Magic Island Storytelling Theatre: Strange Tales From The Isle Of Arran: Ghost & fairy tales & more.

I've written a lot of things over the years, many dramas for the BBC and Wireless Theatre Company, a smattering for Big Finish, and now a whole decades' worth of epic productions for Audible, many of them performed by some of the famous people imaginable - no nonsense movie stars, indeed. But still, such is the nature of my career and my body of work, the piece that means most to me is the one that's found least of an audience. This is my novel Dances Sacred & Profane, my most personal work, which I tentatively published on Kindle but never did much to publicize, most of all because it was so personal, a deeper revelation of the person and the artist that I am, and the more of an audience I drew to it, the more I feared some callous online remark, or cluster of such, that would wound me deeply: in many ways DSP is as personal as a diary - of myself at a certain crucial moment in my life, certainly. But that moment is past and so now I feel the confidence to perform the story myself here and see if it doesn't find a wider audience. It's an unusual story, seeking the more unusual listener: though it's a kind of sequel to a classic vampire story (I won't say which at this stage, as it would give too much away), it's essentially sui generis, by no means a fangs-and-coffin blood-and-thunder shocker, having strong elements of historical novel and romance and plays freely back and forth between these generic levels in a non-generic way. Here's chapter one (this is going to take some time), but if you want to read the whole thing in one go, here's a link to the book itself -https://www.amazon.co.uk/DANCES-SACRED-PROFANE-Gothic-Romance-ebook/dp/B00858QERM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=618EPBGMNR0B&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.sWZuRZQE4S13Q2JvUdAfhg.T8Q93Ja8uUlMxuz2WAUEHKXAMAIbJsQ-xHantlcPOyc&dib_tag=se&keywords=dances+sacred+and+profane+marty+ross&qid=1746793289&s=digital-text&sprefix=dances+sacred+and+profane+marty+ross%2Cdigital-text%2C67&sr=1-1Also, make allowances for my voice - the narrating character is female and should ideally be performed by a female actor, but I couldn't ask such an actor to make the kind of long term unpaid commitment this is going to require, so please make imginative allowances.

Final dramatic episode of this chilly seasonal thriller, just the spooky listening for this time of year!

Third part of this seasonal chiller, in which the mystery of what's going on in the strange isolated house on the snowbound Isle of Arran becomes perhaps a little clearer - and disturbingly so....

Second part of this spooky seasonal chiller from the M.I.S.T vaults - you'll never look at a snowman the same way again!

Yes, it's Christmas Eve and hence time to unleash upon the world once again this eerie Victorian chiller set right here on the Isle of Arran (albeit with an opening sequence in a wintery Glasgow....)

To bring to a climax this brief celebration of some of the horror stories we've done on the podcast (and ArranSound radio) over the last four years, here's a perfect story for Halloween itself. When I performed the first version of this story at the London Horror Festival, it was compared to the work of H. P. Lovecraft but the actual inspiration was a local legend, here in the south west of Scotland, of the "Haunted Ships" off the Galloway coast. This is a time of the year when, in Celtic lore, between the human world and the realm of the supernatural, whether embodied by ghosts or the Sidh (fairies) is thin indeed: hence this is the perfect Halloween tale.

To bring to a climax this brief celebration of some of the horror stories we've done on the podcast (and ArranSound radio) over the last four years, here's a perfect story for Halloween itself. When I performed the first version of this story at the London Horror Festival, it was compared to the work of H. P. Lovecraft but the actual inspiration was a local legend, here in the south west of Scotland, of the "Haunted Ships" off the Galloway coast. This is a time of the year when, in Celtic lore, between the human world and the realm of the supernatural, whether embodied by ghosts or the Sidh (fairies) is thin indeed: hence this is the perfect Halloween tale.

To bring to a climax this brief celebration of some of the horror stories we've done on the podcast (and ArranSound radio) over the last four years, here's a perfect story for Halloween itself. When I performed the first version of this story at the London Horror Festival, it was compared to the work of H. P. Lovecraft but the actual inspiration was a local legend, here in the south west of Scotland, of the "Haunted Ships" off the Galloway coast. This is a time of the year when, in Celtic lore, between the human world and the realm of the supernatural, whether embodied by ghosts or the Sidh (fairies) is thin indeed: hence this is the perfect Halloween tale.

To bring to a climax this brief celebration of some of the horror stories we've done on the podcast (and ArranSound radio) over the last four years, here's a perfect story for Halloween itself. When I performed the first version of this story at the London Horror Festival, it was compared to the work of H. P. Lovecraft but the actual inspiration was a local legend, here in the south west of Scotland, of the "Haunted Ships" off the Galloway coast. This is a time of the year when, in Celtic lore, between the human world and the realm of the supernatural, whether embodied by ghosts or the Sidh (fairies) is thin indeed: hence this is the perfect Halloween tale.

