshatch of trees, faint stars glistened in a cosmic tapestry whilst the scent of strong tobacco quickened the air. Cwrw dda, that is “good beer,” warmed our bodies. We had convened to this peaceful scene, a dozen or so of us, for the purpose of camaraderie and the reading of stories… ghost stories. More.

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NEW POETRY

Wide—Wide by Joshua Alan Sturgill

The Pilgrimage, Book II: Part 24 by Phillip Neal Tippin

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THE WEEKLY MACHEN

The Way Out: Little Willy has a fond father and a doting mother and plenty of cake and jam; but there is a void in his heart that can only be filled by that fantastic figure of Punch; by those strange miracle-plays in wood, where monkeys drive geese, and horses of wonderland obey the whip of fierce though humorous black oats. To us these queer figures are queer figures and nothing more; to the child they are symbols and sacraments.

12th Annual Eighth Day Feast of the Nativity
Friday, December 30, 2022 – 6pm

Join the Eighth Day Institute Today.

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NEW POETRY

There Was No Beginning by Joshua Alan Sturgill

The Pilgrimage, Book II: Part 23 by Phillip Neal Tippin

Let Him Have Dominion by Rafael Pereira Bianchin

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THE MACHEN WEEKLY

What Is “The Book of the Year”?: So two theologians—Anglican and Roman—a playwright and an all-around man of letters, are agreed that the past year has given us nothing of the highest value in literature. They do not exactly say, after the manner of Titus, the delight of the human race: “Friends, we have lost a year!” but, if we may translate their answers into terms of prophecy, they are clear that in 2011—to say nothing of 3011—no book of this present year will shine aureoled and hallowed, a possession for ever.

MACHEN STUDY NO. 42

Dale Nelson provides a book review of Mist and Mystery: “Darkly Bright just issued Mist and Mystery, a new book of century-old pieces taken from nearly 20 years of T. P.’s Weekly. Most of the items have never been reprinted.”

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No One Knows The Hour: a short prose work by Joshua Alan Sturgill

The Pilgrimage, Book II: Part 22 by Phillip Neal Tippin

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THE WEEKLY MACHEN

My Book Shelf: To read “Tales from Ariosto” after a good deal of modern stuff in fiction is to pass from the asphalt courtyard of the Model Dwellings to the old enchanted forests; to breathe the winds of perilous faery seas in place of the stifling city air.

In about 100 words, Dale Nelson gives us a seasonally appropriate short, short story.

World of Spirits
By Dale Nelson

The first spirit showed him himself as a boy absorbed by Pac-Man.  He didn’t want to go outside and play.  The second spirit showed him his present-day self, hunched over in his cubicle.  Olivia walked sadly past him.  The third spirit showed mourners glancing at their smartphones as a coffin was lowered.

“Must these things be?” he cried to the mute and terrible form. 

He woke.  Snow-light shone up into his bedroom.  He leaped out of bed and flung up his window.

“Merry Christmas!” he cried to the street where no one passed.  They were all inside with their devices.

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Copyright 2022 by Dale Nelson. All rights reserved.

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NEW POETRY

Inherence / Repercussion by Joshua Alan Sturgill

The Pilgrimage, Book II: Part 21 by Phillip Neal Tippin

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THE WEEKLY MACHEN

What Pays In Coventry: And in the heart of the town, high on the hill, there are two great churches in a kind of close, within a few yards of one another. The larger is cathedral-like in its it proportions—I believe it has of late become—a cathedral—and each church sends up a noble spire, the flame of the old devotion and adoration aspiring upward: for in those days the very stones changed their natural substance and became fire and light.

Darkly Bright Press is pleased to announce the upcoming publication of Chasing the Burr, the first full-length collection by poet Bryn Homuth. Presenting nuanced and subtle theological imagery, Homuth’s work focuses on the themes of life, death and memory. The poet beautifully positions family, community and labor as foundational cornerstones for a traditional and hierarchical understanding of creation. More details to follow in the coming weeks.

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NEW POETRY

Theotokion by Joshua Alan Sturgill

The Pilgrimage, Book II: Part 20 by Phillip Neal Tippin

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THE WEEKLY MACHEN

Joy for Belgian Children: They are overwhelmed with misery; let us do what we can to render their estate less unhappy. Sorrow has come to these children without a country, but the season of peace and goodwill draws on and draws near in the midst of the wild war; let us make an offering of peace and good will to the little exiles, and show them, even in those sad days, something of the meaning of “A Merry Christmas.”

After selling out at the Inklings Festival in October, Joshua Alan Sturgill’s new poetry collection is now available for purchase. Now A Major Motion Picture is a poetical tour de force which contemplates word and image in a book of changes.

