October 2019 issuu.com/ forgezine
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The Spooky issue
Forge Zine
#5
@forgezine
@ForgeZine
Co-editor's announcements & a poem WARNING: Not for the faint of heart. This issue explores topics some readers may find objectionable. Do not read if easily spooked.
The Terrible Accident I didn’t mean to fall It was an accident So I’ll walk the radius Of the explosion Picking up the Scattered fragments Of egg shell skull Stuffing them back Into the gooey gap Of my former crown Pressing them down Praying they’ll stick Bending down to Retrieve another shard Jamming it into the Clumsy jigsaw Rooftop for my brain Uneven and lumpy Now crammed Back together Mixed with grit and dust I didn’t mean to trip Slamming down so hard Bursting open my cranium So all the spirit, intellect, Aspiration, memories Can dribble out Of the cracks Paul Whelan
"In the month of All Hallows' Eve we're going spooky!" - Eleanor, Issue 4 You heard it last time! I am proud to introduce our very first themed zine, The Spooky Issue. Not that we haven't had our share of frightening features in the past, from James Rance's gruesome "Hellebore" (appearing all the way back in Issue 1) to the eeriness of Errol G. Harsley's "Not Dead Yet" (in Issue 2). Our project is no stranger to horror and gore so, this October, we sought to focus these themes to provide an extra frightful experience. This submission period, we invited our previous contributors to share their experiences with the supernatural. The response was outstanding, featuring real-life ghost sightings, encounters with sleep paralysis, and other-worldly incidents with no clear explanation. Due to the success of the Scary Story Time segment, we welcome our audience to send in personal anecdotes or opinions on any subject (with the option of anonymity). Not only is Issue 5 our first theme-specific issue, it is also the first to appear online as well as in print. I am pleased to announce that this issue and all previous issues are now available for free at www.issuu.com/forgezine. This instalment also arrives at the closing date for submissions to GreenTeeth's anthology of the uncanny 'Unhomely' so expect to hear updates from us soon. And finally, I find it worth mentioning that we have plans in the works for our first ever colour issue. Please keep us in mind, visual artists. Exciting things are coming for Forge Zine. With all of that said, we hope you enjoy the nightmare-inducing content ahead of you. So turn off the lights and cower in the corner while the local brats smash your door in. TRICK OR TREAT! Read by candlelight, maybe dipping into a personal stockpile of spice (candy). As always, thank you for your support!
"Dream Terror" by Paul Whelan (biro and digital)
Distorted Perspective
Story by Eleanor Hartley Smith
She sits in her favourite hoodie of his, her numbing butt deep within the angle of the rotting wooden bench. Her nose tickles the lining of his jumper as she slumps further into the bench, her arms tightly hugging her ribs in an attempt to withhold her diminishing body heat. She looks up at the appearing stars in the twilight sky as complex and sanity-challenging questions whirl around her mind. They seem so important to her, yet so everyday with a simple answer to others. She fears she knows the answer but does not care for the outcome. She takes a deep breath in and with her exhale she imagines all her questions and worries leaving her mind. It works to an extent. In an attempt to distract her mind she focuses on the pigeon flying towards her. It lands clumsily on the grave stone in front of her. It looks around and loudly plops itself on the dirt of the fresh grave. An elderly couple walk by and they nod politely with their sad smiles. She returns their smile with a sympathetic look for she knows they visit their child every day in these grounds. She feels their sadness and sorrow transfers from them to her. Although she feels the weight of it, she knows it'll be much lighter for her than it is for the elderly couple walking arm in arm out of the graveyard. This silent exchange is one reason she likes being here for she believes that this is one of the only things she is good at. She believes this in her soul due to the current company she keeps. It will change but that is not knowledge she yet posses. The other, slightly contradicting factor of why she likes being here is not to appear 'edgy', 'emo' (as she often gets called at school) or 'different' (as her mother likes to refer to her in a slightly condescending yet loving way) but because there is no expectation to be or appear happy. She seeks relief from the social pressure to be living the 'perfect life'. No matter what life offers her she believes feeling your emotions is life itself. The cooing pigeon snaps her back to this reality. It abruptly flies from the grave. The wind picks up as the air temperature drops. She notes the strange behaviour of the animals surrounding her and the weather itself. Completely aware of her actions, she looks around, stands up, shakes herself from head to toe then walks, at what she perceives to be a normal pace, out of the graveyard. A very deep rumbling sound originates from somewhere. Unsure of where, she continues her walk. It sounds again. It is so loud the vibrations can be felt in her bones. She turns around and stares at the grave where she was just sitting. The soil looks higher than before. She shakes her head in disbelief and continues, nervously glancing back every few seconds. Buster, the neighbours' dog that follows her everywhere, appears out of the shadows. He darts straight to the grave and she yells at him to return. He does not. With a sharp intake of breath she runs toward him. He is standing at the grave, barking aggressively at the dirt. She grabs him by the collar and turns towards the exit, eager to vacate the graveyard. That's when she sees the grains of dirt moving before her eyes.
