Library of the Macabre

Welcome to our library of the macabre. Does the hazy smell of candle wax please you? We find it quite inviting. Grab one of our old tomes to sink your teeth into. Or gaze for a while at the strange images framed upon the walls. Welcome to American Fantastic’s 2020 Fall update.

Wyrmwood by Jack Scally IV

Jack Scally returns for another year with his Inktober series. Inktober challenges artists from around the world to create 31 new ink illustrations for every day in October. Each illustration revolves around a different word—the one above, titled Wyrmwood, is inspired by the word “coral”. We love Jack’s black and white work, but make sure to check out his gallery to witness his incredible sense of color too. You can find even more of his work on Instagram @eradelphic and purchase his work at his store.

Rakshasa by Michael Maes

Michael Maes has created even more windows into the psychedelic with his digital photography. This piece was named Rakshasa, after a supernatural being in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. They’re also called “man-eaters”. You can see some of Michael’s more traditional (but no less remarkable) photography in his gallery, follow him on Facebook and purchase photos from his store

Pink Clouds by Caleb Beechem

Caleb Beechem has created more masterpieces of symmetry. In this piece, he’s captured an image of birds flying through clouds warmed pink by the sunset. Caleb is a master at blending nature photography with his own sensibilities. In his gallery, we’ve also added an image of a barn behind rows of pumpkins and one of a curtain of autumn leaves. You can follow Caleb on Instagram @beechemphotography.

John Beechem has written the newest entry in his annual Halloween Series, an acrostic series of poems, Thirteen Halloween Dead. What makes this an acrostic series is that the first letter of each poem spell out ‘Halloween Dead’. It’s a sometimes macabre examination of death and dying.

You can also listen to John read this series on our podcast American Fantastic Theatre. Our entire audio storytelling and poetry collection is available through American Fantastic on this website, or by listening (and hopefully subscribing) to American Fantastic Theatre on Apple Podcasts (aka iTunes), Pocketcast, and many other podcatchers.

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And remember, when reality becomes a burden, enjoy a sojourn into the fantastic…