iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Haunted Bench Project

PAUL FINCH @paulfinchauthor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Check this out, folks. Available for pre-order right now at telos.co.uk?fbclid=IwY2x...

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Just arrived #2. @danielgraywriter.bsky.social's Fanzine: The Story of Football's Alternative Press, which does for 80's DIY terrace lit what David Sutton's 'On the Fringes' does for pre-2000 Brit ghost & fantasy small press publications. 🖤#Fanzines_rule

021

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Just arrived: @daniel-mcgachey.bsky.social's 'By No Mortal Hands' featuring sequels/prequels to ghost stories of MR James, reminiscences of Dr Lawrence (the superb novella, 'Ting-a-ling-a-ling' among them) and a Dr. H. S. Grace selection. #Ghosts&Scholars #Lurkio 🖤

By No Mortal Hands cover. A beast with four fingers caught in spiders web

Back cover blurb. "Ancient windows look out onto nightmarish scenes, bizarre clocks chime out hidden hours in which the dead walk, spectral forms haunt moonlit forests and distant shorelines, curious books conceal horrifying contents, and hideous secrets, monstrous fates, and creeping, crawling terrors are dredged up from their unhallowed resting places!

Whether it’s through the reminiscences of Dr Lawrence, a folklorist unable to escape the dark shadows of his own uncanny speciality...
or in a trio of sequels and prequels to the classic works of the father of the modern ghost story, M.R. James...
or by delving into the stories and strange legacy of one of Dr James’s more obscure and long-forgotten contemporaries...
BY NO MORTAL HAND is a collection of antiquarian ghost stories that pays tribute to a golden age of supernatural storytelling."

Cover of Dr H. S. Grace's supernaturally rare 'Further Tales from a Ghostly Study.'

121

Reposted by Haunted Bench Project

Brexit Bin 🇪🇺 🇬🇧 🇩🇪 @brexitbin.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Here's a French video (with English subtitles) about what would happen if the far-right racists got their way and all foreigners and people of colour were forced to leave.

12530911600

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

VINTAGE PAPERBACK & PULP BOOK FAIR CRIME, HORROR, SCIENCE FICTION, TV & FILM, WESTERN, ADVENTURE, VINTAGE PENGUINS, COMICS & MORE! HOLIDAY INN BLOOMSBURY CORAM STREET, LONDON WC1N 1HT SUNDAY NOV 8TH OPEN 9.30—3PM ADMISSION £4

022

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Picked up a box of approx 500 postcards from Sclater Street market this morning. Here's a sample. Particularly fond of the Sphinx and the vintage beauty. Also the story of the white heather. Brigg church gives me minor St Mary's vibes,

A very glamorous young woman. Any info appreciated.

The story of the white heather. An Old Celtic Tale

030

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Been v much enjoying #DaleBailey's 'This Island Earth' feat. Re-imaginings of Horror of Party Beach, I Was a Teenage Werewolf & The Ghoul Goes West.' #BEMs #TeenageLust #bazooms #radiation #Drive-ins_of_doom, &c. Running commentary: vaultofevil.proboards.com/thread/9115/...

This Island Eaerth cover painting by Illan Sheady, depicting the 50 foot woman, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, a Mummy, the teenage Werewolf, hotrods, the brain from planet arouse, etc. Artist also contributes several cute interior lustrations.

040

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Jumped to 'Nightmare Abbey' #10. Fave stories to dater: Reggie Oliver's gorgeous 'Sad Gardens': #Magnus & @johnlprobert.bsky.social vs. the Will o' the Water: @helengrantsays.bsky.social's #SawneyBeaneClan update: & Tom Johnstone's 'Lucky Lucifer.' #tour_guides_hate_you #haf_found_lucan

Nightmare Abbey 10. Cover illustration by Allen Koszowski. A haunted wooden shack in the woods; a giant spiders web; a hand crawling out of the earth. A very busy composition.

Back cover advertising 'Nightmare Abbey' & 'Infinity Plus' back issues.

331

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Gravestone inscription, #Harrow_on_the_Hill Reveille, 19 June 1956. Not bad, though not in the same league as the memorial to early railway fatality, Thomas Port, in St. Mary's churchyard.

