September 2011
1 post
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Embracing the nightside; An interview with My Love...
On a day nearing the end of summer, during a violent late afternoon thunderstorm common to east coast FL that time of year, I took refuge in a dim corner of the library. I was 9 or 10 years of age at the time, and I had wandered away from the young adult section where I usually selected the books I would read for the week.
I distinctly recall finding a small, worn paperback nearly hidden...
August 2011
1 post
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May 2011
2 posts
3 tags
Will Errickson's resplendent horror fiction...
Perhaps a month or so ago whilst puttering around on the internet late at night, a memory, unbidden, came to mind. A book I had read when I was younger. Though I could not recall much of the plot (except that it was a riveting combination of almost-unacceptably-unbelievable and strangely compelling), or the story details, or even the names of the characters - the cover, and the title were for...
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April 2011
3 posts
2 tags
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Weird and Wonderful
Paul Lowe’s Illistration for M. R. James’ story ‘A Neighbour’s Landmark’ from Ash Tree’s ‘A Pleasing Terror.
These Fields have lain fallow, friends and fellow followers. I don’t believe we’ll begin with an apology; we created After Dark In the Playing Fields as a place to post about our fascinations, obsessions and passions, with no...
December 2010
1 post
4 tags
The Christmas Service of the Dead
People say that long ago the dead held a service on the night before Christmas. Once a woman arrived too early for Christmas service. When she entered the church she found it lit up and full of dead people, singing:
Here we sing, our bones all bleached, Here we sing with beautiful voice, When shall the day of judgment come, What yet have you to say?
The story continues on as the woman...
November 2010
1 post
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October 2010
6 posts
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A chilling chosen few
GND’s 12 Cinematic favourites for Haunting Halloween viewing (in no particular order)
Suspiria (Dario Argento), 1977 A moody, atmospheric assault of the senses. A young American woman arrives at a European ballet school where nothing is as it seems. Hallucinatory mayhem ensues. The Resurrected (Dan O’Bannon) 1992 An intelligent, brooding adaptation of Lovecraft’s “The...
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The Past Lies Sleeping: Seeking the Mason House
Ruins of Mason House, Analostan Island, c. 1880-1890, Library of Congress
The house, of a simple and neat form, is situated near that side of the island which commands a view of the Potomac, the President’s House, Capitol, and other buildings. The garden, the sides of which are washed by the waters of the river, is ornamented with a variety of trees and shrubs, and, in the midst,...
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Temporal paradoxes and impeccable table manners
Royal Hotel Ruins, Japan, February 2010
Previously…on After Dark In The Playing Fields…
“Many ages ago Ms. Ghoul Next Door and Ms. On The Borderland discovered they shared a mutual love for all things weird & wonderful, eccentric & eerie, unusual, unearthly, & uncanny. They began a collaboration; a collection /personal cabinet of curiosities curating and archiving and sharing...
September 2010
6 posts
1 tag
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Crash Helmet, or Things That Do Not Make Sense
I am really at a loss as to how to properly introduce the following item from my past. There are some memories of beloved childhood belongings that just Make Sense - a cherished stuffed animal, for example: a once sweet-faced and shiny marble-eyed bunny rabbit, worn down to rags and nubs from time spent dragging it to and fro through ...
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August 2010
2 posts
