The Bestiarum Vocabulum (TRES LIBRORUM PROHIBITUM)

by Dean M. Drinkel

  John glanced around but he couldn’t spot any more Zombies. He ran over to Miss Adendorff, who was still alive. He cradled her in his arms.

  She opened her big blue eyes, smiled, and said “We got them, didn’t we, John?”

  “Yes, Miss Adendorff, we did. You were magnificent.”

  “Call me Della, please.”

  “Of course, Della.”

  “One more thing, John. Never in my life…” (Della paused for a minute, time was running out for her, John could tell.) “Never in my life have I been kissed by a man. Would you kiss me, John, before I go and join my ancestors?”

  Tears popped into John’s eyes. “Of course, Della. It would an honor to kiss the bravest woman I’ve ever met.”

  John gently kissed Della’s lips. A little sigh escaped from her mouth and when he looked up into those extraordinary blue eyes, he could tell she was gone.

  He gently lowered her body to the ground and gathered up her accoutrements, taking special care with the spirit bottle. He took the candle and dripped black wax around the stopper, so it was sealed tight. Never again would these angry spirits of death and destruction escape their prison.

  John look around carefully. Except for the decapitated Zombie and dear Miss Adendorff, the chapel was empty. He resolved that the best thing to do was to leave them there and call the police anonymously from a phone box. There was no way he could explain what had just happened, without incurring unfortunate repercussions. He just thanked his lucky stars that Miss Adendorff had captured all the Zulu Zombies in the spirit bottle for good, before anything really horrible had happened.

  ***

  Not all the Zulu Zombies, of course. As we know, some of them managed to catch the train. The 01:34 to Milton Keynes, in fact. Arriving Platform 2…

  Biographies

  Jason D. Brawn

  Jason D. Brawn is the author of horror novelettes, Stranded and Refuge, as well as having short stories, poems and film reviews published in anthologies, magazines and ezines. He holds a degree in Film and Media from Birkbeck College, University of London and has appeared in the Hammer Horror webserial, Beyond the Rave. He resides in London and enjoys cinema, theatre, listening to obscure music, art, travelling and reading for inspiration.

  Adrian Chamberlin

  Adrian is a British writer of dark fiction and lives in the small south Oxfordshire town of Wallingford that serves as a backdrop to the UK television series “Midsomer Murders”, not far from where Agatha Christie lies buried, dreaming in darkness. He is the author of the critically acclaimed supernatural thriller The Caretakers as well as numerous short stories in a variety of anthologies, mostly historical or futuristic based supernatural horror. He co-edited Read The End First, an apocalyptic anthology with Suzanne Robb (author of the acclaimed thriller Z-Boat) and has many other projects in the pipeline. His most recent release is the English Civil War thriller Shadrach Besieged in the Lovecraftian novella collection Dreaming In Darkness, which introduces the 17th century warrior Shadrach to Lovecraft fans. He has also edited for Hersham Horror Books and is a line editor for Lovecraft eZine. Live readings of his work are extremely popular and well-attended. He is aware of the concept of “spare time” but swears it’s just a myth. Say hello to Mr Golien at www.archivesofpain.com

  Lily Childs

  Lily writes dark fiction, horror and chilling mysteries. She is currently working on her first novel, a supernatural asylum thriller set in the south of England where she lives, a stone's throw from the sea. Cabaret of Dread: a Horror Compendium contains eleven of Lily’s terrifying tales, studded and sewn together with thirty-two flash frighteners. A selection of her poems was published in Courting Demons - A Collection Of Dark Verse in 2011 and Lily is also author of the Magenta Shaman dark urban fantasy, short story series. Many of her short gothic horrors, ghost stories and nerve-janglers have been published in anthologies, most recently “The Twistweaver’s Son” in The Demonologia Biblica, “The Ossillatrice Shift” in Bones and “Strange Tastes” in Fresh Fear. Lily's psychological crime thriller Carpaccio was nominated for a Spinetingler Award in 2011. Lily is former Horror Editor at Thrillers Killers 'n' Chillers eZine and regularly blogs at The Feardom. Follow her on Twitter @LilyChilds and Facebook.com/LilyChildsFeardom or her blog at: http://lilychildsfeardom.blogspot.com

