Strange Epiphanies
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- Author：Peter Bell
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Summary
"A Midsummer Ramble in the Carpathians" was long-listed for Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year 2012！
"。。。man is made a mystery for mysteries and visions。。。" — Arthur Machen
A mentally disturbed woman is entrapped in Beltane rituals in the Cumbrian fells; a widower mourning his wife falls beneath the mystic allure of Iona; a quest to the Italian Apennines brings a lonely man to a dread Marian revelation; an alcoholic on a Scottish isle is haunted by a deceased chronicler of local legend; in a small German town a sinister doll discloses truths about a murky family tragedy; an unknown journal by a Victorian travel-writer sends a woman on a grim odyssey to Transylvania; in a childhood holiday paradise a man encounters a demented artist's terrifying legacy。 The protagonists in Peter Bell's stories confront the awesome， the numinous， the uncanny， the lure of genius loci， and landscapes undergoing strange epiphanies。
Contents
Introduction by Brian J。 Showers
Resurrection
M。 E。 F。
The Light of the World
An American Writer's Cottage
Inheritance
A Midsummer Ramble in the Carpathians
Nostalgia， Death and Melancholy
Afterword: Marie Emily Fornario — A Historical Note
Acknowledgements
"。。。man is made a mystery for mysteries and visions。。。" — Arthur Machen
A mentally disturbed woman is entrapped in Beltane rituals in the Cumbrian fells; a widower mourning his wife falls beneath the mystic allure of Iona; a quest to the Italian Apennines brings a lonely man to a dread Marian revelation; an alcoholic on a Scottish isle is haunted by a deceased chronicler of local legend; in a small German town a sinister doll discloses truths about a murky family tragedy; an unknown journal by a Victorian travel-writer sends a woman on a grim odyssey to Transylvania; in a childhood holiday paradise a man encounters a demented artist's terrifying legacy。 The protagonists in Peter Bell's stories confront the awesome， the numinous， the uncanny， the lure of genius loci， and landscapes undergoing strange epiphanies。
Contents
Introduction by Brian J。 Showers
Resurrection
M。 E。 F。
The Light of the World
An American Writer's Cottage
Inheritance
A Midsummer Ramble in the Carpathians
Nostalgia， Death and Melancholy
Afterword: Marie Emily Fornario — A Historical Note
Acknowledgements
Reviews
Des Lewis
，
Like many of the stories， the plot ends with a frightening， sinister danger impending and possibly winning out。 But equally there is a comfort here。 The comfort of the sinister in literature。 A wonderful book。 The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here。Above is one of its observations at the time of the review。
Patrick。G。P
，
The stories in Strange Epiphanies are steeped in melancholy and isolation， with characters often suffer from depression or a lingering sadness， who seems drawn to isolated places with a mystic aura over them。 Through this brooding loneliness and melancholy， Bell has an incredible sense of place in his prose， with locations that enhance the somber and strange mood of his tales。 From a forlorn island in Scotland to the deep， wolf-haunted woods of the Carpathians， these locations often feels like t The stories in Strange Epiphanies are steeped in melancholy and isolation， with characters often suffer from depression or a lingering sadness， who seems drawn to isolated places with a mystic aura over them。 Through this brooding loneliness and melancholy， Bell has an incredible sense of place in his prose， with locations that enhance the somber and strange mood of his tales。 From a forlorn island in Scotland to the deep， wolf-haunted woods of the Carpathians， these locations often feels like the center point of the stories and out of this he manages to conjure forth a truly excellent atmosphere that lies heavily over these tales。 And in the background， there lingers a vague terror， waiting to be discovered。Bell’s prose is comparable with M。R。 James， Reggie Oliver and Robert Aickman， melding old influences with new， always showing a firm grasp over both worlds in his writing。 There is a wonderful vagueness over the supernatural element in many of these stories， where the looming sense of revelation feels as much as a psychological manifestation as it does a specter that has taken material form， this creeping uncertainty is reminiscent of the uncanny in the works of both Robert Aickman and Walter de La Mare。 This uncertainty manifests itself in his often-unstable characters and shows their tenuous grip on reality slowly beginning to disintegrate。The tales in this collection are a rare treat to read for the connoisseur of the weird， but one， in particular， stood out for me; “A Midsummer Ramble in the Carpathians” an almost novella-length tale about an eerie travelogue through the Carpathians during the 1800s， using gothic tropes and the intensely moody setting of the Carpathian landscape to create one of the most distinctive short stories I’ve read in a long time。Peter Bell’s stories show a mastery of the uncanny short story， through an incredibly atmospheric sense of place and loneliness， the psychological aspect of his characters as well as the looming presence of supernatural dread， he shows himself to be one of the finest contemporary practitioners of the weird and eerie。 。。。more
Robert
，
Excellent book， including the appearance。 Recommend to any ghost/strange story enthusiast。
David
，
