Creatures that go bump by Joseph Niafer Horror. Gothic. Speculative fiction. Its roots can be traced back as far as the year 1230, when the Vatican banned a book because it contained 'witchcraft.' Over the years, the subject slowly grew and the world was introduced through literature to such characters as Dracula (by Basarab in 1456), witches (by Institoris & Sprenger in 1520), mad scientists (by Faustus in 1587), vampires (by Planche in 1819), and, of course, Frankenstein himself (by Shelley in1819). Along with this literary genre grew a vast audience willing and wanting to be taken into this other world of darkness and creatures that go bump in the night. Come the year 2005 - the 1800s game time - centuries of fictional characters and stories were brought beautifully together through the 19th century Gothic world of Drakesheath, a dark town centered on 'Drakesheath Hall', located in the Cotswolds, some distance outside of London, England. In August 2005, the first posts were seen and word spread fast. Deliver Us From Evil became immensely popular and grew in leaps in a remarkably short time under the expert management of co-creators Edmund Folcwalding and Eleanor Godwinson. By March 2006, the group topped 100 members and the boards filled with creative, intelligent, well-written stories of vampire hunters, secret societies, fortune-tellers, enchanters, vampires, humans, demons and ghosts, to name a few. In fact, the group became so thick in stories and ideas that the suggestion for a newspaper was presented - a monthly guide of sorts that would allow a way to not only update readers on the stories at a glance, but to promote new ideas and suggestions. There was much agreement as to the means of organization a newspaper could offer, which brings us to our first edition of the Cotswolds Corruption, presented here today. May it serve our readers and storytellers well. Many thanks to those who have contributed and helped Deliver Us From Evil to prosper! Come all to Professor Henbane's Midnight Carnival