Speculative Fiction Worth Reading: Johannes Cabal the Necromancer

Blurb: A charmingly gothic, fiendishly funny Faustian tale about a brilliant scientist who makes a deal with the Devil, twice.

Johannes Cabal sold his soul years ago in order to learn the laws of necromancy. Now he wants it back. Amused and slightly bored, Satan proposes a little wager: Johannes has to persuade one hundred people to sign over their souls or he will be damned forever. This time for real. Accepting the bargain, Jonathan is given one calendar year and a traveling carnival to complete his task. With little time to waste, Johannes raises a motley crew from the dead and enlists his brother, Horst, a charismatic vampire to help him run his nefarious road show, resulting in mayhem at every turn.

Christine's review: This is the perfect Halloween read. It's darkly evocative and twisty with some clever gothic wit. Johannes isn't the sort of character you want to be friends with, but as an anti-hero, his story is enthralling. A man who sold his soul for knowledge and then realizes later he wants it back, so he makes a wager with Satan. Johannes needs to sign 100 souls to damnation in one year, and Satan gives him a demonic carnival to help with it. The cast of characters are delightfully dead and amusing. I especially like Horst, Johannes' vampiric brother. The story picks up steam as the carnival moves along. I love the dry humor and quirky dread blanketing it all.

#UnRealms October Twitter Chat - Ghosts!

36 days until Halloween!

It's one of our favorite times of year. Spooks, scares, and fun.

What goes bump in the night?

Is it a ghost? What does the spirit want?

Maybe it's just someone playing a trick.

Or the ghost wants to be appeased with candy.

Or something much... much... worse...

Join the Untethered Realms authors on Twitter all October for an on-going chat about ghosts. We love to talk about the paranormal and the fun stories and legends surrounding them.

Please use the hashtag #UnRealms.

You can find us on Twitter at @UnRealms.

Halloween Mystery With The Untethered Realms Authors

When black cats prowl,

and pumpkins gleam,

May luck be yours

on Halloween.

The UR authors are dressed up, and it's up to you to guess who they are!
If you are the first to guess correctly, you will win a copy of our newest thrilling anthology, Spirits in the Water.

* * * * *

Teen Titans GO!

Who is behind this mask? If you say Carrie Kelley, you'd get some geek points, but it wouldn't be right.

* * * * *

Who is under this mask? I'm the ghoulish one, some may say the goulash one. Some other published authors in the photo: Marie Harte, the prisoner; behind her in orange is Paty Jaeger; next to her at the top is Karen Duvall; the purple witch is Ruth Colter; and the other witch is Diana McCollum.

* * * * *

Guess who's under the mask! We love a good renaissance faire and it's a perfect way to spend Halloween, all dressed up in comfy clothes, eating turkey legs, and imbibing the bread of life, aka beer (Just to keep it authentic, of course!).

* * * *

Who is this Purple Queen? Or maybe she's a countess or even a commoner. But one thing's for sure... she LOVES all things purple.

What Makes a Great Ghost Story? #Paranormal

It's October! Time to get your scare on...

There's something about a good ghost story that suckers me in. You're probably tired of hearing my account with an actual ghost... A black thing ran over my foot once and out the door. It was like a shadow, but not a shadow. My husband was there at the time and saw the same thing.

We believed it the spirit of Mr. Sox, who was killed by a car. After he died, I used to hear him scratching at the back screen. The sound was so distinct, I would often get up and go out on the patio looking for him, even though I knew it was impossible he was there.

That black shadow ran over my foot while I was serving dinner and raced out the sliding door into the backyard. I never heard the scratching at the back screen again.

It wasn't a frightening experience. It perplexed me. The shadow had form and was thicker than a shadow, more solid. Yet I could see through it. It was the size of a cat.

My husband and I have gone ghost hunting before, and I'd love to say I've had other encounters, but I haven't. I don't want to jump to conclusions that a sound is a spirit or an experience is a spirit. I want a real, solid encounter... like the one I had.

Recently, we went on a 'haunted' tour of our town. To me, it was a win-win... history and ghost stories. I love history and I love ghost stories. There were some good ones...

George at the Reid School, a builder who had died on the site, shows up quite frequently. It's now the local history museum.

A boy on a bicycle at the high school, which is now county offices. He likes to turn lights on during the night.

Mr. and Mrs. Thompson of the Tower Theater are sometimes seen sitting in the audience.

Mrs. Smith can still be heard banging on the ceiling with a broom to call Mr. Smith to dinner.

There's a malevolent presence in the old hotel, who has attacked several people.