Writers are often obsessives， repeatedly returning to the same emotional terrain to try and map it more thoroughly。 Often， one central idea does more than link a writer's work - it provides an overwhelming raison d'etre for it。 This， I think， is the case with Peter Bell， whose stories constantly address the pain of loss or loneliness， and often do so by taking a character out of their familiar context。 Thus in the first story collected here， 'Resurrection' an expert in psychiatric medicine who f Writers are often obsessives， repeatedly returning to the same emotional terrain to try and map it more thoroughly。 Often， one central idea does more than link a writer's work - it provides an overwhelming raison d'etre for it。 This， I think， is the case with Peter Bell， whose stories constantly address the pain of loss or loneliness， and often do so by taking a character out of their familiar context。 Thus in the first story collected here， 'Resurrection' an expert in psychiatric medicine who finds herself laid low by depression goes for a short holiday in the Lake District。 She finds what seems at first an idyllic valley， but there's a distinct 'Wicker Man' vibe about the place: strange scarecrows， talk of the Beltane Fires， and an odd aside about the number of healthy children born lately。 Sure enough， our protagonist is headed for a confrontation with the sort of festival that could never comply with health and safety law。 But there is a twist， which is more a matter of emotional perspective than plot。A similar scenario is played out in 'M。E。F。' but with important variations。 Here a widower journeys to Iona， arguably the holiest of the British Isles。 He once stayed there with his wife， but it is another woman who comes to influence him。 Or rather， it is here absence， for in this story Bell takes a true account of the disappearance of an eccentric aesthete and around it weaves another tale - that of a lonely person seeking some truth that， by connecting them with life in some way， might help them transcend their isolation。'The Light of the World' explicitly refers to Machen。 Again we have a lonely person， beheaved and beset around by depression， seeking some kind of escape。 A recurring dream and the strange connection between a Roman temple in Cumberland and the site of an Italian miracle provide the basic armature for an enchanting， disturbing and extremely satisfying tale。 Read it aloud （a good policy with Bell's stories） and you get a feel for the powerful rhythm of the language。 The central premise - that ultimate truth is unbearable because it is transcendent - is not new， but is seldom tackled by today's horror writers。 This is a Machenesque story that Machen would not have disowned。 As with all Peter Bell's stories there is a sense of nightmarish inevitability about the way an innocent character is the focus of。。。 what？ Possibly God。Somewhat more traditional is 'An American Writer's Cottage'。 This time our solitary， unhappy protagonist retreats to a bleak Hebridean island。 Margaret is 'fleeing a particularly dire set of professional and personal circumstances'。 Anyone who does this in a Peter Bell story has had it， really。 It's just a question of finding out how their particular Nemesis will destroy them。 Strange encounters with seals and less easily defined creatures give Margaret little cause of unease at first。 The story is a good example of the 'not quite haunted house' genre， where spirits of place count for more than the mechanics of a conventional apparition。'Inheritance' also has its roots in a venerable sub-genre， that of the Scary Doll。 We've read about them and seen them in horror films aplenty， but it remains the case that little simulacra of human beings designed as mere toys have a capacity to unsettle us （well， me） more than vampires or zombies。 The doll in this case provides a link to a hidden past of violence and madness。 It's a comparatively slight tale， but stands out because it offers a slightly more positive take on life than the others collected here。Somewhat jauntier in tone （if not in content） is 'A Midsummer Ramble in the Carpathians'。 Here the time-honoured device of the discovered journal reveals a hitherto unexpected episode in life of the celebrated Victorian traveller and author， Amelia Edwards。 What could be more natural than that our hero should try to retrace Edwards' steps？ I'm not giving anything away by saying that， as vampire stories go， this is a very good one， and the element of historical pastiche works well。 There are overtones of Dracula and Carmilla， not least in the full-blooded finale。The last story， and arguably the best， first appeared in Supernatural Tales but has been revised for book publication。 'Nostalgia， Death and Melancholy' is the archetypal Peter Bell story。 A lonely， sensitive and erudite man goes to an unnamed island （but it's the Isle of Man） to attend to the funeral and bequest of his aunt。 Sinclair recalls childhood holidays on the island and decides to revisit a much-loved part of the coast。 Along the way he conducts some research into Victorian architecture - what could be more harmless？ But a link emerges between his own origins， a neglected house， and a symbolist painter who became possessed with visions of chaos， madness and death。 All the 'Bellesque' （Bellian？） ingredients come together perfectly in a story that qualifies as a modern classic。This is one of the best short story collections of recent years， and bears comparison with the classics。 In some respects it harks back to the Silver Age of the ghost story， between the wars， but the stories have none of the tidiness that often prevails in the works of Benson and Burrage。 Here there is rarely any hope for those who venture any great distance from well-trodden ways。 。。。more
