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Tag Archives: gaslit

Was it Jack the Ripper…or Vampires?

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Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Book Spotlight, Corcitura Feature, Excerpts, Fun Stuff, Missives

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1888, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2018, Americans, article, atrocities, August 1888, ax, barbed tongue, barbed wire, belfry, best friends, blog, blogger, Books In My Belfry, bradburry, city, corcitura, Corcitura feature, Daily Telegraph, David and Marishka Ratliff, dead, Deadmarsh, death, Devil’s Rope, Dracula, draculaesque, Eastern Europe, England, Eric, Eric Bradburry, Europe, European, Excerpt, fake, female vampires, female werewolves, Fin de siècle, Found Dead, Friendship, fun stuff, Gaslight, gaslit, Goodreads, gothic, gothic novel, Grand Tour, grief, headline, historical fiction, horror, hybrid vampires, hypocricy, in memoriam, Jack the Ripper, killer, Kindle, Leonora Bianchetti, London, marishka, Martha Tabram, melika, Melika Dannese Lux, Melika Lux, memoriam, memory, Millionaire, millionaires, murder, murdered, Mystery, myths, news, novels, original, orphans, page, parents, Philanthropists, photograph, post, ratliff, ripped open, Ripper, Romania, Romanian, savage, savagely ripped open, Scotland Yard, sensationalism, shock, snatched, sorely missed, stab wounds, Stefan, Stefan Belododia, Stefan Ratliff, story, teaser, telegraph, the Ratliff Horror, vampires, vampirism, victim, Victorian, Vladec Salei, Vrykolakas, werewolf transformation, werewolves, westminster, Whitechapel, writer, writing, young, Zigmund Fertig

Taken from Corcitura, Chapter 10, The Ratliff Horror

Millionaire Philanthropists Found Dead

I snatched the paper off the tray and held it before my eyes, foolishly hoping the millionaire philanthropists of the headline were not the same ones I had been acquainted with since the days of my childhood. The headline danced before me, blurring in and out as I read over the words again and again, too scared to look at the report and have all my fears confirmed. Finally, I looked away from the headline and forced myself to read the article below.

London, Monday, 13 August 1888—Late last evening, David and Marishka Ratliff were found brutally murdered in their home in Westminster. Scotland Yard inspectors immediately questioned Mr. and Mrs. Ratliff’s servants and neighbors, but all were cleared of any involvement in the crime. The inspectors have noted that the modus operandi matches that employed in the murder of a woman, Martha Tabram, who was found stabbed to death in Whitechapel nearly one week ago. Although the authorities had ruled that the Tabram murder was an isolated incident, this new crime has made them reconsider. Do we have a killer in our midst? The authorities seem to think so. As with the former victim, the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Ratliff were covered in stab wounds, but in this case, the killer has added an additional weapon to his murderous arsenal: slashing throats in a particularly savage fashion with what the Americans call Devil’s Rope. Upon further inspection, it was determined that Mr. and Mrs. Ratliff’s throats had been savagely ripped open by a piece of barbed wire. Authorities had thought the killer to be from Whitechapel, but in light of this recent crime in Westminster, it is feared that the murderer has taken up residence in this district and will begin to perpetuate more atrocities in this part of the city. They caution against widespread panic, but one cannot help wondering when the next ax, or piece of barbed wire, as we now have it, will fall.

I ignored the last line for the sensationalism it was and turned the page. A photograph of David and Marishka with Stefan as a child took up half the page and underneath it ran the following:

Mr. and Mrs. Ratliff were well-known throughout Europe for their care of and generosity toward Romanian orphans, many of whom they brought to London to be educated. They are survived by their son, Stefan, who was not home when the murders were committed and is not a suspect in his parents’ deaths. Mr. and Mrs. Ratliff’s only son and heir, who was overcome with grief when given the horrible news, has asked that we print the following in memory of his beloved parents:

In Memoriam

As they were loved in life, so they shall be loved in death. They will be sorely missed.

“Sorely missed by everyone but you, that is,” I grunted, my teeth clenched in anger, my heart appalled by such blatant hypocrisy.