Halloween crossword/last month's answers 1 4
Answers in November!
5 3 6
2
7
DOWN 1) Author of The Castle of Otranto, widely regarded as the first gothic novel. (7) 3) Name of Satan's non-human servant in Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita. (8) 4) The Simpsons annual Halloween special is called "______ of Horror" (9) 6) According to Dante Alighieri, there are this many circles of Hell. (4)
ACROSS 2) 16th century pub in York, claims to be the most haunted. (6,6) 5) Fictional town in Maine, the setting for Stephen King's It. (5) 6) Quoth the raven... (9) 7) Massachusetts city infamous for its 17th century witch trials. (5)
20th Century Writers (September) Where is this? (Issue 4): The Destructor, Morrisons, Foss Islands Road
Down 1. Described herself as “black, feminist, lesbian, mother and poet� Known for 'Cables to Rage' and 'Coal' (5) Across A: Lorde 3. Canadian singer-songwriter, started out as a 2. Typically described as the feminist writer of the poet. Known for the song 20th Century. Her works also address mental 'Hallelujah' (5) illnesses. (5) A: Cohen A: Plath 4. First American to win the Nobel Prize for 5. Author of children's books. Nobel Prize 1907, first Literature. Wrote over 39 Brit and youngest novels, known for her insight into Chinese life (4) person to receive prize. (boy lives as a bear) (7) A: Buck A: Kipling 7. Famous Dystopian Big Brother novel(ist), 6. Knighted. Known for his humorous works, fantasy centred around a year. He is British (6) novels and radio A: Orwell presence (9) 9. US writer, you probably hated him at A: Pratchett secondary school! The one with the rabbits (9) 8. (Author of) 1985 book now a major TV series that A: Steinbeck challenges view of women in 10. Irish poet and 1923 Nobel Prize winner (6) society (6) A: Yeats A: Atwood
Scary Story Time "One weird day, whilst walking through the WWII tunnels at Dover Castle, I found myself in a rather dark battery/communication room... I noticed a desk on the far side of the room, at that desk there seemed to be the hair of a woman blowing whilst she was on the telephone. However no one else could see the ghost that was in front of me." From Teri Anderson, artist behind 'Fake Machines 12' (Issue 2) "It started with one figure, in the corner of the room... Just a mere shadow. I sat up for a moment, my eyes battling with the dark. Then I must have fallen back asleep. I convinced myself the next morning that it was a pile of clothes on my chair in the corner playing tricks on my fragile mind. My imagination. But the next night I saw another. I this time spied a woman. She was old and dressed in Victorian attire. She held a bouquet of drooping roses. When I sat up in my bed, she turned toward me and appeared to offer me the withering bundle... and there is where my memory ends. Then, there were two of them. I opened my eyes naturally, as if woken very gently, to see a face. He was right in front of me, smiling. He was crouched at the side of my bed and, when I opened my eyes, he moved his hand from behind my head suddenly, still smiling. It was then I heard a chuckling. Turning my eyes towards the other side of the bed I saw a woman sat by my feet. She ushered to my bedside companion, “Shh! Stop it, she’s still asleep!”