Carole Tyrrell
，
I was eagerly anticipating Peter Bell’s collection of short stories， ‘Strange Epiphanies’， as I had enjoyed his Haunted Histories booklet ‘On the Apparitions at Gray’s Court’ so much。 The latter evoked such an atmosphere of menace and an unsettling sense of a building containing an unseen presence that I had the disturbing feeling that it was truth and not fiction。 There are 7 stories in this slim volume and a postscript on Marie Emily Fornario whom I had previously encountered through EC mailin I was eagerly anticipating Peter Bell’s collection of short stories， ‘Strange Epiphanies’， as I had enjoyed his Haunted Histories booklet ‘On the Apparitions at Gray’s Court’ so much。 The latter evoked such an atmosphere of menace and an unsettling sense of a building containing an unseen presence that I had the disturbing feeling that it was truth and not fiction。 There are 7 stories in this slim volume and a postscript on Marie Emily Fornario whom I had previously encountered through EC mailings。 The introduction by Brian J Showers of the Swan River Press sets the scene perfectly， reminds the reader of Grays Court and what awaits within the following pages。The first tale， ‘Revelation’， features a female psychiatrist， Amanda， who travels to Cumbria to escape depression and finds another fate awaiting her in local Beltane rituals。 In other stories， a bookseller is led to Carpathia through a rediscovered travel journal by a Victorian writer and the island of Iona works its mystery on a widower still in mourning。 Several of Bell’s protagonists seem to go willingly to their fates as if their life choices or decisions had inevitably led them there。 A life changing event has occurred such as death or illness and they leave their familiar surroundings and routines and go to meet the unknown。My personal favourites were ‘Inheritance’ in which a creepy large Victorian doll reveals a suppressed family tragedy， mainly because I’ve always found dolls of this nature disturbing in their makers’ attempts to simulate a real child especially with the eyes。 ‘Nostalgia， Death and Melancholy’ was another standout story as the protagonist， Sinclair， revisits his aunt’s seaside hotel after her death to sort out her possessions。 Bell evokes the unsettling feeling of revisiting a childhood place and finding the modern world imposing on your memories as you try to preserve them。 Sinclair rediscovers the last forgotten building of a famous architect filled with the final paintings of his suicidal wife as she descended into madness。 Too late Sinclair realises that the painting of the story’s title was drawn from the life…。。In ‘ Afterword: Marie Emily Fornario A Historical Note’， Bell recounts the strange and lonely death of a well-connected London bohemian who became fascinated with the allure of Iona。 MEF’s grave on the deserted landscape is marked by a cairn for which the author searched for without success for some time。 In fact he’d virtually given up and then， literally stumbled on it， and felt ‘a strong sense of déjà vu and of a presence。’ I had previously read several of his accounts of his travels in Scotland and the mystical quality of Bell’s writing and the obvious love that he has for this part of the UK comes through strongly。 I also enjoyed Bell’s use of Holman Hunt’s celebrated painting ‘The Light of the World’ as a sinister object of terror in a young boy’s imaginings in the story of the same name。 Bell also has a strong， descriptive sense of place and genius loci as Brian J Showers describes in the introduction。I thought that this was a wonderful collection of stories which I will re-read again and again。Swan River Press are to be congratulated on doing such an excellent job of packaging the book so well。 The days of the small press being seen as amateurs are long gone and it may well be that authors may be looking to them for innovative and interesting ways of producing books。 The dust jacket of Strange Epiphanies features a deserted landscape echoing the feelings of isolation which some of Bell’s characters know too well。 The beautiful image on the hard cover demonstrates the small press’s ability to be able to take risks and produce attractive editions for their market as with Tartarus Press。 A forthcoming publication， ‘Longsword’， with its striking cover looks set to continue Swan River Press’s high standards。I cannot recommend ‘Strange Epiphanies’ highly enough。 。。。more
John Kenny
，
Strange Epiphanies， from Swan River Press， is a collection of short stories by Peter Bell。 Swan River Press specialises in horror fiction of the macabre and supernatural tale variety， taking its cue from the work of writers such as Sheridan Le Fanu， Arthur Machen， M。R。 James and others。 The emphasis is very much on a slow build of tension and fear with little or no graphically portrayed gore。 Old style horror， beautifully written， and all the more genuinely chilling for its implied denouements。A Strange Epiphanies， from Swan River Press， is a collection of short stories by Peter Bell。 Swan River Press specialises in horror fiction of the macabre and supernatural tale variety， taking its cue from the work of writers such as Sheridan Le Fanu， Arthur Machen， M。R。 James and others。 The emphasis is very much on a slow build of tension and fear with little or no graphically portrayed gore。 Old style horror， beautifully written， and all the more genuinely chilling for its implied denouements。And Strange Epiphanies fits this category perfectly。 In ‘M。E。F。’， based on a true story， a grieving widower visits the Scottish island of Iona on the anniversary of his wife’s death on a nearby island。 