Do we always walk in two worlds? Our own we know, or think we know, and another we only glimpse? There are many things that may tempt us to believe so. The supernal awe we can encounter as the dying sun descends in violet and scarlet embers on the horizon: or as great trees sway in the wind, like gates parting to reveal another realm; or as the silver chargers of the sea storm once more upon the shore. Then there are the quieter hints: the way we might turn a corner in a deserted street and sense we have known this unvisited scene before; the clues and trails that seem to seek us out when we are pursuing a rare story; the recognition we feel when we look into the bright eyes of a stranger.
And sometimes we may be oppressed by the nearness of infernal regions, the antithesis to those celestial worlds. We enter a place, ordinary enough in all outward seeming, and some element in the fall of shadows or the angles of the stones sickens us: we cannot leave quickly enough. Or the signs of natural decay in a blighted leaf, withered grasses, warted fungus, swollen fruit, may make us suddenly turn away. And there may be figures too, wearing faces that seem composed of the right human features, unexceptional in their gaze and the set of their mouths, yet to us inexpressibly hideous, like masks carved out of vile longings.
These impressions haunted the work of the past masters of supernatural fiction. It was Arthur Machen who encapsulated them most succinctly: ‘Sorcery and sanctity,’ he said; ‘these are the only realities.’ For to him and to the many other celebrated workers in this field, the visible world, the one where we usually walk, is only the outer husk: the world that lies beyond, or alongside, the one promised or threatened by those curious uncatchable glimpses, is the ultimately Real.
Older ages than ours were perhaps more accustomed to the nearness of the numinous—and the malefic—in their lives. Miracles,omens, visitations, converse with angels and possessions by devils, were a part of their spiritual vocabulary. The task for the acolyte of the literary Mysteries today is to convey strange possibilities in a modern tongue, one which responds to the ceaseless now with news of a different eternity. They must have a need at least to suggest that there are aberrations in the world we usually take for reality. --from the ABERRATIONS OF REALITY introduction by weird fiction author and critic Mark Valentine
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The 22 stories in ABERRATIONS OF REALITY document in fictional form certain mystical/occult experiences, fused with elements of dark fiction, surrealism, and the weird tale, in an effort to explore such experiences in a new form. Available in hardback, paperback, and trade. Pick up a copy and expand your reality today!
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"Obsessively dark and razorous, these graphic takes on life, faith, illusion and self-delusion open paths where you need to watch your step."--Tanith Lee, recipient of 2013 World Fantasy Life Achievement Award
"This is a well written collection of razor sharp horror fiction. French has strong understanding of what makes the weird tale work. Reality is always in question during this collection but the quality never is. Every library serious about intelligent high brow horror must get this book."--Postcards from a Dying World
"Aaron J. French leads his readers on dark and dangerous journeys, where the destination is never sure."--Storm Constantine, author of the Wraeththu books
08-21-2015
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