St Mary's church & the lychgate, Harrow on the Hill

Beneath this stone Tom Grosfield lies: who cares not now who laughs or cries. He laughed when sober and when mellow: Was a harum scarum heedless fellow. He gave to none designed offence, So honi soit qui mal y pense. (Evil be to he who evil thinks).

020

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Playing catch up with 'Nightmare Abbey' mag (ed Tom English) beginning with #6. Fave stories so far, a Magnus the supernatural dog story by @johnlprobert.bsky.social, Ian Rogers' 'Blackwoods,' and a nightmare drive on a not entirely, deserted stretch of motorway by @helengrantsays.bsky.social

Grinning fiend in batmask and mouldering cowled robe brandishing for skulls on a pole. Illustration © Allen Koszowski

Lord John Llewelleyn Probert and his whacking great staffy!

142

Reposted by Haunted Bench Project

Bremain in Spain @bremaininspain.com · 05/08/2026

The EU now has laws that require all AI content and bot agents to be labelled as such Brexit means UK citizens won’t have these protections The UK should align with the EU on this and all policy that reigns in digital abuse and disinformation. #StrongerTogether

521577

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

"Nearing the trees, I passed a flapper in white Victorian bridal dress sat on a stone bench, a parasol twirling idly in a white lace gloved hand. A few yards on, I couldn't help but turn my head to sneak a last glimpse of her .. but the seat was empty, the girl nowhere to be seen." #ghost_girl #true

True ghost experience of me, 2022, except I didn't accept it at time, thought it was down to a fierce drunk the previous night. Photo © Alice Darkness shows the approach to the bench referred to (very obscured: it's down from the spire where the grass meets the bushes).

020

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Have neglected actual haunted bench content recently, so here is a shot of the corner of Weald Lane where until recently rested the AWOL bench. Note this was before the pond was drained and cemented over so long before a bench was placed there. #HauntedHarrowWeald For caption, see photo alt text.

"Anthony's or Weald Farm. was situated opposite the Red Lion. The farm was a childhood home of novelist Anthony Trollope. For many years it was farmed by Bill and Tom Durrant. Then by J. S. Anthony, who ran a large dairy business. You can see one of his carts, with the horse taking a drink from the pond at the junction of Weald Lane."

010

Reposted by Haunted Bench Project

GroovyShelly @groovyshelly.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Epstein files aren't worth seeing or discussing, but Fauci's personal diary...? THERE's our new distraction. I'd listen to this remarkable woman.

724300108502

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Stuff on the go just now. Can't settle on one, so to-ing and fro-ing between these plus 'Danse Macabre' and those unread in Stephen Jones 'Weird Tales: Vol 1.'

Ramsey Campbell: essays on everything, ever.

Spicy Mystery Stories. When men were men and women in perma-lingerie required rescuing from perverted pillars of the community.

Informative and enlightening as 'A Woman's Game' is, I can't help but thinking the definitive history of women's football in Britain has yet to be written, one that digs deep into what was virtually an underground scene from the ban through to the eary 70s.

A reissue from 1914. Very charming true/ 'true' accounts of encounters with they from beyond the veil.

130

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Arrived today. Vol 1 still my pick of the set as I love the often spectacularly terrible Baird/ early Farnsworth Wright issues above the 30s high watermark, but this still ace. Could have done without #HPLovecraft and the poetry, but that's just me. #Stephen_Jones #Weird_Tales

Curtis Senf's painting of a lapper mithered by a not great bat adorns the cover of Mr Jones' second volume of 'Weird Tales.'

031

Reposted by Haunted Bench Project

Germaine @germainek.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

When people are afraid of their own government you know fascism has arrived

13137851298

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Found these taken with a Kodak instamatic on a visit to Highgate Cemetery one gloriously gloomy afternoon circa 2000. #proper_photography #deadmiserable

The Circle of Lebanon, Highgate Cemetery looking all great. Photo Marion Bondage.

Murky view of ... I can't quite make out which vault. You can almost smell the damp and grave mould though, can't you?

