Published – Out Now

Price - £10 via https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/CloisterFox

Back to short fiction and just as the nights start getting shorter it’s a perfect time to embrace the strange and weirder side of fiction and Runalong The Short Shelves goes to the latest issue of Cloisterfox where the third issue of this bi-annual zine tackles the subject of ruins. A feast of strange and unusual tales is on offer and all very very effective to make you feel shivers on a summer evening.

A Feast of Houses by RL Summerling is a beautiful tale in an alternate reality where we move from   child with Roxy Music posters growing up in a world that falls apart for unknown reasons. Our narrator though is not quite human herself she eats buildings – walls, plaster and wood and nor does she age. Summerling presents our narrators story as a letter explaining her past; her search for a connection and how one strange building eventually captured her heart. Poignant as kit describes a fallen world with hardly any people and yet strangely beautiful.

Origins Unknown by Rym Kechacha is tale set run down falling apart theatre. Its mysterious owner talks about the many famous dancers that have appeared on stage. This was an amazing story to read as Kechacha creates a tale that has the history of modern dance as its central theme, also the power of it to move souls - in this case literally. Kechacha inn the guise of the owner discusses why dance is so key to human beings; how it can move us and has done through war, peace and failure which the selection of dancers brought to dance in the afterlife all telling us something about being human too. Thought-provoking, strange, joyous and a joy to read. In a very strong edition this was my favourite tale.

The Woodshed At The End of the World by E Saxey – The world has fallen into an unexplained event known as the Fragmentation. Our main character Wolf has found a little farmhouse of assorted people and try to live day by day. Then Wolf’s ex Robin appears with tales of a potential evacuation point to France. Really impressive storytelling on display as Saxey paints just enough of the apocalypse to make us work things out and the key is less survival and more hoe this former couple have switched perspectives. Robin pre-apocalypse dreamed of freedom from life’s travails and Wolf is now putting down roots and prepared to try to live in a hard world with a motley crew of other would-be farmers. Despite all of this the idea of finally accepting and moving on to the right answer really makes the tale warmer than your average post-apocalyptic adventure!

The Conversion by Tim Cooke – Our narrator is welcoming back his eldest daughter and baby granddaughter to the family home far out in the countryside. A trip to a famous strange and ruined tribute to a murdered priest though sets up more danger. I loved how this story tells you the fractured history of this family and their dynamics very subtly and tension builds but not quite where we expect it to materialise. Manges to be disturbing without ever being too visual as to what awaits the characters the feeling of them being far away from safety really gives the tale a feeling anything nasty can happen.

The Ruins Above Tell Brake by George Jacobs – this is a more period style ghost story. Our narrator tells us of an adventure in his younger days when he worked in Kurdish territory and a find of a strange set of bones starts a battle with dangerous looters and possibly a powerful supernatural force. In some way the most traditional style of the book but also still very creepy for a dark evening as strange encounters in the desert night take place one after the other.

Clean Up by Aliya Whiteley – This tale is full of mystery and an ongoing feeling of malevolence but avoids explaining everything. Our narrator tells us of something she refers to as The Answer that has escaped her home. Its not explained in detail; we do hear about its destructive impact on the world, and we also feel an ever-claustrophobic household starting to realise the former inmate has begin to make their way back home. Circles are being turned and our lead character cannot stop it. Powerfully atmospheric and unsettling in all the best ways.