Helluva dream. I was working on a project to rehab old houses for the needy. Over the past few weeks, we gutted the inside, fixed some plumbing and electrical problems, and replaced fixtures. Now, this weekend, I’d been asked to take charge of tearing down and rebuilding the small rotting deck in the back. By late morning, my team - myself, another guy, and two women - had demolished the old deck and hauled the debris to...

The sound echoed through the forest. A shrill scream that raised my hackles, the little hairs on the back of my neck tingling a fearful warning. Wisps of red were disappearing into the dense spruce and thin, towering poplars as the sun sunk below the trees, replaced with black - pitch black. The clouds obscured the moon and stars, the last threads of light evaporating into the darkness, and I sat motionless against the tr...

Exactly how many gods are there? With so many faiths, surely the heavens must be overrun? Or are there only a few with countless different names? Maybe it simply depends on how many believe? Whichever gods exist, and whatever they are called, they are undoubtedly a fickle lot. Whether Greek, Roman or Egyptian; Norse, Celtic or Hindu, they gleefully prance and frolic, laughing and making fun of those less powerful than the...

In the beginning was Chaos. And Chaos detested organisation and structure. He was roguish and full of mischief. Whenever order and logic looked likely to prevail, he would chuckle, wave his divine hand and delight in thwarting such impudence. Exasperated, the other gods sighed. How would the mortals below ever be able to prove themselves with such troublesome interference? It was always the same; the wheel turned, and man...

I stepped out of Maureen's car as she handed me my sleeping bag. She asked, "Are you sure about this? You do know what happened out here?" "Maur, if I don't do this, then Layla and the rest will think I'm just a coward and never allow me to live it down. Besides, I don't believe in all those stories. There isn't anything out here except a road with a name that scares people." "I don't think so, Rach. I've heard all the st...

My life’s flame is flickering; that candle has burnt brightly, but the wick nears the end. And when I, Ana, the last of Percales’ so-called heroines enter the afterlife, then, my friends, then what will you remember of us? Percales has much to say about how we stopped the Mycean threat. Yet, despite my pride in what I did for you, I have grown uneasy over the years. For a wall of mythology surrounds we ringbearers and Per...

The story of Resurrection Mary was told around Chicago for so many years that it became legendary. But, back in the thirties when a pretty young girl was killed by a hit-and-run driver, it was heartbreaking. Mary had been with her boyfriend at a dance hall when a fight began and she ran out into the dark night and was killed. In the year nineteen-thirty-four, she was buried in Resurrection Cemetery in an unmarked grave. T...

It was a crisp, clear winter morning. Though she was immune to its effects, she could feel the cold permeating the air. A thin blanket of frost covered the landscape, the sun’s weak rays reflecting off the tiny ice crystals, creating an ethereal beauty seldom seen where she came from. Honking softly, a flight of geese banked and landed gently on the water. She sensed that people didn’t come here very often during the cold...

The Welsh mountains are steeped in myths and legends and have captured the hearts of many locals and travellers and remain central to the myth of King Arthur. Surrounding lakes claim to hold the sword of Excalibur and the legendary Avalon, an island off the Llyn peninsular which is supposed to be the final resting place of King Arthur and Merlin. Yet, some myths and legends go back much, much further. Back to the darker t...