.You’d think that would be the most disturbing of my experiences. But the little girl who stood at the foot of my bed is imprinted on my memory forever. She was no older than six, again in Victorian dress, and her eyes.... were black. They were two black crevices in her face, as if her eyes had been torn out, leaving empty sockets. She looked angry. I still don't know why. Living in old town houses in York, it seems that the ghosts are jealous of our peaceful slumber. It’s alright now, though. I seem to have found a solution in my unconscious state.You see, a few nights ago, instead of being disrupted from my rest, my partner, having briefly left the room, re-entered to find me talking. I was facing away from the door to the side of my bed, in deep conversation. My partner could not see who I was speaking to, but I am sure I could..." From Elsie Franklin, author of "Leaves" (Issue 2)
"In my first student accommodation, I'd get bouts of paranoia, having to check the entire room before being able to relax. I'd look behind the door as I came in. I'd go into the bathroom and pull back the shower curtain. I'd even get on the floor to make sure no one was under my bed. One night, trying to sleep, I clearly heard a person breathing beneath me. I thought it was my flatmate trying to scare me. After recovering from fright, I leapt out of bed and dived for the light but there was no one else in the room with me." Paul Whelan, editor of Issue 3 and 5
Procession by James Rance
Superstitions by Imogen Peniston
Do the shadows lengthen at night where you come from, too?
How many lucky pennies have I missed to have this much luck
Do the birds bring love or pain or birth, or doom? Do the crows sip at crumpled, melting bodies through long straws, and then cast themselves into the road? Look to the field now – do you see it? There is fog, yes, or mist or tiny droplets of rain that form a screen.
I’ll jump over pavement cracks, sidestep the shards of broken mirror you left on the floor I’ll never cross a black cat’s path again if it meant I’d never lose another you
But behind this screen or inside it something moves. Many somethings a procession of somethings
Underworld by Elizabeth Fitzgerald they are pale, shapeless, maybe, but they march along the blue ridge of grass, right between the wall and the hill that swoops downward. Their cloaks or cowls are raised by the wind dashed against the mud or lifted towards the weak sunlight. I know you have them where you come from. Next time you look, you will see. And when you see, you will understand.
A wild beast with hands of hooves And feet that do not walk Voiceless he wails, Through stitches he sees all A hole sitting where his heart should rest Devoured by his maw Teeth needle sharp and dull as stone They guard the gateway to that underworld Hades himself dare not cross that river That forms the opening of his jaw And yet in the twisted mass A reflection lingers Eyes an open doorway A path trod a thousand times The creature a mirror to darkness
What's On? FRIGHT ZINE
31st Oct Devil in a New Dress: An 8th Nov Cykada @Ouroboros 19:30Ethical Fashion Show 19:3023:00 Tickets £8 00:30@the mickelgate SOCIAL Tickets £2.50 9th Nov Eco Active Day: Tree 31st Oct-21st Nov RuPaul's Drag Race planting @St Nicks Environment Screening Party 19:30-21:30 @Spark Centre 10:00-13:00 Tickets on York Eventbrite £Free 1st Nov Murder and Mystery @York Mansion House 18:30-21:00 Tickets on 15th Nov Joker screening @Uni of Eventbrite £15 includes free drink York 18:45-22:00 £3 for members/£4 for non-members 1st Nov Open Mic @The Nook 20:3015th Nov ChitChat poetry night 23:00 @Spark York 19:00-20:30 £Free 2nd Nov Haus of Dench: Drag Queens vs Zombies @York Theatre Royal 16th Nov Hot Crush DIY queer dance 21:30-22:30 Tickets from £8 party @Dusk 21:00-3:00 £1 entry
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