UNHOLY RELICS

In his Foreword to UNHOLY RELICS (first published in 1947), M. P. Dare stated that all thirteen stories in the collection were 'founded upon actual experiences of the author in the realms on the uncanny'. A self-described occultist and antiquary, Dare felt himself to have inherited an 'abnormally developed psychic sense', and believed that those who studied the past were more likely to come into contact with the dim, borderline region of the supernatural than others.

The stories are told by Gregory Wayne, a bachelor antiquarian who, in company with his colleague Alan Granville, is constantly running across uncanny people, places, and things. Some of the tales, such as the title story, 'The Demoniac Goat', and '"Bring Out Your Dead!"', are designed to chill the blood, while others, like 'The Nymph Still Lives' and 'The Haunted Helmet', contain elements of fantasy and humour.

In addition to the thirteen tales of the original collection, this edition contains "Beyond the Veil', a chapter from Dare's exceedingly rare 1937 book INDIAN UNDERWORLD, which deals with occult experiences the author had while living in India. There is also the full text of Dare's 1961 article, 'Ghosts I Have Met', and a full introduction which sheds light on Dare's ultimately tragic life.