Ghost Post: October 2025
The British Isles are filled with ghosts, from the no fewer than 200 pubs claiming to be Britain’s most haunted, to the history book inhabitants of every tourist attraction marketed extra hard this month. I’ve always found the ghost tourism industry amusing — it’s much the same in New Orleans and the UK. There are ghosts, and there are the ghost stories the tour guides tell you about, and there is very little overlap between those categories.
Edinburgh is, of course, crawling with ghost tours, from the sensible chuckle-inducing Ghost Bus Tours to the tours of the vaults beneath the city. I went on one of the latter years ago. The vaults in question are beneath the South Bridge, completed in 1788. In their heyday, the vaults housed shops, workshops, and taverns. Living conditions deteriorated rapidly, and the vaults were abandoned, possibly as early as 1795. As legitimate business moved out, the unhoused population moved in, as well as gamblers, whisky distillers, and, by some reports, body snatchers. Living conditions were as bad as you can imagine for sunless underground vaults, and the vaults were cleared sometime in the mid-1800s.
As you walk through the vaults now, your tour guide tells you about all kinds of ghostly inhabitants. We were warned about the ghost of a serial killer, himself haunted by some of the victims he brutally murdered down in the darkness. There’s a tragic young boy, dead presumably from Lived In A 19th Century Slum Disease, who likes to play ball with groups other than ours, it would seem. Two whisky distillers argued over their illegal business, and both ended up dead and haunting the vault they used for storage. One woman can be heard sobbing — another laughing.
We didn’t see or hear any of these. The guide asked if anyone worked with children, and if, when they closed their eyes, a name came into their head. One person in our group, a primary school teacher, offered the name John, but it turns out the guide was looking for the name Tom. Sometimes, the guide said, visitors can feel a little hand in theirs as they pass through the room. Not that night.
Though the vaults were very cool, they didn’t seem especially haunted to me or James. At the end of the tour, you’re shown into an underground bar and invited to shake off the inevitable hauntedness you should’ve picked up on the tour with a drink. We shrugged and ordered some cocktails, sitting down at a booth next to a cabinet with long mirrored doors, with a small crack in the upper corner of one of the mirrors.
As you sip your drinks, the guide shares one last story with you. I have to be honest — I don’t remember what the story was. I was listening at the beginning, but something caught the corner of my eye. It clearly caught the corner of James’s, too. We looked at each other, and back at it. And we simply forgot to listen to the rest of the story.
Because that crack in the mirror kept getting longer, each time we looked back at it.
Our anxious watch of the mirror was cut short by the sound of applause, and we joined in before we were gently nudged out the door so the next group could come in.
I still think about that mirror.
You probably know all this if you’re reading this somewhere, but just for posterity: the Ghost Post is available to supporters on Patreon and Ko-fi on the first of the month, then for free Patreon members, Dreamwidth community members, and readers of the blog on the 8th.
All my free-to-read work is available to Dreamwidth community members, and is in the process of being mirrored on the website as well. All supporters-locked content remains on Patreon and Ko-fi.
I hit 20K in Hollywood Gods, which is a very satisfying milestone! Phantoms got a sneak peek at that, as well as assorted updates on other projects in the behind the scenes post on Patreon and Ko-fi.
I’m running a Trick or Treat special on Ko-fi for the month! In past years I’ve done a Trick or Treat special where any £3 donation got you a drabble; this year, I’m expanding on it a little. Here’s the deal:
- donate £3 minimum
- leave a comment with your donation:
- for a Trick: leave a one-word prompt for a drabble. For example, “Trick: pumpkin.”
- for a Treat: leave a character or pairing (one you know I know, please) for a drabble. For example, “Treat: Morticia/Gomez.”
- receive a drabble
- much rejoicing
As always, there will be a monthly update for Phantoms on Patreon and Ko-fi.
Commander Corvus drew me an anglerfish and she’s so beautiful and everyone has to look at her.
A seasonal treat: Joanna M. Lawrie’s autumn poem, “Gold Leaves.”
Nell’s added some cool zines to eir shop.
Topical, from The London History Show – How We Beat the Fascists Last Time.
The ex-Polygon crew has rebounded as Rogue, whose Hades II guides I am finding invaluable.