No one wants to own anything that was in the old nunnery. The buildings and contents were sold and transported far away. I wonder if the new owners have had anything odd happen.

Whether true or not, my favorite ghost stories are accounts related by family, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. I don't want to run away, I want to investigate. I love talking over the mysteries that touch our lives and our world.

What's out there?

Spooky Stories from the Authors of Untethered Realms

Christine Rains

I'm one of those folks who want to believe. There are unexplained things out there, but I've never had a paranormal experience myself. I've been on ghost tours and strolled through cemeteries in the middle of the night. Nothing. Well, except...

During college, I helped a friend care for her two young sons who were nearly one and three at the time. I had an old Ouija board that we'd play around with, and my friend claimed it worked for her. Not long after, her oldest son started talking to someone who wasn't there. Kids have imaginary friends all the time, right? There were strange noises at night. But kids thump around and knock against walls. Nothing convinced me something definitely was going on other than kids being kids, but one incident did leave me wondering.

I had the youngest in my arms as I walked up the stairs to the second floor. The other boy walked in front of me. Both yammered on animatedly until they suddenly stopped. In sync, they turned their heads to the far left bedroom and looked at something unseen to my eyes. They followed it across the hall to the other bedroom. Neither of them were frightened, but I did wonder what they saw.

Cherie Reich

Well, there was this one time some friends and I were the ghosts who scared off some kids, but that's probably not very spooky. For us. *grins*

Back when I was moving to Missouri for college, my parents, sister, and I stopped at a hotel in Illinois, not far from St. Louis, Missouri. The motel was one of those typical cheap places where it is two floors and all the doors open to the outside. I had a bad feeling about the place, but we were tired. It's a long drive from Virginia to Missouri, after all, so I pushed those feelings aside.

I feel asleep rather easily, but come morning, a strange sensation flowed over me. I was between waking and sleeping. I could hear the TV on and my family getting ready for the last bit of our drive. Before I could open my eyes, I heard a deep voice saying, "I will find you wherever you go."

My eyelids flung open and I startled up. No one had heard what I did. No one in the room had spoken those words. Scariest of all, I had heard that voice once in the dead of night when I was thirteen.

Luckily, I haven't heard it since, but I wouldn't stay in that motel again.

Gwen Gardner

The Whaley House is considered one of the most haunted houses in America. Built in 1857, it is located on the site of the infamous hanging of Yankee Jim Robinson in 1852, among other things. Owned by Thomas and Anna Whaley, the house has a long history of death and tragedy.

So what better way to celebrate Halloween than a real live ghost hunt in a real live haunted house? That's what my sister and I did last year. From 10:30 to midnight a handful of strangers intrepidly crossed the threshold to wander throughout this famous house in hopes of making contact with ghosties.

We learned the history of the house, which included the loss of Thomas and Anna's son, Thomas Jr., at just eighteen months old. We used EMF meters (Electromagnetic Field Meters) for detecting the presence of ghosts, EVP recorders (Electronic Voice Phenomena) for picking up ghostly voices and of course you're welcome to bring your own camera. An interesting experience, when you think about the living making contact with the not-so-dead. It was cool seeing colorful lights indicating the presence of ghosts and hearing the electronic-like voices of spirits reaching out to us from beyond the grave.

But the most interesting part was this photo taken by someone in our group:

Notice the arm and body of a woman bending over the cradle. Could this be Anna Whaley, still rocking the cradle of her infant son, Thomas, after all these years?


M. Pax

If I had never seen a ghost for myself, I would still be a skeptic, but I did, and I know it wasn't any kind of trick. Husband Unit saw it at the same time and so as to not contaminate one another, we went and wrote down what we saw then exchanged papers. We saw the same thing.

A year ago, we went on a ghost hunt to a cemetery with a local medium and other truth seekers. The night can play tricks, so I can't say anything definitive happened. But I did hear footsteps on the gravel at one point when no one was walking and what sounded like someone knocking on a gravestone in response to a question we asked. My husband thinks this is a ghost by the tree. I'm not as certain, but you be the judge.

Cathrina Constantine

I believe in ghostly spirits and paranormal activity. My husband is levelheaded and very, very hard to convince. With that said, this is his account: 

He'd been watching television late at night. As typical, he'd fallen asleep. He woke to find ~ what he calls, the grim reaper standing between the door frame. A white ghostly apparition wearing a hood and holding a harvesting sickle. Then it disappeared.

He's a man that doesn't scare easily, and it freaked him out! The next day I said, "You must've been dreaming." He's insistent that he was wide eyed and awake. If it was anyone else I'd be skeptical, but not with my pragmatic husband. I believe him. 

