Flame Tree Fiction

Often, the best way to understand a text is to understand the context in which it was written. A central part of this involves the story of the writers themselves. As such, learning about their lives, or what led to their writing of a text, can be very important in fully appreciating what they wrote. In our new editions of essential Gothic, Sci-Fi and Dark Fantasy books, we have included biographies of the authors so you can learn more about them and see how their life may have affected the tales they told. We thought, for this week’s blog, we would pick out singular moments in each author’s life that highlight the influence their background might have had on their work…

Mermaids have a long history that dates back almost as far as the first humans. Early human civilisations saw gods and magic everywhere. Whether it be on the top of unscalable mountains or in the deepest darkest caves, magical creatures lurked in every corner of the ancient world. Due to the importance of water for survival, many early humans lived near rivers, oceans and lakes. This was the perfect combination to conjure up mermaids.

In this blog we thought we’d look at some of the most famous representations of mermaids in history! From dangerous ancient sirens to modern Disney princesses, mermaids have taken many forms…

Adapted from an earlier play by Dyson and Nyman, Ghost Stories focuses on the tale of Professor Goodman (played by Nyman himself). Goodman works as an investigator and as an exposer of fake and fraudulent psychics. The film begins its main plotline when Goodman receives a mysterious package from a famed psychic investigator who is looking for closure about three cases he cannot explain.

 In recent years there has been a trend to make horror and thriller films that build in to long sagas with an extended mythos. Often, these films start with an interesting idea that is then complicated to enable a series of sequels and prequels. This not only hurts the initial film but leads to monotonous and repetitive future instalments.