Love it when we are out here putting respect on Marilyn Monroe’s name.
I would genuinely put this poster on my classroom wall.
It’s so important that you look at this tiger.
Obsessed with this idea for an Epic of Gilgamesh musical.
Currently Reading: House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson
Captivating, delicious gothic romance. I decided to kick off my spooky season reading with a sapphic vampire book and truly, if it weren’t for Hades II, I wouldn’t be able to put this down. Even so, I’ve nearly almost finished it, and I’m loving it. Gruesome, sexy, pitch perfect for its genre.
Currently Watching: My Demon
Expanding my C-drama obsession into K-drama, Alex recommended this one and as soon as the protagonist found out she has to get married or loses her inheritance I knew exactly why!!! I’ve been pondering the cultural significance of C- and K-dramas leaning so heavily into tropes; I’m not knowledgeable enough about the cultures to say for sure, but I suspect from what I do know that folklore and mythology are much more a daily part of life in east Asia than they are in the west. The comfort of formulaic stories seems to me to be much more respected, as opposed to the heavy emphasis on spoiler culture in the west. That’s just idle thought, though. Mainly I am having soooooo much fun every time someone oh no who could have foreseen it ends up in a marriage of convenience BUT GUESS WHAT they secretly love each other……………
Currently Playing: Hades II
Literally Supergiant made this game for me???? Announced on my birthday, starring the goddess of ghosts and the head witch herself?????????? I’m obsessed. I’m having the best time. I am making potions and throwing out binding circles like birdseed. I am hot tubbing with the incarnation of doom. I am getting killed by my dog. I am mad at Odysseus for the 30th century running.
Currently Listening: Neon Grey Midnight Green by Neko Case
A staple of my Sad Girl Music college years, I’m delighted to have new music from Neko Case. Her music has always been one of the things that brings me back to myself when I’m feeling scattered, and this dropped at just the right time. Unsurprisingly, “Baby I’m Not (A Werewolf)” is my favourite at the moment, but there’s something about “Wreck” blasting in my headphones with the sun in my eyes on the walk to work.
Major Knick Pnack is enjoying a temporary spooky season promotion to the rank of Count. He is, as you may be able to tell, apprehensive about his new station.
Wishing you all a spooky season full of capital-R Romance and all the comforts of autumn. Keep in touch on Discord or Revolt. Take care of yourselves and each other.
29/08/24: I'm Pulling My Books From Draft2Digital
Short version: I am pulling my books from Draft2Digital’s distribution. Ebooks are still available through my Ko-fi shop and paperbacks are available through the end of August. I want to have print copies available again sometime in the future, but I don’t know how long that will be.
Long version:
Apparently generative AI companies have been approaching my book distributor, Draft2Digital, seeking to acquire books distributed through them on which to train their AI. Some authors (not me; I was alerted to this by December on Pillowfort) received an email with a survey link asking how we feel about receiving 1/10 of a cent per word for our work in exchange for training an algorithm to write stories we’ll then have to compete with in the publishing market. For context, bare minimum industry standard is 5 cents a word. We’re being asked to take a fraction of what our work is worth in order to put ourselves out of jobs in the future.
Y’all? I’m miserable about this. I’m angry, I’m exhausted, I’m devastated. It feels like this is happening at every turn and now my fucking book distributor is salivating at selling my work out from under me for pennies so that AI can write stories instead of me.
Right now it’s just a survey. But the fact that they’re even considering it tells me they aren’t trustworthy with my work. I suspect no matter how much pushback they get in the survey, they’re going to do it if they want to do it. I’m not giving them the opportunity to do this to my books.
When I was unemployed and writing was my only income, I resisted wider distribution for so long. Nearly every channel I could find required me to go through Amazon, and I wanted to stick to my guns on not letting Jeff Bezos make one red cent off me as long as I could. But I needed money, and people wanted to buy my books in Real Bookshops (and also Amazon), so I caved. And it was nice! I was grumpy about Amazon making money off me but people bought my books and I could buy groceries. If you bought books from me back then, you cannot know how grateful I was and am, and how much that helped me.