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NEW POETRY

Patience by Joshua Alan Sturgill

The Pilgrimage, Book II: Part 19 by Phillip Neal Tippin

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THE WEEKLY MACHEN

Journal of the Lonely Soldier: Though we have by no means been a super-spiritual nation in these later years, we have cherished a sort of affectation of spirituality. We have pretended that good meats and drinks are unworthy, trifling things, beneath our condescension. That may be good gospel for ghosts, but it is of no service for men …

AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE:

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
by Joshua Alan Sturgill

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Recently, Richard W. Rohlin announced the development of a table-top game based on his fictional work. The basis of this project is sourced from The World Under Starlight, a large collection of Rohlin’s writings which also provided the material for Akboritha. Crowdfunding for the project will begin in 2023.

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NEW POETRY

What I Think When I Think Of The Moon by Joshua Alan Sturgill

The Pilgrimage, Book II: Part 18 by Phillip Neal Tippin

Graveside by Fr. Gabriel Rochelle

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THE WEEKLY MACHEN

My Visit to the “Trenches”: I followed him with some anxiety. We went out into a street, where the houses seemed standing firmly, safe, and secure; and then he suddenly and hastily dived up a narrow alley. Then we dodged into a house that had been badly knocked about by a German shell, and peered out cautiously; and there were the trenches.

MACHEN STUDIES

This week, we offer an article excerpted from the new collection, Mist and Mystery, in which Machen reviews a supernatural novel by Fr. R. H. Benson.

I should think that the author has mingled a good deal in the circles which hover about the foolish and forbidden and dangerous thing called “occult science.”

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NEW POETRY

Who Are Awake by Joshua Alan Sturgill

The Pilgrimage, Book II: Part 17 by Phillip Neal Tippin

Norse Triptych by Benjamin Rozonoyer

Jesse K. Butler has published a new poem: Too Much Morningtime. Congratulations!

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THE WEEKLY MACHEN

The Pitiful Army: Here stuck out one boot with a ravel of string pretending to keep it in position. Here was an enamelled saucepan; another jolt and it would drop loose. And here were lace curtains, torn from some once cheerful window and huddled in with all the rest. And the homes where all these poor belongings once had their place are now ruins, with the marks of blood and fire upon them.

At the 2022 Inklings Festival, I gave a brief talk entitled Publishing for the Moral Imagination. Its goal is to provide an apologetic for Darkly Bright Press and discuss how the most recent publications fulfill the mission.

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Akboritha by Richard W. Rohlin

Mist and Mystery: Recovered Stories and Essays by Arthur Machen

Now A Major Motion Picture by Joshua Alan Sturgill is currently out of stock. Some copies may be available from Eighth Day Books.

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NEW POETRY

Where (Not) To Look by Joshua Alan Sturgill

The Pilgrimage, Book II: Part 16 by Phillip Neal Tippin

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GHOST STORIES

Man-Size in Marble by E. Nesbit: An ancient horror haunts a young married couple.

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THE WEEKLY MACHEN

The Joy of London II: The boy reads of swords, and perhaps has a toy sword as a plaything, a “sword” becomes to him almost a symbol and a sacrament, something; splendid and terrific and vague like “Bagdad” and “Rome” and “martyr.” He comes up to London and sees the Guards at Whitewall; awful figures, all shining and scarlet, with actual drawn swords in their hands, glittering, and terrible, and eloquent of sudden death. And faith is realised, and more than realised.

Books, Beer and Friendship… Once again, the Eighth Day Institute presented a wonderful weekend for lovers of literature at the Inklings Octoberfest. This year, Dr. Geoffrey Reiter and Richard W. Rohlin provided insightful lectures on George MacDonald and the changing intellectual and spiritual landscape of his time. In addition to discussing this important author, the festival was an opportunity for friends to gather and enjoy community.

This type of experience cannot be recommended strenuously enough. It is a balm to weary souls in a noisy and chaotic world. Consider joining.

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At this year’s event, Darkly Bright Press released three books.

Akboritha by Richard W. Rohlin: The second impression is now available.

Mist and Mystery: Recovered Stories and Essays by Arthur Machen

Now A Major Motion Picture, the second poetry collection by Joshua Alan Sturgill is already out of stock. A new production run will be printed in the coming weeks. Likewise, his first collection, As Far As I Can Tell, is also temporarily out of stock. Some copies of both collections may still be available from Eighth Day Books.

Additionally, both A Secret Language and Dreamt in Fire by Arthur Machen are now Out of Print. Again, the few remaining copies may still be found at Eighth Day Books.