©2010, 2018 Melika Dannese Lux and Books In My Belfry®. Unauthorized use or reproduction of this excerpt without the author’s permission is strictly prohibited.

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Corcitura visits Because Reading is Better Than Real Life!

03 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Author Spotlight, Book Spotlight, Corcitura Feature, Excerpts, Fun Stuff, News

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1888, 1894, 2013, ashes, author spotlight, backstage, balmy, barbed tongue, because reading is better than real life, beg to differ, belfry, bellowed, Belododia, best friends, blog, blog feature, Blog Tour, bloggers, book, book feature, book spotlight, books, Books In My Belfry, browish-grey wolves, brutal, cabaret, Carmilla, Cecil B DeMille, City of Lights, city of lights: the trials and triumphs of ilyse charpentier, conversation with death, corcitura, creepy, crumble, damned soul, devil, diva, diva in the wings, diva of the paris stage, Dostoevsky, Dracula, draculaesque, drugged, Eastern Europe, England, Eric, Eric Bradburry, Erin Al-Mehairi, Excerpt, exclusive, eyes of a wolf, fall, fall reads, familiar, family conflict, family saga, fathers and sons, feature, female vampires, filmy residue, Fin de siècle, first person present tense, forest, France, francophile, Friendship, Gandalf, gaslit, Giverne, glowing, gone, good hunting, Goodreads, gothic, gothic novel, Grand Tour, Greece, green, grey wolves, Greydanus, halloween, Halloween reads, hand, historical fiction, historical romance, horror, husband, hybrid vampires, Ian McCarthy, if you love scary vampires, Ilyse Charpentier, impressionism, impressionist, impressionists, Kindle, kindle copy giveaway, kindle giveaway, King of Kings, La Perle de Paris, Le Fanu, leaves, Leonora, Leonora Bianchetti, London, lord of the rings, Love, Luc, maddie, Madelaine Bradburry, Madelaine Dennison, Manon Larue, Maurice Charpentier, Melika Dannese Lux, michelle parsons, Moulin Rouge, my son, mythology, news, novels, November feature, november reads, october 2013, october reads, Oh for the hook of a book, painters, Paris, Polidori, pov, Prague, professor fertig, rafflecopter, rafflecopter giveaway, rivalry, Romania, russian, scary vampires, Sergei, Sergei Rakmanovich, siblings, singers, Spooky, spout, staked, Stefan Ratliff, terrifying, Toulouse Lautrec, true love, Tyrian purple, updates, Upyr, vampire genre, vampire mythos, vampires, vamps, Vasily Markolovick, Venice, Vladec Salei, Vrykolakas, werewolf mythology, werewolf transformation, werewolves, wolf, wolf infestation, wolves, woman, woods, writing, YA, YA Lit, ya novel, Young Adult, young author, young female author, young love, young writer, Zigmund, Zigmund Fertig

Corcitura feature @ Because Reading is Better Than Real Life 12-2-13

Huge hugs and a big thank you to Michelle for having me back on her blog to chat about the origins of Corcitura! Think the vampire genre should have been staked long ago? Well, I beg to differ, and if you head on over to Michelle’s blog, you can read an article about how I wove werewolf & vampire mythology together to create an entirely new species of undead. And while you’re there, don’t forget to read a spooky teaser excerpt from the POV of Corcitura’s only female narrator!

Enjoy! 😀

All the best,

Me Sig!

 

 

 

 

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Corcitura visits the Emerald Isle!

