Aegishjalmir,

The Helm of Awe,

Guard thy carver,

Stand as my wall.

There was a complete chaos at the City Hall. The crime scene was surrounded by at least a dozen reporters and hundreds of civilians. I barely managed to reach my Crime Scene Investigation team. All I could think of was the body. I wanted to see the body. I needed to see that body! That was the only way to discover if I was the criminal.

I wanted to write a special bloody, dark article for Halloween. But, when I thought more about it I realised that my articles are always dark and twisted so I wouldn’t be able to make it special in that manner. The only way I could make this article special was to share with you what Halloween actually means to me and in doing so perhaps you could tell me what Halloween means to you.

It’s the ultimate question, isn’t it? Do you choose a vampire or a werewolf as your ideal partner? Cold or hot? Night or day? A wolf or a bat? It’s basically choosing between two completely different characters, though both are nocturnal and have a lust for blood, both are very dangerous and quite unpredictable and both are…well…let’s just say lethal in every way possible!

I have never been able to choose between vampires and werewolves. Though I am sure a lot of you think the answer must be obvious.

I must decide once and for all, but how?

If Selfridges can open their Christmas shop at the start of August, we don’t think it’s too early to get excited about Halloween!

As the principal artist at the Alchemy England Design Studios the pleasure of designing and painting the annual Alchemy catalogue cover falls to me.

I slowly opened my eyes listening to the surroundings. It seemed quiet at first but then I realized it…I was still on the train!

   I was lying on the kitchen floor when I woke up.  That wasn’t the main issue. The first thing I faced when I opened my eyes was the blood on my hands. I slowly sat up feeling the usual headache and I panicked when I realized my clothes and the floor were all covered in blood.

It’ll probably surprise nobody to learn that many of us here at Alchemy are keen horror fans. So we were very saddened to hear of the recent death of the director Wes Craven. The extensive coverage of his passing is an indication, not just of how well respected Wes was, but also how much more respectable horror has become in recent years. The UK’s Guardian newspaper, for example – not previously enthusiastic about horror films – dedicated no less than five pieces to the director on the day his death was announced. 

The first weekend of September will witness an intriguing first, in the shape of Britain’s only ever academic werewolf conference. Held at the University of Hertfordshire, and entitled ‘The Company of Wolves: Sociality, Animality, and Subjectivity in Literary and Cultural Narratives – Werewolves, Shapeshifters, and Feral Humans’, attendees can hear papers with intriguing titles like ‘Wolf Children’, ‘The Sound of the Cinematic Werewolf’, and ‘Werewolves and Paranormal Romance’. Other events include a visit to the 18th century grave of a local ‘wolf boy’, a lycanthropic antique magic lantern show, and an opportunity to ‘walk with wolves’ at the nearby UK Wolf Conservation Trust.