To this day, he will recount the scene when asked.

Catherine Stine

Boo! I love Halloween. And yes, I do believe there are webs of invisible energy fields, and when someone passes, their energy lives on in some form, inside this web. That's just physics, folks--energy doesn't "die" it transforms. The night my dad passed (before I knew), I got up suddenly, went downstairs, checked the time and just then, the phone rang. When I picked it up, I heard the sound of shuffling feet. I asked who was there. No one. But I got the shivers and goosebumps all over. Then, I went back upstairs to sleep. My brother called, a little over an hour later and said my dad had died at the EXACT time I got that phone call.

Yes, it was someone's pocket dial, but I am SURE that my dad somehow had an influence in it. I have more stories like this, but I'm out of room. Here's me, below, already ready for this holiday. Can you say, Good Witch?!

***

Enchanted Halloween Drink recipes!

Boo to our fellow fiends and miscreants!

Most fantasy, horror and sci-fi authors and readers love the Halloween season, and also like to entertain. But what spooktastic drinks can we serve that are uniquely gross and wonderful?

Untethered Realms brings you enchanted drink recipes! When we're done, tell us some of your favorites.






From M. Pax - Blood Apple

Cider (not the hard stuff - can be regular or spiced)
vodka (plain, unflavored vodka)
grenadine syrup

Pour a shot of vodka in a tall glass. Fill with chilled cider. Add a spoonful of grenadine to turn it bloody... or red. Red sounds more appetizing. Enjoy!

(other kinds of juice can be used in place of apple - pineapple is really good. Hard cider doesn't work. Yes, I tried it. Can also add a bit of vanilla syrup with the grenadine. Yeah, I've tried that too. If you don't care to be bewitched, leave out the vodka.)

From Christine Rains - Dead Man's Treat

2 oz Red Velvet vodka
3 oz cranberry juice
1/2 oz club soda

Mix liquids. Add a dead man's hand.

(For a kid friendly drink, leave out the alcohol and use cherry or strawberry Kool-Aid instead of cranberry juice. Add in a few red Jolly Ranchers and red Twizzlers as a straws. They look frighteningly similar in a glass. So don't get them confused!)

Cathrina's Witches Brew Cocktail

• 1(6 ounce) package lime gelatin
• 2 cups  boiling water
• 3 cups chilled pineapple juice
• 1(2 liter) bottle-chilled lemon-lime flavored soda or 1 (2 liter) bottle ginger ale
• 2 cups chilled vodka (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour the gelatin mix into a large bowl. Slowly stir in the boiling water. Stir at least 2 minutes, until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
2. Stir in the pineapple juice, the entire 2 liter of soda and the vodka. Let cool to room temperature.

From Cherie Reich - Swamp Sip

A healthy-ish drink for the Swamp Thing inside you. To make it nonalcoholic, leave out the tequila.

Add either green juice from the grocery store or make your own by juicing your favorite fruits and veggies: spinach, kale, pineapple, lime, etc.

Add a touch of tequila and a dash of lime to taste.

For the green mold, use file powder, a Creole seasoning, or green tea powder.

Add a small bit of dry ice to turn your Swamp Sip into a Misty Swamp.

1. **HAVE A WICKED GOOD EVENING**

***

From Catherine Stine - 

Witch’s Spiderleg Spritzer

In a punch bowl mix:

3 to 4 cups of cranberry juice

2 cups ginger ale

Generous splashes of lime

Pomegranate juice to taste

Garnish with organic "spider leg" licorice (and limes)

Make skulls from marshmallows and mount with shish-kebab sticks

***Hand drawn label taped over a bottle optional!

***Red candles effective for spooky mood enhancement

(Add vodka if you like alcohol)

From Julie Flanders - Witch's Brew with a Tasty Bloody Hand

Mix 1 10 oz package of frozen raspberries & 2 1/2 cups cranberry juice

Pour mixture into saucepan & sprinkle with unflavored gelatin - heat until gelatin dissolves

Pour mixture into inside-out rubber glove, securely tie top, & place in freezer for a few days 

Cut glove away from frozen hand, place palm up in punch bowl

Pour 2 liters ginger ale & 2 liters sparkling apple cider in bowl

Garnish with gummy worms 

Yum!

* * *

From River Fairchild (and Jezebel) - Winged Beast Punch

This punch recipe is from Jezebel, so proceed at your own risk.