  Raven Dane

  Raven is a UK based author of dark fantasy and steampunk novels. Her first books were the critically acclaimed Legacy of the Dark Kind series, Blood Tears, Blood Lament and Blood Alliance. These were followed by a High Fantasy spoof, The Unwise Woman of Fuggis Mire. Her steampunk novels so far are Cyrus Darian and the Technomicron, winner of the prestigious Victorian Steampunk Society’s Best Novel award in 2012 and recently published sequel Cyrus Darian and the Ghastly Horde. She has had many short stories published, including one in a celebration of forty years of the British Fantasy Society and in several forthcoming international horror anthologies including the 13 Ghosts of Christmas published by Spectral Press and The Demonologia Biblica. She was signed up by Telos to be the first author signed for their new Moonrise imprint with her collection of macabre Victorian and Steampunk short stories, Absinthe and Arsenic which was published in autumn 2013.

  Nerine Dorman

  An editor and multi-published author, Nerine currently resides in Cape Town, South Africa, with her visual artist husband. Some of the publishers with whom she works include Dark Continents Publishing and eKhaya (an imprint of Random House Struik). She has been involved in the media industry for more than a decade, with a background in magazine and newspaper publishing, commercial fiction, and print production management within a below-the-line marketing environment. Her book reviews, as well as travel, entertainment and lifestyle editorial regularly appear in national newspapers. A few of her interests include music, travel, history (with emphasis on Egypt), psychology, philosophy, magic and the natural world.

  Christine Dougherty

  Christine got her start writing short stories that were published in The Absent Willow Review, Necrotic Tissue, Fiction at Work, Niteblade, The Demonologia Biblica and others. The short stories did well and Christine decided to start writing novels. Since then, she's written ten with more in the works. Christine writes in the horror genre but the stories tend to bleed into thriller, sci-fi, paranormal, and fantasy as the best horror always does. She lives with her husband, dog, and two cats in South Jersey and has no plans to leave. Ever.

  Dean M. Drinkel

  Author, Editor, Poet, Script-Writer, Theatre & Film Director. The French lines quoted in his story are by Charles Baudelaire. More about Dean can be found at: http://deanmdrinkelauthor.blogspot.co.uk/ and www.ellupofilms.com

  Tim Dry

  Tim is a mime artist, writer, musician and actor, best known for appearing in “Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi”, the cult Sci Fi/horror movie “Xtro” and for being half of a duo, ‘Tik and Tok’, that popularized robotic mime in the UK in the 1980s. Tim is also an award-winning photographic artist, whose subjects have included Mick Jagger, Steven Berkoff, composer Georg Kajanus, author Rupert Thomson, The Mediaeval Baebes, writer Barbie Wilde and Joan Collins. His work has been exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery and the Arts Club amongst other prestigious galleries in London and Europe. As a musician he released five chart singles and an album in the '80s as ‘Tik & Tok’. He recorded an album with Georg Kajanus under the name ‘Noir’ in the '90s and in 2011 with guitarist Mo Blackford he released a digital album entitled Happy Accidents. In 2010 he played the lead in the short horror/comedy movie “SON Of Nosferatu”. Tim is the author of two published books of memoirs and is currently hard at work creating the first of a series of novellas entitled Ricochet. He also has short stories coming out in three Horror anthologies edited by Dean M Drinkel in 2013. And in conjunction with The Followers Of The Pandorics in the USA he has created an animated graphic novel in DVD format entitled The Lenzkirch Advent. For which he also wrote and recorded original musical scores a
nd all of the voice-overs. Tim also contributes articles to Forbes magazine.

  Jan Edwards

  Jan lives on the very edge of the Peak District National Park, with husband, Peter, three cats and a selection of chickens. She has had over forty short stories published, most of which are inspired by her passion for folklore and mythology - and was short-listed for the 2011 BFS Award for Best Short Story. Other work includes DVD spin-offs (“Doctor Who”), reviews, interviews, poetry and articles. In real time Jan is a Reiki Master and Meditational Healer. She also edits for the award winning Alchemy Press - notably (with Jenny Barber) the Alchemy Book of Ancient Wonders (2012) and Alchemy Press Book of Urban Mythic (2013). Full biography at. http://janedwardsblog.wordpress.com/

  D.T. Griffith

  Fascinated by all things dark, gritty, and dystopian, D.T. Griffith is a recent entry into the horror and dark fiction genres. He has worked as a professional designer, illustrator, and writer since the mid-1990s in the marketing, branding, and communication fields. Like all of his other art, his fiction draws inspiration from classic and modern works alike, spanning a full range of literary masters, surrealist painters, raw comedians, and punk rock. D.T. Griffith is educated in fine arts and professional writing holding BFA and MFA degrees. He lives in his home state of Connecticut, USA, where he and his wife are raising a creatively and scientifically talented teenage daughter.