04 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Articles, Book Spotlight, Corcitura Feature, Fun Stuff, News, Updates

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1888, 1894, 2013, ancestors, anne rice, author spotlight, backstory, backstory article, barbed tongue, behind the scenes, best friends, bloggers, blogs, book spotlight, Books In My Belfry, centuries-old, chat with melika, comments, corcitura, Corcitura feature, dark whiskey, dedicated writer, Dracula, draculaesque, Eastern Europe, edward robert hughes, Emerald Isle, Emma Meade, Emma’s Ramblings, end of the line, England, Eric Bradburry, Europe, favourite, feature, featured, features, female author, female vampires, Fin de siècle, France, freaky, Friendship, Gaslight, gaslit, gaslit reads, Goodreads, gothic, gothic novel, Grand Tour, Greece, Greydanus, Greydanus Belododia, historical fiction, hybrid vampires, if you like dracula, Indie, Indie Life, International, Ireland, Leonora Bianchetti, London, Luc, Madelaine Bradburry, Madelaine Dennison, mcdonald's value meal, Melika Dannese Lux, NA lit, na novels, Nadia Belododia, night sighs, novels, november 2013, november reads, oh what's that in the hollow, Paranormal, Paris, Pinterest, post, Prague, Romania, secrets, self-publishing, sorina, startling new take on the vampire mythos, Stefan Belododia, Stefan Ratliff, supernatural, supernatural fiction, the awakening and other stories, Thriller, translucent skin, Twitter, under the desert moon, Upyr, vampire mythos, vampiresses, Venice, Vladec Salei, Vrykolakas, werewolf transformation, werewolves, writing, writing is love, young author, Zigmund Fertig

It’s official. My vampires have gone international! How about that? 😉 A HUGE thank you to the lovely and talented Emma Meade for featuring Corcitura today! To learn more about what inspired Corcitura, how I mapped out and created a 700 page “startling new take on the vampire mythos,” and also what made Emma say that my featured post was probably “her favourite” so far on her blog, just click on the link below!

http://emmameade.com/2013/11/04/guest-post-by-melika-dannese-lux-author-of-corcitura/

And be sure to read the comments, too! They’re fantastic! 😀

All the best,

Me Sig!

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Exclusive Excerpt: Madelaine and the Vampires

20 Sunday Oct 2013

Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Author Spotlight, Book Spotlight, Corcitura Feature, Excerpts, Fun Stuff, Giveaway Announcement, Missives, News, Updates

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1888, 1894, 2013, ashes, barbed tongue, belfry, Belododia, best friends, blog, Blog Tour, bloggers, book, books, Books In My Belfry, browish-grey wolves, brutal, Carmilla, conversation with death, corcitura, creepy, crumble, damned soul, devil, Dracula, draculaesque, drugged, Eastern Europe, England, Eric, Eric Bradburry, Erin Al-Mehairi, Excerpt, exclusive, eyes of a wolf, fall, fall reads, familiar, fathers and sons, female vampires, filmy residue, Fin de siècle, first person present tense, forest, Friendship, gaslit, glowing, gone, good hunting, Goodreads, gothic, gothic novel, Grand Tour, Greece, green, grey wolves, Greydanus, halloween, Halloween reads, hand, historical fiction, horror, husband, hybrid vampires, if you love scary vampires, Kindle, kindle copy giveaway, kindle giveaway, Le Fanu, leaves, Leonora, Leonora Bianchetti, London, Luc, maddie, Madelaine Bradburry, Madelaine Dennison, Melika Dannese Lux, my son, novels, november reads, october 2013, october reads, Oh for the hook of a book, Polidori, pov, Prague, professor fertig, rafflecopter, rafflecopter giveaway, Romania, scary vampires, spout, Stefan Ratliff, terrifying, Upyr, vampires, vamps, Venice, Vladec Salei, Vrykolakas, werewolf transformation, werewolves, wolf, wolf infestation, wolves, woman, woods, writing, Zigmund, Zigmund Fertig

*drum roll* Well, here it is! I’ve been wanting to let Maddie have her say for the longest time, and, today, she speaks! Be sure to stop by Oh, For the Hook of a Book to read this never before released exclusive excerpt and “be there” as Maddie has a conversation with death and sees something familiar in the eyes of a wolf:

http://hookofabook.wordpress.com/2013/10/20/exclusive-creepy-excerpt-of-teaster-chapter-from-melika-luxs-corcitura-a-gothic-vampire-read/

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway before you leave!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/OTg4YjQzMDA1MjEzZWRlNTcyNmZkNjQyMzFkYjE2OjM=/

Best wishes,

Me Sig!

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