October’s Pictonaut Challenge

And so begins another month, the auspicious days of autumnal October. A month when the nights begin to close in around us and Winter begins to flex its chill fingers. It’s a month when the cold starts to nip at our heels just before it really begins to bite. October to me is a time of transition, a slightly mystical month; with the world-changing around us it feels like almost anything could happen. When it finally draws to a close October goes out with a bang, culminating in All Hallows Eve. If there is a day that embodies the mystery of the unknown I have yet to discover it. It is a night where the world feels just a little flimsy and surreal, as if the fabric which holds everything together is not quite as stolid as we believe it to be. The night where even the bravest and most sceptical of us all are just a little bit afraid of what might really be out there, lurking in the dark and dim corners of the world…

It’s the first of October, it’s a new month, it’s time for Pictonauts old and new to start flexing their fiction muscles.

What with the month ending on Halloween I thought it would be prudent to choose an image which was a little on the spooky side, something dark, grimy and a little bit sinister. I call this picture The Writing on the Wall, yet another image from one of my many forays into the darkest and most foreboding corners of the internet.

There’s just something about this image. While last month we had an image that evoked heart-break, empathy and a deep abiding sadness; this month’s image evokes something primal, perhaps not quite fear, but a deep-seated and nagging unease. I think it’s perfectly suited for a Halloween finish.

For those who are new to Pictonuat Challenge the principle is simple: see that picture up there? Short story, 1000 words, based on that picture, go.

Now let’s all delve deep into the bizarre and unearthly realms of the things which man was not meant to know…