It never fails: of the plethora of stories, tales, and projects left to complete, we inevitably begin a new one. We touched a bit on it in last week's edition when we mentioned The Conglomerate, The Institute, The Complex, and The Foundation. This week, we dive a little deeper. See Under Construction for the delicious details.
Our classic horror feature is a curious little story about death and the fairy folk. In the epilogue, we raise the idea of interpreting the story through two different lenses. However, this is not to say these are the only two ways the story may be interpreted. Perhaps you have a different opinion after reading Itself. If so, we would to hear all about; just reply to this email or leave a comment on this post.
Our vampires head outside after determining the fellow Marcello’s fate, in this edition’s installment of A Vampire’s Vengeance. Where they are heading, only Ceres can tell, but it appears they’ll be covering more ground around the city.
Our dear Mister Solomon does not appear to be heeding the words of the mysterious stranger from the dreamspace in House. Whether this turns out for good or ill remains to be seen, though rarely has ignoring the words of a wise woman ever turned out well for those doing the ignoring. Read the latest chapter and decide for yourself what you think will happen.
And of course, we have the latest installment of Bus Driver. Let’s not bandy words about this narrative, as you can read the chapter for yourself down below. Instead …
Let’s get into it →
So what’s the big deal about The Conglomerate? In the last Backstage Pass edition, we did say there would be, and I quote: “LOTS more SOON to come” and that SOON is now. Of course, this will not be the sole update, but it is a rather big and exciting update! Over the past two weeks, specifications have been drafted to establish what comprises The Conglomerate and how it all functions. This lays the groundwork for innumerable stories to be written in this universe. So far, the specs for CANOPY Consortium, The Conglomerate itself; BALTHAZAR, the Advanced Research Institute; CASPAR, the Training Complex; and MELCHIOR, the Foundation have all been created. A rather lengthy and in-depth white paper on CANOPY’s communications system, code-name HERMES-THOTH SECURE RELAY SYSTEM (HTSRS), is in development, with 7 of the 12 major sections completed, along with 2 of the 10 appendices. In addition, a number of fictional dossiers and memorandums have been created in support of this massive corporate fiction.
It is our deepest desire to complete the groundwork of this universe as quickly as possible, as we intend to replace our current classic horror column, Mad Alex Presents, with short stories of our own imagining in the vein of cosmic horror, linking deeply to CANOPY Consortium, in Backstage Pass Volume III. Keep your eyes peeled, as more news will be coming.
Marcello’s fate remains to be seen. In the meantime, let’s see what our resident vampires get into with the group of humans they’ve found themselves among:
Oh Mister Solomon. Is it arrogance? Is it confusion? Is it an inflated sense of import keeping you from internalizing the lessons from the dreamspace in the house? Who knows?! You can, however, read into this thoughts as he processes his recent experience while dreamwalking:
What happens when a superstitious patient is placed in the hands of a well-meaning doctor for care, particularly when those superstitions turn out to be true? Come read a curious little story of horror from the annals of American weird fiction:
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A traveling merchant finds himself in quite the predicament when he manages to win a duel, leading him down a dark path. A tale from the Odds ‘n’ Endings Boutique.
Welcome to another installment of Bus Driver! Please recall the bus driver and his passengers having arrived at the Trading Outpost, being escorted to a basement diner, and their host being called away to urgent business. You can catch up with Part XXII here. Does this put our protagonist in the line of danger? Will they enjoy a meal free from disruption? Let’s find out →
