John Reppion's On the Banks of the River Jordan Reviewed

The Swan River Press began publishing a series of short, but impressive booklets containing single short stories a couple years ago. John Reppion's On The Banks of the River Jordan is the latest installment in a collection that has come to be called "Haunted Histories." Reppion's work lives up to this label by twisting English history with weird literary atmosphere, an effective combination that also takes on a meta-fictional angle.

Reppion, who has previously written a much longer book of non-fiction called 800 Years of Haunted Liverpool, shows off his ability to use history in an eerie fictional way here. The story is nearly several contained incidences of strange happenings over the centuries at Princes Park, a section of Liverpool intimately familiar to the author. With a historian's stoic attention to detail, he introduces readers to strange lore regarding this wooded city sector: witches, pagan spirits, a secret village, and magpie birds are examined in interesting and informative historical case studies.

Yet, since this is a work of fiction, these historical snapshots are cleverly woven into a narrative bulging with creepy atmosphere. Reppion's usage of history in this way recalls the past and present successes of other weird writers doing this, such as H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James, and Reggie Oliver. Moreover, the story takes on an added dimension through the manifestation of the author himself as the chief character. Bizarre historical legends are recounted through the e-mails John Reppion passes to Brian J. Showers, the real life face behind Swan River Press, on a cold winter night. However, as an increasingly disturbing set of present day occurrences make clear, the historian is about to become a potential victim of the forces chronicled in his research.

This fiction and reality blurring is commendable in its execution. In an appropriate time and place, reading On the Banks of the River Jordan can make one question their own security in a world filled with the specters of bygone horrors, just like other great weird stories incorporating history do. Reppion also excels at pacing his story, but the dramatic onset of its conclusion is slightly at odds with the introspective and scholarly tone used beforehand. This is no problem, though. Somehow, the final encounter with supernatural horror provides a satisfying exit for readers from an engrossing realm of aged terrors recounted in this tale.

Besides being an enjoyable and richly atmospheric story in its own right, On the Banks of the River Jordan is also a fine introduction to John Reppion's works. His other projects are currently histories and comics, often in partnership with his wife, Leah Moore. Note that this affordable chapbook is being produced in extremely limited quantities by Swan River Press, so get one before the print run sells out.

-Grim Blogger