To bring to a climax this brief celebration of some of the horror stories we've done on the podcast (and ArranSound radio) over the last four years, here's a perfect story for Halloween itself. When I performed the first version of this story at the London Horror Festival, it was compared to the work of H. P. Lovecraft but the actual inspiration was a local legend, here in the south west of Scotland, of the "Haunted Ships" off the Galloway coast. This is a time of the year when, in Celtic lore, between the human world and the realm of the supernatural, whether embodied by ghosts or the Sidh (fairies) is thin indeed: hence this is the perfect Halloween tale.

To bring to a climax this brief celebration of some of the horror stories we've done on the podcast (and ArranSound radio) over the last four years, here's a perfect story for Halloween itself. When I performed the first version of this story at the London Horror Festival, it was compared to the work of H. P. Lovecraft but the actual inspiration was a local legend, here in the south west of Scotland, of the "Haunted Ships" off the Galloway coast. This is a time of the year when, in Celtic lore, between the human world and the realm of the supernatural, whether embodied by ghosts or the Sidh (fairies) is thin indeed: hence this is the perfect Halloween tale.

Continuing this raising from the dead of classic horror tales from the M.I.S.T vault, here's The Unburying, inspired by the classic Japanese ghost tale (or Kwaidan) Jikiniki - with the tale radically adapted and adjusted to the very different ladscape of the Isle of Arran, early in the 20th century....

Continuing this raising fromthe dead of classic horror tales from the M.I.S.T vault, here's The Unburying, inspired by the classic Japanese ghost tale (or Kwaidan) Jikiniki - with the tale radically adapted and adjusted to the very different ladscape of the Isle of Arran, early in the 20th century....

Continuing this raising fromthe dead of classic horror tales from the M.I.S.T vault, here's The Unburying, inspired by the classic Japanese ghost tale (or Kwaidan) Jikiniki - with the tale radically adapted and adjusted to the very different ladscape of the Isle of Arran, early in the 20th century....

Continuing this eerie ressurection of classic horror stories from the M.I.S.T vault, here, in three parts, is my radically modernized, very Scottish, very Glasgow, reinvention of Edgar Allan Poe's Fall Of The House Of Usher. (Poe, as I point out in the intro, had very close childhood connections to Ayrshire here in Scotland, pretty much immediately across the water from where I sit typing this. This final episode contains imagery some listeners might find disturbing.

Continuing this eerie ressurection of classic horror stories from the M.I.S.T vault, here, in three parts, is my radically modernized, very Scottish, very Glasgow, reinvention of Edgar Allan Poe's Fall Of The House Of Usher. (Poe, as I point out in the intro, had very close childhood connections to Ayrshire here in Scotland, pretty much immediately across the water from where I sit typing this.

Continuing this eerie ressurection of classic horror stories from the M.I.S.T vault, here, in three parts, is my radically modernized, very Scottish, very Glasgow, reinvention of Edgar Allan Poe's Fall Of The House Of Usher. (Poe, as I point out in the intro, had very close childhood connections to Ayrshire here in Scotland, pretty much immediately across the water from where I sit typing this.

As Samhain draws near, I decided to give a second outing to some of the more overtly horror-oriented stories from the M.I.S.T archive in a little curated mini-fest, starting with 5 parter DRYAD. Rooted as it is in Celtic folklore and legends of ancient blood sacrifice, it's hard to think of anything more appropriate to this particular season....

As Samhain draws near, I decided to give a second outing to some of the more overtly horror-oriented stories from the M.I.S.T archive in a little curated mini-fest, starting with 5 parter DRYAD. Rooted as it is in Celtic folklore and legends of ancient blood sacrifice, it's hard to think of anything more appropriate to this particular season....

As Samhain draws near, I decided to give a second outing to some of the more overtly horror-oriented stories from the M.I.S.T archive in a little curated mini-fest, starting with 5 parter DRYAD. Rooted as it is in Celtic folklore and legends of ancient blood sacrifice, it's hard to think of anything more appropriate to this particular season....

As Samhain draws near, I decided to give a second outing to some of the more overtly horror-oriented stories from the M.I.S.T archive in a little curated mini-fest, starting with 5 parter DRYAD. Rooted as it is in Celtic folklore and legends of ancient blood sacrifice, it's hard to think of anything more appropriate to this particular season....

As Samhain draws near, I decided to give a second outing to some of the more overtly horror-oriented stories from the M.I.S.T archive in a little curated mini-fest, starting with 5 parter DRYAD. Rooted as it is in Celtic folklore and legends of ancient blood sacrifice, it's hard to think of anything more appropriate to this particular season....