030

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Six stories into Mike Ashley [ed]'s 'Danse Macabre: Strange Stories from France' and loving it. Highlights to date include 'The Serpent Flower,' 'Vera,' 'Omphale,' and 'Dead Man's Hollow.' Maybe my favourite Ashley #TalesoftheWeird since 'Weird Sisters.'

A Sandra Gomez painting depicting a fluorescent skeleton adorns the cover of Mike Ashley's 'Danse Macabre.'

$Back cover blurb: "From German-inspired gothic tales to chilling contes cruels, the stories in this anthology follow the evolution of uncanny fiction in France from the post-revolutionary turmoil of the early nineteenth century, through World War Two and into the early 2000s. They’re tales influenced by, and often seeking to justify, civil and political unrest, populated by those forced to cope with constant change and rebellion, seeking some solace amongst the chaos. Featuring strange stories from Gallic literary heavyweights Charles Nodier, Théophile Gautier and Guy de Maupassant, as well as unsettling tales from voices less well known outside France, such as Nathalie Henneberg, Claude Seignolle and Christine Renard, 'Danse Macabre' is a beguiling concoction of fractured melodies that moves to its own unique rhythm."$

031

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Remembering Bill Demant. ❤️ Kev & Chrissie.

010

Reposted by Haunted Bench Project

Nige Tassell @nigetassell.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

FAO my fanzines-book-writing pals @wholehogg.bsky.social @danielgraywriter.bsky.social

142

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Did you hear that Essex's Reform council have banned libraries from "promoting" LGBTQ+ events and materials? It's outrageous - have we gone backwards a generation?! Sign the petition now to make them scrap this hateful decision! you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/li...

you.38degrees.org.uk

Essex libraries should be for everyone!

Did you hear that Essex's Reform council have banned libraries from "promoting" LGBTQ+ events and materials? It's outrageous! Sign the petition now to make them scrap this hate-filled decision!

020

Reposted by Haunted Bench Project

Belgian Red Devils @belreddevils.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Overturn this! 😎

933153799

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Got these in Comics, Posters, DVDs in Queens Rd, #Westbourne, on recent Bournemouth lightening visit. The shop is insane. You have to climb over books to get to stacks of books, DVDs, posters, dead customers etc, which bury you soon as you remove one.🖤 PS. Owner Gerry has new rescue dog named Finn.

Robert Bloch, 'Psycho II' Warners, Sept 1982. Cover art Franco Accanera, depicts a screaming nun (she has good reason)

Book opens to reveal just who has so terrified the sister. It's Norman Bates, of course, brandishing a knife with evil intent. Art, Franco Accanera

An omnibus compilation of Fortean Times issues 52-56, published as 'Bonfire of the Oddities' (John Brown, 1995). Cover painting depicts Death and friend come to claim a lawyer.

"Mommie Dearest" Christina Crawford's memoir of growing up with mum Joan (Mayflower, 1980). Basis for the audacious, unintentionally (?) hilarious movie of same title.

020

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Thank you to the kind soul who donated these to the #LittleFreeLibrary just inside St_George_in_the_east churchyard, #Cable_Street. 🖤

A scary fanged fellow adorns the cover of Basil Copper's 'The Vampire: In Legend, Fact & Art' (Corgi, 1975)

Les Edwards depiction of Don Sebastian the vampire preparing to fang a Victorian lady on cover of Les Edwards' 'Yellow Fog,' Raven, 1995.

John Holmes' depiction of 'The Fly' on cover of Peter Haining's The Ghouls: Book 2 (Orbit, 1974), has the look of a bug-eyed, skull-faced Hells Angel with impeccably groomed long hair,

Les Edwards trad Ghoul on cover of Mark Ronson's novel of the same name, Hamlyn 1980

052

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Picked up a copy of this for £1 at (what's left of) Sclater Street market #BethnalGreen yesterday. #Jan_Bondeson's fascinating account of a case of celebrity stalking from 1838, plus similar episodes through to the present day (including Michael Fagan's 1982 visit on Elizabeth II. #Save_Brick_Lane

Cover of Jan Bondeson's 'Queen Victoria's Stalker' reproduces an illustration from a contemporary songsheet depicting 'Boy' Jones snooping on her majesty's conversation with a minister.