I mention this because there isn’t a mass exodus from D2D brewing. You’re not gonna see every author you know who distributes through them pulling their books. I want to be clear that I’m not making a moral judgment on everyone else. I depended on that book money and so do tons of other authors. We’re all weighing the factors in our lives and figuring out what we can bear to do. Some people are going to take that shitty deal because no money doesn’t pay the bills, and some money, even if it’s insultingly little, does. It isn’t our fault that we’re being put in the position of trading our futures for short-term cash; it is these AI companies and everyone who funds them, it is CEOs who hoard wealth and refuse to adequately compensate the people on whose labour they profit, it is capitalism, full stop. It is the system that’s been created to stop us from doing anything that isn’t making money for the man at the top.
I’m incredibly lucky in many ways, not least of which is that I start a permanent position next week which will allow me not to depend on book income as much. It still certainly helps (especially because I haven’t been paid since July and have had a broken bed and a broken laptop to replace ha ha ha) but I can afford to keep my books safe from exploitative entities.
I hate this. I really do. I wish I could just keep them available. But I really believe in doing the good I’m able to do. One person keeping their books out of the AI training buffet isn’t going to make a huge difference, but it’s four fewer books in the matrix. And if everyone who can afford to pull their books does, that’s even more of a difference. And if they don’t, at least I did what I could.
I had actually been looking vaguely at switching to a different print distributor, so at least that was already on my radar. They charge upfront, and as mentioned previously, I’ve had some financial hits between paychecks, so it’s not going to be an immediate switch. I’m also going to have to talk to them about AI now apparently!! I’ll keep you posted on how that goes. For now, I’m leaving the print books listed through the end of August, which I know isn’t much time. If you want a print copy but can’t afford it right now, let me know and I’ll be happy to get you a copy if you can cover shipping from the UK.
Ebooks are still available through my Ko-fi shop.
As a final note, in case you hadn’t picked up on this, it’s an incredibly demoralising time to be a professional author. If you’re looking for ways to help, genuinely the best advice I can give is to support your favourite authors in the ways they say help them the most. For some people it might be Patreon, for some it might be liking and commenting on YouTube videos. For me, it’s Ko-fi. And if you like someone’s work, it’s always worth saying something. Tell a friend you think might like it, or let the author know what it meant to you.
And don’t fucking use AI.
10/06/24: Authors for Palestine: Free Books for a Good Cause
I've joined over 50 other authors supporting Palestinian families in need through a fundraising giveaway! Here's how it works:
1. Donate to one of the families we've chosen through Operation Olive Branch
2. Fill in the form on our website and attach a screenshot of your donation
3. Receive free books and discount codes as thanks for your help
AND
Be entered in our giveaway to potentially receive even more free books and extras!
All participants will receive a free copy of my queer gothic ghost story romance, The Hunt and the Haunting, plus a code for 50% off everything in my Ko-fi shop. There are also two ebook copies of my novella retelling the myth of Ariadne and Dionysus, Crown of Ivy, up for grabs in the giveaway.
Check out our website for all the details!
25/05/24: Generic Foundational Blog Post Title
Preserving my post about quitting Instagram here:
I grow weary of the internet being run by tech bros who never took an ethics class. Not that it's in the least surprising, but IG is the latest platform to be mined for 'AI' datasets, and so this is where I draw the line. Link for further reading here.
For those who don't understand why artists are upset about AI - which, tangentially, is not artificial intelligence, as it doesn't think for itself but runs an algorithm on aggregated data to find the mode - these bots are fed art and writing taken from artists without either consent or remuneration, then used to approximate our creative work. From a purely ethical standpoint, these bots are trained on stolen art and used to recreate that art without paying the people who made it. From a standpoint valuing human creativity, this is both unforgivably inane and gallingly dismissive. People create art to say things to each other about the world we experience and the things we value. Who cares what the algorithm values? Art is an inherently human endeavour, and the people who create it deserve the resources to live our lives in this capitalist hellscape. Attempts to create a world where art is manufactured by robots and humans are stuck with the menial labour are so backwards it blows my mind.
I'm not a visual artist but my writing has been scraped for AI use without my consent, without my receiving credit or compensation, and without my ability to remove it from that sphere. I don't want to be part of a machine meant to replace writing jobs! I want to GET those writing jobs! But those jobs are being eradicated so that robots can have them instead, and that's supremely uncool.
Please stand with your artist friends. Don't use AI generators and don't feed the bots.