Edgar Allen Poe's Hop-frog is a delightful tale of a vile, power-mad ruler, given to bouts of debauchery and cruelty, plus his cabinet of sycophants who would never dream of crossing their monarch. Written in 1849, so of course it bears no resemblance to anything modern. Just sit back and enjoy the heart-warming ending!

After that spectacle, Tim's nibbling at the remains of the smoldering barbecue and considering his choices in life and how they've been reflected in his music, as he walks us back indoors to the House of Primal Fear. Do visit Tim for more excellent musical interludes on Spotify and YouTube under T. Virgil Parker.

Image by Thanks for your Likes from Pixabay

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It's time to celebrate these hot, sweaty days and muggy, buggy nights by leaving behind our delightful, air conditioned dungeons in order to sleep with only a thin layer of polyester fabric between us and the most violent, bloodthirsty creatures the deep woods might throw at us.

Ashley Mangtani is a UK writer whose work explores ecological and social collapse, and the roles people inhabit in moments of crisis. Drawing on an M.Sc. in Environmental Science and a background as a civil servant in digital media policy, he crafts stories shaped by inevitability and loss. Blending literary realism with slipstream, his work has appeared or is forthcoming in Litro, Washington Square Review, Boudin, Expat Press, Thieving Magpie, Flash Fiction Online, HAWKEYE, Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, Literary Garage, Neither Fish Nor Foul, Empyrean Magazine, and others. Read more at ashleymangtanifiction.carrd.co

Later, Tim tears away the facade and shows us all what's 'Behind the Curtain.' Do visit Tim for more excellent musical interludes on Spotify and YouTube under T. Virgil Parker.

Image by Henning Sørby from Pixabay

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