Back cover blurb: "After her coronation in 1838, Queen Victoria was a very frightened young woman. She was relentlessly pursued by a weird teenager, Edward, 'the Boy' Jones, who had an uncanny ability to sneak into Buckingham Palace without being detected. Once, he broke into her bedroom and stole her underwear, and at least twice he sat on the throne. 'If he had come into my bedroom, how frightened I would have been,' the Queen wrote in her journal after the Boy Jones had been hauled out from underneath a sofa in her dressing room.

This book tells the full story of the Boy Jones, one of the first celebrity stalkers in history: his heady days as a media celebrity, and the long and bitter years as a British galley slave, imprisoned without charge or trial. It suggests that 'stalking' is not a modern phenomenon, rather a relabelling of aberrant human behaviour that has been known for centuries. It also raises the moral question of to what lengths the authorities should go to 'remove' a royal stalker or potential assassin, since the Boy Jones was held captive in breach of habeas corpus for longer than any wartime fascist, IRA member or Muslim terrorist."

051

Reposted by Haunted Bench Project

@suky01 @suky01.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

At least Ian Wright is speaking up about the hypocrisy and farce of this World Cup 👏👏👏👏

34380130

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Thank you, #CoachwhipPublications, for bringing this back into print. Frank King's 1929 novel 'The Ghoul,' basis for the 1933 movie of same name and seminal 1961 horror comedy "What A Carve Up!' feat Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Shirley Eaton, etc.

Cover painting, murky colors, depicting a man with knife protruding from back laid face down before fireplace.

Back cover blurb begins. " A strange inheritance entices a young woman and her friend to an isolated mansion, where an uncanny atmosphere and a looming menace quickly threaten their lives and sanity."

040

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

#Benchland update. Finally made it back to #StMarys #Harrow_on_the_Hill only for the church to be shut for filming. On to #WealdLane #HarrowWeald. #HauntedBench remains AWOL - have no idea what became of it. Beermat via #TheCosyBar at number 6 Weald Lane.

Haunted Benchland, May Supplement available on request. Shouldn't bother if I were you.

Ghost of the haunted bench on Weald Lane. Dramatic reconstruction.

Beermat borrowed from Cosy Bar, Weald Lane, stood directly opposite where the bench graced from at least 1975 to 2024, the ghost associated with it similar.

030

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Much postponed rematch with St. Mary's Harrow on the Hill, Grimsdyke H.Weald and places of interest inbetween now scheduled for tomorrow. #communing_with_ghosts #graves #derelictpubgarden #MaryShelley #HauntedHarrow #terrifyingworldofhauntedbenchproject

030

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Sadly I only found out about this yesterday. Love the flyer. to whoever drew it. @towerhamlets24.bsky.social #spitalfieldscityfarm

Charming illo of a wooly sheep before a signpost. Top board "Summer Fayre." lower board "Spitalfields City Farm", hanging from which "31 May 2026 10-5 pm" Written across sheep: "Sheep shearing, kids activities, market, live music, free entry."

010

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

RIP Cheryl. Have met a lot of very lovely people on the ARCaRe classes at the Osmani Centre this past 5 years, and you were the friendliest & most free with your encouragement of all. Thank you for your kindness. ❤️

020

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

9.20am. D3 bus waiting at Chapman St stop, E1. Approaching it from the front, I could see passengers at the back. Get on, and there's no-one but morose driver & me. Felt like I was the passenger in a phantom bus to the graveyard story. "We're gonna crash!" #terrifyingworldofhauntedbenchproject

Still from 'Last days of Trolley bus 666.' 'Gorgo' on at a cinema near you.

120

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

#HauntedBenchland supplement, May 2026.. A slick 12 pager compiled it will give me a boot up the arse to revisit #St_Mary's_Harrow_on_the_Hill, #Grimsdyke & Co once wretched heatwave passes. #scrapbooks_from_fanzineland

Cover of 'Haunted Benchland' supplement; main illustration, a reproduction of a painting by Aksel Johannessen depicting a woman beneath a tree stood beside a bench.

