By: Tim Goldstone
At our village school, Mr. Robinson, our replacement Religious Education teacher from the mainland, started his first lesson with us by explaining there are many different images of Jesus and that if you want you can buy one of him nailed to a piece of wood wearing a loincloth and you hang that around your neck on a thin metal chain. Very popular apparently and many adults regard this as a sign of respectability. We were contemptuous. None of us could see how that would possibly work, how it could ever replace the sacrificial shrines we had in the woods, and soon, after we’ve ripped his long hair out with our hands, then trussed and skinned him, Mr. Robinson will understand why.
Tim Goldstone lives deep in rural Wales. Published in journals and anthologies including Cadaverous, Horror Tree, Lamplit Underground, Ghost City Review, Crannóg, Veil: Journal of Darker Musings, Gloom Cupboard, Madness Muse, Doghouse, Crow & Cross Keys, Altered States, The Speculative Book, and forthcoming in The Bangor Literary Journal. Twitter @muddygold