Master Jack
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Not-quite-folk-horror is how I tend to describe this story spanning generations across two families - all linked by the skull of a horse. Make of this what you will, dear reader!
8.5" x 5.5"
29 pages
Told by the living and the dead, in their own words, Master Jack is a story I had to write, inspired by the people past and present who make folk traditions happen, in spite of their often difficult lives. It is also the story of the spirit of the horses which I believe live through the different hobby horse and skull horse traditions of Britain.
"Master Jack is a short story with strong folklore themes, and a dash of the supernatural. It’s written with deep understanding of folk tradition, and the people involved in it, and with a love and respect for living tradition that delighted me. It manages – as folk traditions often do – to square up to death and difficulty while being fundamentally warm and affirming. It’s a lovely read."
- Nimue Brown
Druid Life
- Nimue Brown
Druid Life
I got straight to the point. “I found some stuff of Dad’s about a mummer’s play, with a horse. Nan seemed to think you’d know about it.”
“Did you find the tape?”
“I found a tape. I keep hoping I’ll find another one. It had an old fella talking about playing the horse. Said that he had been Hendley’s chauffeur.”
“I heard about the tape, but I never got to hear it. Did you bring it?”
“Sorry, I didn’t think to,” I lied. “The guy’s describing a tradition that I’d never heard of. A death-and-resurrection play with a horse, a blacksmith, and a farrier.”
“There were a few of those, but as far as I know, no surviving scripts.”
“Is that what Dad was after? Did he think he’d find a script?”
“Well, yeah, he was hopeful, but as far as I know, he didn’t. But he was also looking for the horse – you know, the costume. The skull. I think for some reason he thought he was on the track of it.”
"Was that anything to do with someone he had lined up to talk at the Folk Society, who let him down?"
“Phil – I think so, but I’m not sure. Your dad got… a bit secretive about it."
“Did you find the tape?”
“I found a tape. I keep hoping I’ll find another one. It had an old fella talking about playing the horse. Said that he had been Hendley’s chauffeur.”
“I heard about the tape, but I never got to hear it. Did you bring it?”
“Sorry, I didn’t think to,” I lied. “The guy’s describing a tradition that I’d never heard of. A death-and-resurrection play with a horse, a blacksmith, and a farrier.”
“There were a few of those, but as far as I know, no surviving scripts.”
“Is that what Dad was after? Did he think he’d find a script?”
“Well, yeah, he was hopeful, but as far as I know, he didn’t. But he was also looking for the horse – you know, the costume. The skull. I think for some reason he thought he was on the track of it.”
"Was that anything to do with someone he had lined up to talk at the Folk Society, who let him down?"
“Phil – I think so, but I’m not sure. Your dad got… a bit secretive about it."