SUE HARPER

Welcome to The Dark Nest, a collection of short stories exploring the hidden, the repressed, and the extraordinary that lies beneath the surface of everyday life. As well as The Dark Nest this website also provides access to Sue's non-fiction writing, essays, memoirs and blogs.

 

Many of the Dark Nest stories centre on transformation. A student becomes a bluebottle. A dog learns to speak. A woman's skin turns transparent. A doll comes to life. Others are driven by startling discoveries: a Martian found in a woodland, a collection of tin soldiers that rewrites history, or prehistoric cave paintings that challenge everything we believe about our origins.

 

Throughout the collection, the ordinary world is quietly unsettled. Familiar objects—hats, coats, dresses and other everyday possessions—take on lives of their own, rebelling against their owners, often with unsettling or devastating consequences.

 

The stories have been described as Body Gothic, blending the uncanny with the physical, the psychological, and the surreal. Several stories are available as audio readings, narrated by the author, while two—The Connoisseur and The Shining Furrow—have been adapted into short films by artist Alan Everatt.

 

Each story is accompanied by an original image and a brief strapline, inviting readers into the strange and unsettling world of The Dark Nest.