Ghent has always been one of my favourite European cities. I do love beautiful historical inspired balls in beautiful venues. I would never miss a chance to mix with the beautifully dark and elite of the neo-romantic goth scene. So when all of these pieces fall into place, you know it’s going to be a great night.

Yesterday…it seems such a long time ago. I think about it and don’t understand why today can’t be like yesterday. The sun is rising just like yesterday, people are going to work, the world goes on just like yesterday but to me the world has stopped moving. The world is gone, it’s missing. I feel like I’m gone, like I don’t belong, as though I am a mistake. And I only have myself to blame.

Mary Shelley’s timeless masterwork FRANKENSTEIN was first published 200 years ago. Mary began writing the book when she was still a teenager, and it is now recognised as not only a landmark work of Gothic literature, but also arguably the first true science fiction novel. It is through cinema, though, that most have come to know her immortal creation, beginning in 1910 with the first film adaptation, a silent movie generally known as the Edison FRANKENSTEIN (it was produced by the famous inventor Thomas Edison). The film’s director deliberately downplayed the story’s horrific elements, and the resulting 14 minute film is more of an amusing, pioneering oddity than a horror classic.

The hit Brit horror film GHOST STORIES has just become available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray. Andy Nyman, the film’s writer, director and star, originally hails from Alchemy’s hometown of Leicester. So we despatched our resident horror fiend, Gavin Baddeley, to talk to Andy, and get the inside story on this homegrown chiller. Andy co-created GHOST STORIES with Jeremy Dyson, who together initially wrote it as a stage play. In that form GHOST STORIES attracted rave reviews, running for over 1,000 terrifying performances between 2010 and 2015, concluding with an Australian tour the following year.

I’m still revelling in the memories of yet another merry Mera Luna, paging through the photos that keep popping up on Instagram and Facebook and making exchanges with new friends and old. This year was particularly special, not only did I get to meet the utterly exquisite Obsidian Kerttu and Valentin van Porcelaine whose photos I’ve admired from afar, but was also great to meet Elisanth for the first time and see La Esmeralda again (which makes a pretty full compliment of the lovely faces which grace your Alchemy catalogue). It’s always so touching when the people behind the beautiful imagery seem just as beautiful on the inside.

The full collection of over 80 Alchemy England Apparel T-shirts, girl’s tops, dresses and gym-wear is now available to the trade, directly from the manufacturer.

You may be familiar with Peter Laws via his regular column reviewing horror films for the Fortean Times. Or perhaps his grisly thriller novels – Purged and Unleashed. What distinguishes Peter from most other horror critics and crime novelists is that he’s also an ordained Baptist priest – an unusual combination that’s earnt him the nickname the Sinister Minister.

His most recent work is a non-fiction book entitled The Frighteners. In it, Peter investigates why we – and he himself – are drawn to the gory and horrific. It’s a fascinating subject with some relevance to us here at Alchemy – in case you hadn’t noticed we like all things dark and spooky here too! So we despatched our unholiest resident horror fan, Gavin Baddeley, to find out what the Sinister Minister had discovered…

People have such a terrible opinion about us. They think we are cold murderers, rotten on the inside, no more than decaying souls, wandering this cursed world until we turn into dust. We are incapable of emotions, of empathy, of love…

Perhaps we are…

Our brand new 2019 wall calendar is now available to purchase from our online store…