Coming Soon—MYTHS REBORN From October Nights Presss

Coming in early 2026—Myths Reborn, from October Nights Press, edited by Kelly Hearty. This new anthology features my story, "The Devil of Transylvania County," along with 18 other tales of cryptids, critters, long-leggedy beasties, and things that go bump in the night.

"You’ll ask can a skinwalker become the savior of two terrified young girls? How might the tale of Sasquatch be different when told from his perspective? Could a vampire exist undetected in your city or a Tatzelwurm make its way into the very walls of your home?

"In this anthology, you'll encounter cryptids and folk characters portrayed in novel and frightening ways. Nineteen talented authors breathed new life into traditional tales to create a unique collection of re-envisioned, re-contextualized myths."

"The Devil of Transylvania County" is set in the mountains of North Carolina and is based on one of the creepiest legends from the region, which I learned about when I was a kid at summer camp—and I hope this tale will terrify you the way the original legend did me.

Look for Myths Reborn soon!

R.I.P. Richard "Dick" Wickliffe, 1932–2025

My "second dad"—Richard "Dick" Wickliffe—passed away on Thursday, December 11, after a brief but severe bout of pneumonia. He and two of his three young'uns, Gretchen and Todd, had been over for Thanksgiving dinner only two weeks earlier, and he had been doing very well at the time, so his death came as a shock. Dick was 93 years old. His funeral was this morning.

Dick and his wife, Martha (who passed away in 2013), and my parents were long-time best friends, and since we all spent so much time together, the Wickliffes literally became our second family. Gretchen is my age, Todd is a couple of years younger, and Scott is five years younger (the same age as my late brother), so we had a lot in common, especially in the mischief department. Dick and Martha always seemed to catch on to the mischief sooner than my parents did, and this was always a blessing because they tended to have more patience than my folks.

 

Dad and Dick worked together at the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. plant here in Martinsville for many years, which was how they got to know each other. Mom and Martha hit it off immediately, and though their personalities were oil and water, they somehow managed to get along better than human beings in general have a right to. It was Martha's habit to call Mom on the phone every afternoon, no matter what, about 2:00 p.m. After Martha died, Dick took up the mantle and called her daily without fail until Mom became too debilitated to even use the phone. His faithfulness always meant the world to me.

In his younger days, Dick was an avid scale modeler, and in more recent years, he took up the activity again, building plastic scale models of airplanes, tanks, ships, and even the starship, USS Enterprise (essentially the same model kit that I had when I was a kid). These were intricately detailed and painted, and his collection had become impressive indeed. Lately, every time I'd go for a visit, he'd have some new model in the works.. His completed models occupied a several tables at the funeral today.

All of Dick's family, as well as Kim and I, were pretty well shocked when he passed so suddenly. But while that shock is hard to deal with, I think that, in the long run, the fact he didn't suffer a long, debilitating illness is, in its way, a great relief.

 

The funeral service today was a fitting tribute to Dick—intimate, uplifting, and reassuring. I know his family, Kim and I, and so many good friends will remember him with love for the rest of our days.

 

Here is his official obituary from Roselawn Funeral Home: Obituary, Richard E. Wickliffe

Martha and Dick in our living room in the early 1990s

Dick, Martha, and Mom, Christmas 2008

Geminids

Pixabay image

I went out a little after midnight last night to see if I could see anything of the Geminids meteor shower. It was a very clear sky, and for about 15 minutes, the show was pretty spectacular—I saw several meteors, a couple of which were brilliant and streaked all the way across the sky.

Then Kimberly comes outside to watch, and for the next ten minutes... only a single, quick, fizzling streak. It had gotten pretty cold out there, so we went back inside.

Dammit, Brugger.

THE HOUSE AT BLACK TOOTH POND for Christmas?

As many of my readers already know, I'm currently working on the sequel to my novel, The House at Black Tooth Pond, which came out earlier this year. So, if you haven't already read the original novel, I think you really otter! It's a fun blend of folk and cosmic horror, available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook (narrated by the inimitable Joshua Saxon) from Crossroad Press.

Why not scare the pants off somebody you love (or loathe) for Christmas? It's what I'd do!

 

"Stephen Mark Rainey brings Lovecraftian horror to rural Virginia in this chilling tale...the grounded and believable characterization of his protagonists makes suspending disbelief easy. This is cosmic horror done right.”

—Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

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More info and ordering links for
The House at Black Tooth Pond here

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Let It Snow... (Again)

Literally, a few hours after the last of the snow from the other day melted, bit more fell today—about the same amount we had the first time. This evening, I decided to go walkies around the neighborhood to look at the holiday decorations. There's a pretty good many around, and that makes me happy because I love seeing the neighborhood all done up. It's pretty cold out there, but once I got moving, I felt plenty comfortable.

 

I was most curious to see how our lit-up trees in the woods behind our house looked from other vantage points. There are several areas on the neighboring streets from which I can see them, and they really do look great—kind of like a bunch of fiery creepy crawlies from another dimension.

 

As they should.

 

Our next-door neighbors have a nicely decorated place, and they put some lights of their own around the edge of the woods next to us. So, we have what looks like a convocation of spritely spirits out there, and I heartily approve.

The lights in the woods seen from our driveway; they're to the right of the house in the photo above, just out of the camera's view.

Our next-door neighbors' place and some of their outdoor lights, seen from in the woods.

Since Brugger is in Michigan, I took the opportunity to wrap her Christmas presents today and put them under the tree. I always label them clearly, so that, come Christmas Day, there is no confusion about what belongs to whom.

Let It Snow...

Well, we got a wee bit of the white stuff overnight. Predictions ranged from one to five inches, and ours was about one and a half inches. It is right purty out, and at the moment, the sky looks like it's wanting to dump some more, though I don't believe there's any additional in the forecast. That may or may not mean diddly. I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more anyway.

Brugger is at her folks' place in Michigan, so it stands to reason we'd get snow here. In the past three years, every time we've gotten snow in Martinsville, she's been in Michigan. I think she believes we don't really get any snow, and the local folks are just joking with her. Of course, she's got plenty of snow up where she is, so she ain't missing much.

The roads aren't too bad out there, but since I don't have to go anywhere, I can just enjoy the view from home. As long as things don't get ugly enough for us to lose power or anything, I reckon I'm happy as I can be. Now, the cats are sure enjoying piling onto me while I'm trying to write, so forward progress on my current project has been kinda slow...

No need to laugh—though you certainly can if you like—but I've been getting in the mood to watch some old Christmas shows, and the night before last, I watched the Rankin/Bass Frosty the Snowman from 1969. I didn't like it any better now than I did back then, but hey, it fulfilled a craving. I'll probably watch The Grinch, and maybe Rudolph - The Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Ms. B. and I watch Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown! every year at Christmastime because we just gotta. But because I was in a Rankin/Bass mood the other night, I also watched Mad Monster Party, which I loved as a kid, though now it's a bit harder to sit through. Still, it too fulfilled a craving.

It's Starting to Look a Bit Like Christmas

Black Friday is when I typically start decorating for Christmas, and so it was this year. I do love the festiveness of the Christmas season, and Brugger and I always try to do up the house as best we can. We both have a bunch of decorative stuff from our days of living in our separate places, and there's a good bit that Mom had in the house. Mom's decorations were always nice, but fairly low-key. Ms. B. and I tend shoot for at least slightly more extravagant.