Free short Stories - New one up

I have a new short story up on my other blog. This story really is very short. In fact it's not quite complete. The idea for it came to me when I was researching runic writing.

My short story doesn't have runes in it. But while paging through books filled with pictures of ancient stone markers with runes carved in them proclaiming that this bridge was built by this person, or this stone was placed in memory of this person's wife, daughter of so and so, the beginnings of a story formed in my mind. (The wonderful picture above comes from beowulf-country.org.)

In my short story, little Neddy Fairborn is far removed from the land of runes, but his ancestor, Bjarn was not - he lived and breathed there, and was up to things perhaps he shouldn't have been . But then, if he wasn't, perhaps there would have been no Neddy...

Fairy Rings

A lot of Fairy Rings, or Fairy Circles, have been showing up in the park next to my house.


Folklore tells us that these rings are caused by fairies, pixies, or elves dancing in a circle.


To step into a fairy ring is to risk never being able to step back out into our world again. You might find yourself in the Land of Faerie - stuck there, bidden to dance until you die from exhaustion. Or you may become enchanted and marry a fairy. Most legends say that fairy rings are dangerous places and are best avoided. My dog, however, made it back out of this Fairy ring just fine.


In reality, the rings are caused by an underground fungus called mycelium. You can learn more about fairy rings, their causes, and the folklore behind them, here.

It's either fairies or fungus that really like the soccer fields in the park next door. Maybe on the next moonlit night I'll go and make sure that it isn't the former.


If you would like to read a short story with fairies in it, follow this link to a story called The Fairy's Tale.