They had both formed a fascination for the story of the death in 1929 of Marie Emily Fornario （the M。E。F。 of the title）， a visiting aesthete with an interest in the local folklore。 The widower is visiting Iona one last time with the intention of finding the exact spot where Marie died and， as he attempts to garner clues from books on relevant associated topics and journeys out into the wild landscape of the island， he is slowly but surely drawn into the reverberations of that terrible event， which echo down through the decades to today。‘The Light of the World’ tells the story of a bereaved man who rents a cottage in the wild Cumbrian north country in an attempt to shake off his deep depression by getting away from it all。 A knock at the door of his cottage in the tiny village he has fetched up in reveals a bizarrely macabre old couple on his doorstep who confront him with an obtuse and vaguely sinister religious message that sets him on a course of discovery that ends in enlightenment of a sort that he could never have predicted。 The main focus of ‘Inheritance’ is a valuable porcelain doll， whose provenance uncovers a sad and horrific tale of cruelty， neglect and madness。 The work of a forgotten and underappreciated artist provides the sense of unease and gathering malice in ‘Nostalgia， Death and Melancholy’。 And the vestigial presence of an American author haunts the wild and untameable landscape of ‘An American Writer’s Cottage’。All of the above are perfectly pitched and highly effective stories， but the absolute standout stories， for me， are ‘Resurrection’ and ‘A Midsummer Ramble in the Carpathians’。‘Resurrection’ is an evocative and original spin on the basic premise of The Wicker Man that captures brilliantly the close community of the remote village that features in the story and ends on a note radically different to the film that manages to outdo it for chilling effect。‘A Midsummer Ramble in the Carpathians’ is a vampire story of the classic sort， told in diary form through the eyes of the travel writer Amelia B。 Edwards and those of the woman who accidentally discovers Edwards handwritten account a century later。 Bell manages to capture the voice of the Victorian writer with stylish precision and what unfolds is a beautifully written travelogue full of incident and descriptive detail， with a gathering sense of impending doom and a suitably spine-tingling ending。A major feature of Bell’s writing is the landscape， which is sumptuously described and dominates the work to the extent that it almost constitutes another character in each of the stories。 The sense of menace and melancholy sown into the pieces emanates primarily from the locales in which they are set and is in large part the reason I can’t recommend Strange Epiphanies highly enough。 。。。more
Riju Ganguly
，
"One of the finest collection of lyrical and yet chillingly haunting short stories"， that's how I would like to describe this collection。 Swan River Press has gifted us with another exquisite production that befits the richness of the stories， but let me come to the point （i。e。 my thoughts regarding the stories themselves）。 The contents of this book are: -（*） Introduction by Brian。J。Showers。1） Resurrection: was it delusion， insanity， pagansim， morbid depression， or wilful surrender of mind & bod "One of the finest collection of lyrical and yet chillingly haunting short stories"， that's how I would like to describe this collection。 Swan River Press has gifted us with another exquisite production that befits the richness of the stories， but let me come to the point （i。e。 my thoughts regarding the stories themselves）。 The contents of this book are: -（*） Introduction by Brian。J。Showers。1） Resurrection: was it delusion， insanity， pagansim， morbid depression， or wilful surrender of mind & body to the primoridal ebb & tide of life？ You decide， and also think when was the last time that you came across such evocative imagery & narrative。2） M。E。F: a story of love， loss， haunting， delusion， and mystery。 I especially liked the authenticity and the painstakingly detailed adherence to actual events， that act as the backdrop as well as the foundation of the story。3） The Light of the World: another brilliant （literally， as the glorious descriptions are etched in your mind as you read the story） and yet remorseless tale of love， fear， and obsession。4） An American Writers Cottage: I knew what would eventually befell the depressed & alcoholic protagonist， but the way the climax was built up was deliciously scary。5） Inheritance: a scary story， with its enigmatic suggestions that allowed my imagination to run amoc， causing some seriously disturbing dreams。 The power of the story should be compared with the feelings that are evoked by writers who fail to appreciate the power of imagination， when they fill their stuff with gratuitous sex & violence。6） A Midsummer Ramble in the Carpathians: the last word must have already sent your mind to work about the story， so read it， and sit tight for a while keeping all lights on。7） Nostalgia， Death and Melancholy: the title says all， but adds in some deliciously shuddering stuff。（*） Afterword: the historical basis of the story M。E。F。Overall， after reading the book， I was rather uneasy， and （just to be on the safe side）， slept with a light on （you know， imagination IS a dangerous thing）。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Strange Epiphanies
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Strange Epiphanies&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Strange Epiphanies&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0