And so at last we come to the conclusion of this dramatic, darkly romantic lycanthropic tale inspired by a Swedish follk tale from Upsala, but relocated here to the Isle of Arran. With the curse lifted from Tod and passed instead to Moira, Tod and Fiona seems set for the traditional happy ending. But things are set to be a little more complicated in this unsettling dramatic epilogue, which contains imagery some listeners might find disturbing.

And so we come to the penultimate episode of this dark, dramtic tale inspired by Swedish folklore but relocated here to the Isle of Arran. A ferocious man-beast on the loose, a stepmother sunk in guilty dreams after casting a terrible curse, her stepdaughter striving to do all she can to lift that curse before it claims her own life, a ghostly grey figure hovering in the shadows of the derelict house that is our setting... all is prepared for a very dramatic climax. Though, be warned, this isn't quite the end of our story... one more dramatic episode to go!

So Fiona has found that her jealous stepmother Moira means her no good - and Moira has likewise worked a terrible and magical transformation upon Tod for preferring Fiona to her. Now as Fiona flees into the forests here on Arran, the scene is set for a startling and disturbing encounter in this latest chapter of a very "Arran" reinvention of an old Swedish folk tale. WARNING: this episode contains explicit elements of sexualized lycanthropy which some will find disturbing.

Well, the beast has been unleashed in poor cursed Tod and is now about to wreak bloody havoc - while Fiona follows her stepmother Moira out into the night to find out just what exactly she's up to. Expect strong Gothic horror violence in the most dramatic episode yet....

So Moira, tormented by jealous thoughts of all that might have been going on between her lover Tod and her step-daughter Fiona, has passed on a curse with the cut of an outsized wolf's fang into Tod's spine. What will be the outcome of that? In a story like this, based on a Swedish folk tale, it can only be monstrous and disturbing and potentially deadly for all concerned....

Moira, believing Tod has been unfaithful to her with Fiona, her own step-daughter has performed a pagan rite to give her a little help in getting her own back. All she needs now is the opportunity... in a dramatic episode of this story adapted from a Swedish folk tale, which contains one scene of a sexual nature.

Things are getting intense in this story inspired by a Swedish folk tale but relocated here to the Isle of Arran. A drama of secret jealousy between stepmother Moira, stepdaughter Fiona, and Moira's former lover Tod is about to shift into the mode of the scary and the supernatural in an episode combining pagan magic with one moment of sexual aggression, so more sensitive listeners should be forewarned, with regard to what is evolving into a very dramatic tale indeed....

Continuing this darkly romantic fairy tale. At the end of the previous episode Moira spotted her stepdaughter Fiona having an intimate moment with Moira's former lover Tod, darting silently away in outrage. Now we get that scene from Fiona's point of view....

Continuing here an intense tale derived from a Swedish folk tale but relocated here to the Isle of Arran (which of course has its own Scandinavian Viking connections). Having lost her young lover Tod to faraway lands, schoolteacher Moira has "settled" for a perhaps less exciting life with Angus and his daughter - Moira's former pupil - Fiona. But now, Tod has returned to the island.... Contains one brief scene that some listeners might feel a little squeamish about -- please bear in mind, this is conceived as a very adult "fairy tale".

Here's the first part of what's going to be quite a developed, complex story. It's inspired by a Swedish folktale but, as is my wont, I've relocated the setting here to the Isle of Arran and very much produced my own distinct version: for example the original features the traditional Wicked Stepmother character well known from folk tale, but I rather empathized with that figure and have presented her in a much more complex and human fashion. So here's part one....

And so we come to the final act of this macabre Scots folk tale. It is macabre indeed, so if you have a low tolerance for the creepy, grotesque or the gory... well - as Edward Van Sloan used to say in the days of the old Universal horror movies - "you have been warned...." Morna is on the verge of saving her sisters Clodagh and Rona from the spooky old house and bloodthirsty enthusiasms of the Lady Laird and the husband she brought back from the dead, but those three sisters, quite literally aren't out of the woods yet.

OK, I know I said at the start this was going to be a three parter, but as you'll hear there's so much macabre incident & atmosphere in this episode that I'm going to need an Act 4 to complete the story, but that will follow shortly (sorry for the delay in completing this story - I've been down in London for recording sessions on my latest audio drama epic for Audible - and I came back to Arran with a cold which meant I could hardly speak two sentences without coughing). Meantime, here's the first half of the dramatic climax of this tale culled from JF Campbell's classic Popular Tales Of The West Highlands. Elder sisters Clodagh and Rona have disappeared into the snow - what can youngest sister Morna do but go looking for them, whatever the dangers...?

