The Darkness Within – Excerpt 1
I was born in Hungary in 1938, my father was away, fighting in the war my eldest sister assisted with the birth, or so I was told, years later. I grew up as one of a large family with siblings of both sexes. As I was the youngest at that time, I was teased mercilessly by my older siblings.
Just before bedtime they would delight in telling me the goriest of tales about Vampires and Werewolves and other creatures of our folk lore. As a small child I wouldn’t sleep in the dark, these stories had me so frightened. And, even now as a full-grown man I try to keep out of the dark, or all the old memories come flooding back to haunt me.
As a child I had an idyllic life on the farm, all of us siblings pulled together to make light work of it. And when the work was done we would play, just as hard. We would get home, eat our suppers and then stumble in to our beds.
This was the part of the day, that I personally dreaded, when my siblings recounted their own versions of our countries traditional tales. These tales of blood sucking Vampires and ravenous Werewolves and other legendary monsters. My siblings were fascinated by them, not me, the very thought of them terrifies me, even now.
But, then in 1958, just after my eighteenth birthday, everything changed, there were rumours of discord and rebellion. Hungary was at that time, a satellite of the Soviet Union, but there were rumblings of discontent, of rioting in the streets.
To you, the reader, this may sound ridiculous, But I was Hungarian, O.K. just an ill – educated farm boy. But if we had to fight for our freedom, I was a patriot, so be it, I would fight for my country!
(C) Damian Grange 2018
I am already intrigued by the first part of your story. Do I detect Gothic influences? I certainly see the influences. You mention vampires and werewolves, staples of Gothic fiction. But that’s not all. Even your title “The Darkness Within” denotes Gothic themes of madness or intense emotion. Regardless, I’m intrigued. I love the folk lore and mythology of eastern Europe.
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It’s very intriguing yes!
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Epic! 👍🤗
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Thank you so much, this one is back to my roots, a little more Gothic!
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such an intriguing read…..
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Thank you so much once again for your comments and support!
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Ohh this sounds like it’s going to be interesting.
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I certainly hope so! Thank you for your comment!
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I certainly love the beginning of this story.
Look forward to reading more.
Hungary is such an intriguing country- and its folklore has spread all over the world in the enduring popularity of vampire and werewolf tales.
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I don’t think that you will be disappointed!
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Ahhhhhh Hungary. I spent some time in Taszár near Kaposvár and loved the farmland and small lanes and the old Europe style buildings in the city center of yhe larger towns. The interior of some of the old buildings was quite rich and warmly decorated in wood cut and shaped by skilled artisans. It’s the perfect place for a good gothic tale. There is plenty of dark history to fuel the fire. I look forward to more.
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Unfortunately it begins in Hungary then moves to Nottingham where I live, It is fiction but with quite a lot of fact involved.
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I’m looking forward to it. I connect deeper with a story when I have some familiarity with the story environment.
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I pray it lives up to your expectations!
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You have my support Always.
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That’s good to know xxx
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