
Incorcisms
Strange Short Stories
David Hartley(Author)
Arachne Press
Published on 27. May 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
66 pages
978-1-913665-24-1 (ISBN)
Description
"You have to understand," says the woman, "an incorcism is nothing like its counterpart. No bells and whistles, no drama. All it takes is willingness, which you already have in spades."
Strange stories about strange things for strange people. Tales of possession and obsession. Of destruction and restoration. Of the demons we hold inside us, and those we leave behind in others. An odd apocalypse freezes a supermarket on Mother's Day, a vanished village holds an ancient curse, an abandoned ice cream van tears a street apart. Rival rainbow setters, the woman who sowed a crop of elephants in her garden, and what happens if you keep on turning the clocks back. Perhaps you had a demon then lost it. Do you miss it?
Our time here is brief and so are these curious fables. But the smallest of splinters are the hardest to dig out. Come and be snagged. Come, be unsettled. To be strange is to be human.
David Hartley's tiny fictions are elusive and teasing and true. They're like the fading echoes of dreams you struggle to remember when you wake up in the morning - the bits that you know didn't quite make sense, and made you feel strange and a little unnerved, but you knew were important, so important, if only you could hold on to them forever.
Robert Shearman
Strange stories about strange things for strange people. Tales of possession and obsession. Of destruction and restoration. Of the demons we hold inside us, and those we leave behind in others. An odd apocalypse freezes a supermarket on Mother's Day, a vanished village holds an ancient curse, an abandoned ice cream van tears a street apart. Rival rainbow setters, the woman who sowed a crop of elephants in her garden, and what happens if you keep on turning the clocks back. Perhaps you had a demon then lost it. Do you miss it?
Our time here is brief and so are these curious fables. But the smallest of splinters are the hardest to dig out. Come and be snagged. Come, be unsettled. To be strange is to be human.
David Hartley's tiny fictions are elusive and teasing and true. They're like the fading echoes of dreams you struggle to remember when you wake up in the morning - the bits that you know didn't quite make sense, and made you feel strange and a little unnerved, but you knew were important, so important, if only you could hold on to them forever.
Robert Shearman
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 4 mm
Weight
82 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-913665-24-1 (9781913665241)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2021
Arachne Press
€5.49
Available for download
Person
David Hartley is a short story writer based in Manchester. His works have appeared in many publications including Ambit, Black Static, The Ghastling, and Structo, and he holds a PhD in Creative Writing from The University of Manchester. His flash fiction collection Spiderseed (Sleepy House Press) was a finalist for the 2016 Saboteur Awards, while his celebrated collection of dark festive tales Merry Gentlemen is a staple for the small hours of Christmas eve. He haunts various spoken word events in the North West and has performed at the Bluedot Music Festival, Kendal Calling and Lancaster Litfest.