Scary Sharing

Busy today? C'mon see us at The Dutch Gable House, the shop's open and you can still grab free copies of the Identity graphic novel while yer there telling us yer spooky stories...

Live from the Witch Trials

So far this October, we've recommended a visit to the Edinburgh Dungeon and given you your very own Witch Trial to perform. You can read the sad story of Inverkip Witch Mary Lamont in the Identity Graphic Novel.

And over on my own blog, feel the wrath of the Troubleshooter General or discover A Cure For Witches.

If you're looking for a whole evening of scary stories, then check out Ether books, you can download sixty free scary stories, including one from myself.

Rounding off a month of witch recommendations, The Eccentronic Research Council and actress Maxine Peake have recorded 1612 Underture, an old school concept album based on the Pendle Witch Trials. The krautrock road trip has the band travelling round the North of England exploring the truth of the Pendle Witches, and their legacy today. Highest recommendations, especially the Cameron bashing of "Ghost of Old Lizzy Southerns Returns"




In a similar vein and just cos...The Fall...



And finally...a wee bit of Monty Python....

School Story Competition

Today we are launching a new competition for all Inverclyde Primary Schools. 

We believe passionately in the use of local heritage to create a sense of civic pride, and we know schools in our area work hard to promote citizenship and an understanding of local history. We hope this competition will provide an opportunity to build on that good work.

What we would like is for local school pupils in P6 or P7 to tell us a story set in our home town, using some of the spooky history of the area. It’s something you could do as a Halloween activity, or as part of Tell A Story Day on October 24^th. 

The story can be told in any form, poetry, comic strip, fairytale, whatever suits the story best. It should take up no more than 2 sides of A4 paper including illustrations. 

The winning entry from each school will be included in a special digital “scary story book” which will be online later in the year. The school which sends us the best selection of scary stories will win £50 to spend on new books for the school. The writer of the best scary story will win a £20 book token and their story will also be adapted into a comic strip. Every school that enters will receive a copy of our original book of local folktales “Tales of the Oak”.

We have already written out to all local schools to invite them to get involved, suggesting a few areas they may like to use for inspiration, we've included them below. But you don't have to choose those, there are many more stories on this blog or that you may have heard elsewhere to use for inspiration...

The closing date for the competition is Friday 16 November, if you have any questions at all, you can contact us on aulddunrod@gmail.com. We look forward to being terrified by your stories.


Malkie and the Bogle - A Port Glasgow tale....

The Ballad of Auld Dunrod - Concerning the Warlock of Inverkip who terrorised the area




The Legend of the Gourock Monster