Out Now: Fools Pass Under

I have a new story out in Mysterion.

“Fools Pass Under” is a historical tale balancing on the tightrope between dark fantasy and horror. The year is 1633 and a massive troll slumbers beneath London Bridge. John Potter swore an oath before God to sustain the bridge, which should have been a simple matter of collecting tolls and paying for repairs. But when the houses that line that bridge catch fire, the troll awakens… hungry for human flesh.

image of historic London Bridge

Claude de Jongh’s View of London Bridge, circa 1632

In reality, London Bridge did partially burn down in 1633. The damage to the buildings upon the bridge was expensive enough that repairs hadn’t been completed 33 years later when a far more famous fire began in Pudding Lane. The Great Fire of London spread towards the river but the burnt-out portions of London Bridge served as a natural firebreak and prevented the flames from crossing the river. A fire thus saved Southwark and the south bank from the Great Fire, proving once again that history is sometimes stranger than fiction…

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