Deadman Humour: Thirteen Fears of a Clown

In a world of shadows, joyful colours are an act of heroism. Modern tales are filled with clowns who invoke fear not laughter: painted grins covering fanged maws; baggy costumes concealing unspeakable horrors; malevolent parodies of nature. But the tools of a clown work for good as well as ill: only a trickster could tweak a monster’s nose; make-up is war paint for the modern age; the devil cannot tempt a happy soul. What if, instead of being the demons of urban legend, clowns were the victims or the heroes of the story? An entertainer discovers his latest booking is filled with clowns but no children. A group of ageing clowns seek their Priest-King before the divine is lost from the world forever. Yorrick’s apprentice shares the truth behind the death of Shakespeare’s most famous clown. And ten more stories of clowns facing the supernatural.

About the Author

Dave Higgins writes and publishes speculative fiction, often with a dark edge. Despite forays into the mundane worlds of law and IT, he was unable to completely escape the liminal zone between mystery and horror. His short stories have appeared in several magazines and anthologies, including All These Shiny Worlds, Millhaven's Tales of Suspense, and DimensionBucket. He published his first solo novel, Seven Stones: The Complete Series, a gritty fantasy homage to pulp serials, in 2018. He has also co-authored two humorous trilogies with Simon Cantan. In January 2019, he established the Abstruse Press imprint to release speculative fiction anthologies and works by other authors. Born in the least mystically significant part of Wiltshire, England, and raised by a librarian, he started reading shortly after birth and has not stopped since. He currently lives in Bristol with his wife, Nicola, his cats, Jasper and Una, a giant sack of coffee beans, a plush altar to the Dark Lord Cthulhu, and many shelves of books. It's rumoured he writes and publishes out of a fear that he will otherwise run out of things to read.

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