  Lisa Jenkins

  Lisa was brought up in the beautiful surrounding of Swansea, South Wales. She would have spent most of her childhood hidden within the pages of a book but her evil parents made her leave the house to go and play. Still, in the evenings, she would raid her mother’s extensive book collection and throw herself into something by Edgar Allen Poe or Stephen King. Years later, her childhood ended and she has spent the rest of her time working in the gaming industry (a bit of a strange choice for someone who hates gambling). Then came the kids. Although she loves being a parent, years of mind-numbing children’s TV left her with a desperate need to use her brain, so she signed up for a degree in Literature. Part of the course was Creative Writing where she was told that she didn’t have what it takes to be a writer. That single comment changed everything she’d strived for as nobody tells Lisa Jenkins she can’t do something. Six months later she had her first short story published. Lisa’s writing style tends to concentrate less on descriptive gore, and more on the dark side of the human mind, while also fulfilling the most important role of any writer, that of entertainer. She is lucky to have the support of her two children, her cats, and a tank full of fish called Bob.

  Emile-Louis Tomas Jouvet

  Born in Evry, France in 1993 Emile-Louis has won many scholastic prizes for his minimalist short fiction. Now completing his Literature degree at the Sorbonne he is working on a collection of horror stories The Condemned which will see publication in the very near future. His stories in the English language have appeared in Phobophobia, Cities of Death, The Demonologia Biblica and Demonology.

  Rakie Keig

  Rakie is the author of three novels and a handful of short stories. Her latest novel, "Home Ground", was released in 2012. She currently resides on the sometimes-sunny Isle of Man with her husband, two hyperactive children and a mad cat. In her spare time she likes drinking wine and sleeping.

  Amelia Mangan

  Amelia is a writer originally from London, currently living in Sydney, Australia. Her writing is featured in Blood Type (ed. Robert S. Wilson); Attic Toys (ed. Jeremy C. Shipp); X7 and No Monsters Allowed (both ed. Alex Davis); When Darkness Calls (ed. Emma Audsley); Charms Vol. 3 (ed. Sally Odgers); Carnival of the Damned (eds. Henry Snider & David C. Hayes); Mother Goose is Dead (eds. Michele Acker & Kirk Dougal); The Willows Magazine; Twisted Dreams Magazine; Cthulhupalooza Magazine; and Akujunkan (ed. Roseanna White). Her short story, "Blue Highway", won Yen Magazine's first annual short story competition and featured in its 65th issue. She can be found on Twitter (@AmeliaMangan) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/amelia.mangan).

  Peter Mark May

  Peter was born in Walton on Thames Surrey England way back in 1968 and still lives nearby in a place you’ve may now of heard of called Hersham. He is the author of Demon, Kumiho, Inheritance [P. M. May], Dark Waters (novella), Hedge End and AZ: Anno Zombie [Samhain Horror USA]. He also runs Hersham Horror Books publishing six anthologies so far (editing three himself: Alt-Dead, Alt-Zombie and Fogbound from 5) and has somehow found the time to co-found Karōshi Books with Johnny Mains and Cathy Hurren. He’s had short stories published in genre Canadian & US magazines and the UK & US anthologies of horror such as Creature Feature, Watch, the British Fantasy Society’s 40th Anniversary Anthology Full Fathom Forty, Alt-Zombie, Nightfalls and Demons & Devilry.

  Website: http://petermarkmay.weebly.com/

  Christine Morgan

  Christine works the overnight shift in a psychiatric facility and divides her writing time among many genres. A lifelong reader, she also writes, reviews, beta-reads, occasionally edits and dabbles in self-publishing. She has several novels in print, with more due out soon. Her stories have appeared in more than three dozen anthologies, ‘zines and e-chapbooks. She’s been nominated for the Origins Award and made Honorable Mentions in two volumes of Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. She's also a wife, mom, and possible future crazy-cat-lady whose other interests include gaming, history, superheroes, crafts, and cheesy disaster movies.