2 cups cranberry juice

1 liter ginger ale

1 liter apple cider

½ cup torbid weed *

A pinch of dried loreberry flour *

*Ingredients only found at the Demon Marketplace in the Underworld

Jezebel says if you mix the ingredients during the waning moon, you’re guaranteed to sprout wings – at least temporarily. Uh… enjoy!

* * *

From Ellie Garratt - The Devil's Bloody Nightcap

The preferred drink for fans of Lovecraft, Poe, and King. 

1/2 glass chilled cranberry juice

1/4 glass of vodka (add soda for non-alcoholic)

One set of edible dentures

Witche's fingers to garnish

Drinking before bed is guaranteed to induce nightmares!

From Gwen Gardner - Eye Spyder Brew

Note: Handle with care. Can be volatile when consumed rapidly. And, uh, don't let the arachnid matriarch see you playing with her babies--that could be equally volatile. 

1 oz green toad blood

1 oz yellow newt whizz

2 oz dragon spittle

2 dragon eyes (1 red, 1 brown, bloodshot is best)

1 bat tendon

Black hoodoo salt for the glass rim

2 baby black widows

Sometimes the ingredients can be hard to find unless you have access to Diagon Alley. If you can't find some of the ingredients, below are substitutes you can use:

1 oz sour green apple schnapps

1 oz apple juice

2 oz jalapeno vodka

2 gummy eyes

1 black licorice, ends bitten off to make a straw

Sprinkles or green apple

Plastic spiders

* * *

Cue the Horror Theme Music - Films and TV Programmes that Made You Scream

As a fan of the horror genre, I don't need much of an excuse to indulge in all things scary on the big and small screen. October, which culminates with Halloween, gives me that excuse. 

I love the chill creeping down my spine when the film music signals something horrific is about to happen, my heart pounding when the monstrous killer is finally revealed, and that I sometimes need to hide behind a pillow when the film or TV programme reaches the climatic moment. When it's finished, I love laughing at how stupid I was to be scared by something not real. 

Given the popularity of all things horror, I know I'm not alone. But how often has something you've seen literally made you scream out loud? Not a curse or jump. I'm talking a scream that probably made someone else jump out of their chair.

For me, the answer is twice.

The first time was during the final climatic scene of Misery. 

I was 18 years old at the time, and staying at a friend's house while her parents were away. My scream was enough to make my friend run from the room and the neighbours knock on the door to check we were okay. It gave us something to laugh about for a long time afterwards. 

The second time was while watching The Twilight Zone's Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, based on a short story by I Am Legend author Richard Matheson. 

The idea of a hideous unexplained creature running around on an areoplane's wing, which only William Shatner's character could see, was one of the scariest things I've ever watched. I'm not exactly sure why it scared me so much, though it might have something to do with my fear of flying. The second or third time he sees the creature, face squashed against the small window, resulted in a Jamie Lee Curtis worthy scream. Everyone else watching it laughed at me. 

I often wonder what it is we like about being scared. Perhaps it's because we are reminded of our own mortality or that evil can and will be defeated, or maybe it's just because afterwards we laugh with relief.

Why do you think we like horror stories so much? What films or TV programmes have literally made you scream out loud?

Halloween's a-coming!

This time of year is my favorite – and not only because of Halloween. That’s like icing on the cake. Autumn is the fading season. The time when shadows grow longer. The boards in the house creak. The wind sighs a mournful tune.

And monsters come out to play.

We like to be scared. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because we think we can control our own environment. Stay safe in our cozy little bubbles. Be terrified by stories but feel secure knowing it can’t happen to us... not really.

Never mind the strange noise you just heard. It’s only your imagination, after all.

Or maybe not.

In honor of the season, I’m proud to present Demon in the Basement. It’s on sale right now for only .99.

Thirty-two stories. Some long, some short. Some filled with irony, others with dark humor. More that will send you to hide under the covers, wondering if something’s coming for you next. I hope you enjoy them. I know I enjoyed writing them.

Oh, and one more thing before I forget… check the locks on your doors. You’ve been warned. Muhahahaha!

Thirty-two stories, including a novelette by the same title, to keep you awake at night.

A time-traveling Chevy, an ancient church of evil, a house possessed by black magic. Stories to fill you with dread, draw you into places you'd rather not go, smack you in the face with ironic possibilities.

Meet the monsters of myth, the creatures that lurk under your bed, the phantoms you thought didn't exist. Travel to the real Atlantis, strap in for the Bermuda Triangle. Terror lurks in the ocean, while an asteroid hides a secret.

Leave a nightlight on before you go to sleep. Something's coming for you.

Where to buy:

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