Ever heard of the word "Sluagh"? Neither had I. But according to Wikipedia, the "Sluagh" were spirits of the restless dead. They flew in groups like flocks of birds and were known to enter the houses of the dying, with the goal of carrying the souls away with them. Like the reanimated spirits in The Goblin's Cloak, they live in barrows and steal souls. 

My discovery of this worked out amazingly well, considering that I had never heard of the sluagh until long after I created my barrow-imps, which are essentially sluagh in human form. 



Which brings me back to what originally inspired my interpretation of the mythology I'm using in this novel. It is set during a very interesting time between the Druids and the Celts. Historians talk about this being the time of the Picts, but next to nothing is actually known about the Picts...which is wonderful for someone like me who likes to make stuff up.

Combining elements of Druidic faith with aspects of Gaelic and Celtic myth, I've managed to create something that seems to actually make sense. Who knows, maybe it really was an uprising of the restless dead that took down the Picts. I'm trying to decide whether it potentially qualifies as the First Zombie Apocalypse.
I write literature of the fantastic. My short story collection, Psychedelia Gothique is mostly psychological horror. My just released novel, The Human Template is available through most online book retailers - and book two of the diptych, The Carnivorous Forest will appear in 2021. https://www.dalelsproule.com As a book reviewer I have written for Rue Morgue Magazine and AE Science Fiction. As a visual artist, I have illustrated books and magazines and have carved numerous sculptures out of stone.

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