Here's the second part of my version of a rather macabre folk tale gleaned from the pages of JF Campbell's classic 19th century collection Popular Tales Of The West Highlands. Eldest of three sisters, Clodagh, has set off through the snowy countryside in search of work - and found only mortal danger in a spooky old house. Now younger sister Rona sets out in search of her....

Here's the first part of a story derived from that classic collection of Scottish folk tales, JF Campbell's Popular Tales Of The West Highlands - a splendidly macabre tale of three sisters who set out to find their fortune in the world... and find the world a scarier place than they imagined.

Here's the 4th & final episode of this repeat performance for my seasonal chiller first aired on Arran Sound radio Xmas 2021 - 22 (ignore the Twelfth Night reference in the episode intro: that was the original air date on the radio! - Don't worry: Xmas itself is the ideal time to be listening to this Gothic Ghost story!)

Here's the penultimate chapter of this four act tale of Victorian ghostliness, set on a very snowy Isle of Arran, just the thing for seasonal shivers!

Second part (of 4) of this old school seasonal chiller. The action has moved from Victorian Glasgow to the wilds of the snowy Isle of Arran - just the place, among other phenomena, for a rather creepy snowman to put in an appearance.

Christmas just days away so time for another outing for that perennial favourite at this time of year from my storytelling repertoire - a 4 part Victorian chiller in the grand manner, which begins in snowy Glasgow and shifts to an isolated house on even snowier Arran. Episode 2 follows tomorrow!!!

As a Christmas bonus, in contrast to my usual audio performances, here's a video performance of me performing, here on the shores of Arran, that traditional favourite from Scots folklore, the tale of the Selkie Bride - NOT filmed in the depths of December, as you'll see!

Okay, we're getting into the season for some serious creepy storytelling by the winter fireside, so here's my very Scottish, very Arran, reimagining of the classic Japanese folk tale Yuki Onna....

Final episode of this classic tale of lycathropic terror as an isolated family on the high moorlands here on the Isle of Arran are beset by a fearsome supernatural beast. Those who heard the preceding episodes will need no warning that this contains some seriously macabre storytelling elements.

Here's the second part of this tale just perfect for spooky season. Gruff Angus has softened his heart sufficiently to find a new bride in Christina, who came into the lives of him and his children one snowy night. But something bestial prowls the snowy forests and moorlands around their cottage.... (Contains some scary & violent scenes).

Here's a tale just right for Halloween time, or winter nights generally - my Scottish version of a traditional lycanthropic tale of horror, which I've relocated here to home territory in the high moors and forests of Arran. Rest of the story coming very soon!

The final part of this occasionally rather scary folk tale. Peter has run out of magic bullets - just ahead of the hunting test which might win him the hand of Moira and the post of Ghillie on the Duke of Hamilton's estate on the Isle of Arran. So he's crept up into mysterious Bogle Glen to try and forge some fresh bullets for himself by way of a pact with sinister, supernatural forces. This final episode contains some elements which might frighten the very, very nervous - BEWARE THE BOGLE MIDGES!

So Peter seems set for a happy ending - with the discreet help of magic bullets gained from a strange old man in the forest, he now seems set to replace old Andrew as chief Ghillie on the Hamilton estate on the Isle of Arran... and to win the hand in marriage of Andrew's daughter Moira. But what happens when he runs out of magic bullets. Scary things happen, that's what!

Here's the first part of a story I performed several times last year in the woodlands of Arran as part of Scotland's Year Of Stories and also in the grounds of Brodick Castle. It's a story you'll encounter in many variants all over the world but I first encountered a version of it in the German Harz Mountains where I used to work. But this version of the story relocates it decisively here to the shores of Arran, for a tale of frustrated love, the urge to hunt, and some distinctly supernatural intervention in both....

I was recently off Arran, visiting old haunts in the Scottish Highlands - particularly the wild Rogie Falls & Blackwater River north of Inverness, one of the places where I first practiced the art of storytelling. And here's a story I used to tell on the banks of that wild, tumbling river....

Second, and concluding, part of this improvised telling of a classic, and occasionally rather macabre, folk tale. Heroine Katy has supposedly escaped her murderous husband (after having previously cut off his hand) and now starts a new life right here on the beautiful Isle of Arran, where she is on a course for a very romantic happy ending. Unless, that is, her murderous husband has caught up with her....

Here's my version - in an unscripted, improvised performance - of an enjoyably gruesome, Grand Guignol-ish traditional folk tale, set in this episode on the Ayrshire mainland - though things will shift across the water to Arran for the next, concluding, episode -- which shall follow shortly!