Posted by fústar in 
The Dreadful Thoughts project begins (like a cauldron of hot blood) to bubble and fizz most satisfactorily – with my comrade Sinéad rallying the troops over at The Sigla Blog.
For the first of the reborn (Hallelujah!) Story Club's homework assignments we're returning to the previously discussed (though not discussed much) M. R. James. Given that James is probably deserving of a club devoted exclusively to his supernatural tales – this is not remotely a bad thing.
Sinéad's choice of story is one of his very best/creepiest – the frequently anthologised "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" (1904). Links to online texts are given below.
That, then, is your assignment Dreadful Thinkers (or should that be Thought-ers?). You have until this coming Monday (the 10th) to read and ponder it. Return here at 8.00 p.m. on that date when a shiny new post for all related chitter and chatter will be waiting for you.
It'd be great if all interested parties could be online simultaneously, but (as Sinéad suggests) "if you can’t make the designated time, you can always post your thoughts afterward". There's no time limit on how long the discussion can run for (the comments section will remain ever open).
Now but one question remains unanswered: What's a good (reasonably priced) red wine to accompany talk of g-g-ghosts and ghost stories?
Story: "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" (pdf), (html)
Meeting: Monday, March 10, 8.00 p.m. (GMT).
P.S. By the way, the new issue of The Irish Book Review features my not entirely complimentary take on Roddy Doyle's The Deportees.
The Hungarian Egri Bikaver {Bull’s Blood} stands as my absolute favorite cheapish red wine, m’lud. It’s on the drier side, very tart, stands up well to food and rewards drinking on an empty stomach with feelings of infinite cheer and police-baiting recklessness, followed by the kind of emptiness only the Germans have a word for, as far as I know.
I’m partial to a barleywine for this. I’ll have to pick some up this weekend in Dublin.
Bull’s Blood, eh? Sounds delish.
Another requirement is that it can both enhance the sublime terrors we’ll all be experiencing/discussing AND allow us all a peaceful, uninterrupted sleep.
Can Bull’s Blood promise this dual functionality?
I’ve taken a gamble on a bottle of Fairtrade wine I found in Tesco yesterday. Hope it’s not as dastardly as the story itself.
This group is not merely composed of lovers of a good scare. We’re ethically sound too!
My brother-in-law claims that fairtrade products just don’t have the same kick. You can’t taste the suffering and exploitation…
“My brother-in-law claims that fairtrade products just don’t have the same kick. You can’t taste the suffering and exploitation…”
You can if you buy them in Tesco.
“You can if you buy them in Tesco.”
Zing!
“Can Bull’s Blood promise this dual functionality?”
Fústar, with one lick of the Bull’s Blood, preferably from a plastic {nay, plastick!} skull with a useful handle on both sides and a spill-proof top, your night terrors, be they delirium tremens or the symptoms of acute toxicity, are guaranteed.
Niall,
That’s how I drink all my wine anyway. Doesn’t everybody?
It’ll have to be a spill proof plastic skull and a straw if the plan to wear the masks comes off.
A pumpkin mask just makes things difficult.
Nay, plastick!