Bloody Parchment

Book excerpt: A princess encounters an unspeakable amphibian horror in an abandoned garden. Swarms of killer bees produce a mysterious blue honey. Sometimes evil awakens in the hearts of innocents starving slowly in a snow-locked cabin. These are but a few of the stories contained within the South African Horrorfest’s Bloody Parchment: Blue Honey and The Valley of Shadow. The pick of 2014’s entries, edited by Nerine Dorman, includes Toby Bennett, Dave de Burgh, John Paul Davies, Elaine Dodge, EL Garcia, Abi Godsell, Benjamin Knox, Belinda Lewis, Austin Malone, Bernice Mills, Icy Sedgwick, Jason Mykl Snyman, and Nic Zav. This year’s winners were a joint number one, with Bernice Mills and Benjamin Knox sharing the honours for their tales. Stories included in this collection: "The Man with a House on his Back" — Elaine Dodge "Get out of Death Free?" — E Garcia "Bernard Gets a New Job" — Nic Zav "Mermaid" — Abi Godsell "Stolen Kisses" — Toby Bennett "Ignatius" — John Paul Davies "Exertion" — Dave de Burgh "Mastication (The Wendigo Children)" — Jason Mykl Snyman "Midnight Screams at Holborn" — Icy Sedgwick "Motherland" — Belinda Lewis "The Valley of Shadow" — Bernice Mills "Host" — Austin Malone "Blue Honey" — Benjamin Knox