  Joe Mynhardt

  Joe is a South African horror writer, publisher, editor and teacher with almost 60 short story publications. He has appeared in dozens of publications and collections, among them For The Night Is Dark (with Jasper Bark, Tonia Brown and Scott Nicholson). Joe is also the owner and operator of Crystal Lake Publishing. He has published and edited Paul Kane’s Sleeper(s), Daniel I. Russell’s Tricks, Mischief and Mayhem and Fear The Reaper. Upcoming collections Joe has edited include Kevin Lucia’s Things Slip Through, William Meikle’s Samurai and Other Stories, Gary McMahon’s Where You Live, The Outsiders (Simon Bestwick, Gary McMahon etc.), Children Of The Grave (Joe McKinney, Armand Rosamilia etc.) and Tales From The Lake Volume 1, (Graham Masterton, Tim Curran etc.). His collection of short stories, Lost In The Dark, is available through Amazon. Joe’s influences stretch from Poe, Doyle and Lovecraft to King, Connolly and Gaiman. In his spare time Joe blogs about haunted buildings and the horror writing craft. He is a moderator at MyWritersCircle.com. Read more about Joe and his creations at www.joemynhardt.com and www.crystallakepub.com or find him on Facebook at “Joe Mynhardt’s Short Stories.” Joe is also an Associate member of the HWA

  Sandra Norval

  Sandra is a UK writer who lives in fear of the things she writes which might explain her grey hair and why she always looks tired. That couldn’t be anything to do with the likelihood of missing last trains or burning the candle at both ends and the middle. Her inspiration comes from her day job, which specializes in environment and sustainability, themes which are very apparent in her story for this anthology. When not writing horror she writes dark fantasy and steampunk as well as non-fiction articles and featured in The Demonologia Biblica and regularly wrote for Fantasy Faction. Once or twice she’s even written cheerful stuff too. She is working on two novels and two non-fiction books, which she hopes might help us avoid the endings in her nightmares. Actually in real life she's never been happier

  and likes nothing better than a hug with her gorgeous black cat Morpheus, it doesn't get better than that! Occasionally she blogs about whatever is in her head whether that is about writing or environment and sustainability, at http://sandranorval.wordpress.com

  John Palisano

  Bram Stoker Nominated author John Palisano's work has appeared in places like the Lovecraft eZine, Terror Tales UK, Dog Horn, Chiral Mad, Horror Library and many more. He is also a contributor to FANGORIA magazine. His acclaimed novel “NERVES” was released last year from Bad Moon. Check out: www.johnpalisano.wordpress.com for more.

  Martin Roberts

 
Nominated for a BBC Award at the 17th Birmingham International Film and Television Festival (2001) “Paint” (Director/editor) was followed by the zero budget documentary “Assembly of Rogues” and anthology of the same name. Published by Rainfall Books with John B. Ford, “Rogues” was Martin’s attempt to capture the state of publishing for British Horror writers as we entered the new millennium. An essay followed about Peter Jackson’s “Brain Dead” (Dead Alive) which appeared in Cinema Macabre from PS Publishing, edited by Mark Morris. Recently, Martin has turned his attentions towards writing short fiction with stories starting to see publication, most notably in “The 13 Ghosts of Christmas” (edited by Simon Marshall-Jones) and published by Spectral Press. Others may follow... consider yourselves suitable warned. Martin stepped down from being a committee member of the British Fantasy Society in 2013 after volunteering at his first FantasyCon back in 2002. Roles included Publicity Co-ordinator, Events, and Stockholder. Further credits include the Short Film Showcase at FantasyCon - which will return in 2014, World Fantasy Convention 2013 and “Lint: The Movie”, based on the novel by Steve Aylett.

  Andy Taylor

  Andy spends most of his time hanging out around St. Louis, MO trying to find out what kind of trouble will have him. His hobbies include watching movies (and yelling at people for talking during said movies), eating out (and yelling at people for talking too loudly during his meals), and visiting various places such as the Zoo, the History Museum, and the Art Museum (where he also yells at people for not being appreciative enough). Penguins are his favorite animal and while that has nothing to do with his writing still has a place in his life as he would live among them if he could ever possibly could.