020

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Books on the go. Got Dan Cullen's 'Columbine' at the Sunday market, finished it in the early hours of Monday morning (by torchlight). 'Dan Leno '' kind of qualifies as local weird history. Both anthologies are excellent, least they are in benchworld.

Dan Cullen, Columbine, dismantles the romantic myths surrounding the "bullied" perpetrators of the attempted bombing of the school and subsequent shooting spree.

Peter Ackroyd, 'Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem.' Funniest man alive is implicated in supernatural murders and weirdness in East London during the autumn of 1880.

Penultimate book in the 'Hot Blood' series. Particularly enjoyed the stories by Greg Kihn, Jeff Gelb, Dana Solomon (very sweet), J. F. Gonzalez, Elle Frazier - sod it, they're most all of them great, kinky fun.

Eight stories in, all good-great in dem opinion, with Mia Dalia's grisly love story, 'Fear, Inc,' being among my most enjoyed reads of the year to date.

020

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Grim pickings recently, so cheered to buck the trend with a charming find at Sclater Street market this AM. The great Mark Alexander/'Mark Ronson's 'British Folklore: Myths & Legends' (1982).

Charming street scene. "A nineteenth-century painting of Jack-in-the-Green, by an unknown artist." Cover painting.

A moody photo of Scotney Castle, Kent. The slimy lake is reputedly haunted by the ghost of a man murdered by smugglers.

Marc Alexander in snazzy polo neck with black cat sat upon his shoulder.

Table of contents:

Acknowledgement/ Foreword/ The Magical Island/ Stones, Graves and Chalk Images/ 'There Were Giants in the Earth'/ The Fabulous Bestiary/
The Secret Commonwealth/ The Devil's Congregation/ The Ghostlore of Britain/ Rebels and Champions/ The Pagan Inheritance/ Picture Sources/
Index

020

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Broke open new emergency pack. Mostly ghostly. #bookaholism

Mark Rees, Ghosts of Wales: Accounts from the Victorian Archives. 'Wild Wales' cover illo, depicting skull moon glaring down across the valley at young woman, presumably a ghost, by Sandra Evans.

Modern, POD (?) edition of Harry Price's 'The Most Haunted House in England.' Cover photo: Borley Rectory via a ghostly filter.

Modern POD reissue of S. Louis Giraud [ed], 'Ghosts in the Great War, and True Tales of Haunted Houses by Daily News Readers.' Cover art uncredited, depicts several ghosts lieing in wait for advancing Tommies. ' -

Richard D. Altick, 'Victorian Studies in Scarlet, Murders & Manners in the Age of Victoria.' Another book exposing the myth of 'Victorian Values', the good old days, and all that nonsense.

030

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

#ScrapbooksfromFanzineland update. Murder in the Red Barn Bedside Companion: Vol 2 (Squatney University Press, Shadwell, March 2026). Vol 3 in prep, as is Haunted Benchland #2. #WilliamCorder #MariaMartin #MurderinRedBarn #TerrifyingWorldofHauntedBenchProject etc. Seek out on Vault if inclined.

020

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

After multiple loans of a library copy, finally have my own slimline paperback copy of Peter Haining's 'Buried Passions' (Neville Spearman, 1980), which he'd later revise as 'Maria Marten: the Murder in the Red Barn'(Images, 1992). 🖤

Cover of Peter Haining's 'Buried Passions.' Cover image a woodcut depicting the discovery of Maria's corpse in the barn mounted on a lurid pink background.

Back cover blurb in white capitals on pink. A bit lengthy, and feeling too lazy to transcribe it.

040

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Hoping to revisit #HarrowWeald & Co this week to continue investigation into the disappearance of the haunted bench on corner of Weald Lane. Doubt there's anything uncanny behind it. More likely its down to the council. #benchland

140

Haunted Bench Project @hauntedbench75.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

Remembering Charles Black, dear friend and inspirational editor of the Black Book of Horror Series, who died 15th March 2019. #BlackBaronofMortbury

032