THE OCCULTARIA OF ALBION VOLUME XIII - THORNLEY MILL SHOPPING PRECINCT

TITLE - THE OCCULTARIA OF ALBION VOLUME XIII -THORNLEY MILL SHOPPING PRECINCT 

CREATED BY - RICHARD DANIELS & MELODY PHELAN-CLARK

GENRE - PARANORMAL EVENTS/ LIMINAL PLACES/ HAUNTOLOGY/FICTIONAL WORLDS/MIDSOMER MURDERS MEETS SCARFOLK

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - UNITED KINGDOM 

A5/23 PAGES/FULL COLOUR 

PRICE - £5.50 + FREE SHIPPING FROM THE OA WEBSITE

Described as “a place where the light and the dark meet”, “The Occultaria of Albion” is an ongoing part-work chronicling the paranormal, esoteric and just plain weird events that have occurred in various (fictional) locations throughout Albion. Volume XIII catalogues the events associated with the Thornley Mill shopping precinct in the town of Suttonstone.  

The events depicted in the stories tend to take place in the 70s/80s, and even though these places obviously exist in the here and now, there is a palpable sense of the past about them, evoking a strong hauntological vibe. Stories include “The Electric Love Vibration” which tells the tale of amateur footballer Tony Graham, who, after being struck by lightning on the pitch, undergoes a spiritual awakening and takes to wearing a purple tracksuit and talking about vibrations. Weirdly familiar… And in “Goth Rock Pop Shock”, a misprinted poster leads to a goth band doing a gig instead of a teenage pop sensation, while in “Are Rats Electric?” the reclusive owner of an electronics shop develops a machine for talking to the dead, and in “The Lady Killer”, could a friendly florist actually be a murderer? There are also small ads and the “Did You Know?” pages share amazing and sometimes disturbing facts about the shopping precinct.

EX-FOOTBALLER TURNED TRACKSUITED VIBE MERCHANT, TONY GRAHAM

The stories, and the zine as a whole, skirt the fine line between fantasy and reality, creating a plausible and recognisable world of small-town councils, jumble sales, shopping centres and dark forces under a banal surface. A glorious flight of the imagination, with a vein of dark(ish) humour running through it. Liminality, hauntology, urban wyrd, synchronicity - “The Occultaria of Albion” issue 13 has all these flavours and more. Illustrated with authentic-looking and evocative photos, the zine itself has a wonderful vintage feel to it and resembles the kind of pamphlet you might pick up in a library. The cover could be from the opening titles of one of those awesome spooky anthology shows from the ‘70s, back when they really knew how to get the viewer frightened before the programme had even started. Nothing in the zine will pull you out of the Occultaria world: Richard Daniels has created a realistic parallel universe with a strong continuity of concept throughout. If you enjoy Scarfolk or the Black Meadow short stories etc, you need to place a regular order with your newsagent for “The Occultaria of Albion” without delay.

And if you fancy a deep dive into the Occultaria world, why not join the OAKnights PATREON, through which you will receive each new issue as it is released, a monthly newsletter, membership card and shiny badge. You’ll also be supporting the ongoing project.