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lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
Sander Townshend
@lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
47 followers 71 following 240 posts
Theatre Maker - Spooky Nerd - Always Knitting - he/him
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lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
So the Edinburgh Horror Festival is just around the corner!

My Grandmother Taught Me To Knit will be returning - original horror storytelling on knitting, grief and perfection.

We run from October 23rd to the 26th, with a streamed version on the 23rd!

#horror #theatre #edinburgh #knitting
The poster for my Grandmother Taught Me To Knit, featureing a lino print of a pair of hands knitting in black and white, a red stain spreading from the fingers across the fabric. At the bottom is the information Banshee Labyrinth, Cave Bar October 23rd to 26th 19:00, 40 minutes Livestreamed 23rd £10, for tickets visit edhorrorfest.co.uk Next to the information is the Edinburgh Horror Festival logo
October 14, 2025 at 8:40 AM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
"A House With Good Bones" by T. Kingfisher is book #43. A haunted house story about a woman staying with her mother, who has inexplicably started living according to the rules set by her long dead grandmother #booksky #sanderreads
The cover of A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher, featuring a brass doorknocker in the shape of a skull, surrounded by pink roses
October 6, 2025 at 10:53 AM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
Book #42 was "Hollywood Gothic" by David J Skal, a non-fiction looking at the history of Dracula in adaptation. #booksky #sanderreads
The audiobook cover of Hollywood Gothic by David J Skal, which features a photograph of Bela Legosi as Dracula overlayed with the white lines of cracked glass or possibly a spiders web
October 1, 2025 at 9:52 AM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
Book #41 was "Camp Damascus" by Chuck Tingle (again)(in audiobook this time!) #booksky #sanderreads
The cover of Chuck Tingle's "Camp Damascus", a red toned illustration of a row of cabins, one spilling with blue light, against the backdrop of a wooded hill. Above the trees is a face in profile, a swarm of flies emerging from a screaming mouth
September 21, 2025 at 4:12 PM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
"The Grip of It" by Jack Jemc was book #40. A tense haunted house horror about a couple trying to leave their problem behind in a move to a small town. #booksky #sanderreads
A photo of a hand holding a copy of Jac Jemc's "The Grip of It", a white cover featuring a rough simple scribbled picture of a house surrounded by indistinct scribbled text in grey.
September 21, 2025 at 4:09 PM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
Book #39 was Merlin Sheldrake's "Entangled Life", a fascinating look at the world of fungi. #booksky #sanderreads
The cover of Merlin Sheldrake's "Entangled Life", featuring bright illustrations of fungi in primary colours on a black background
September 21, 2025 at 4:06 PM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
"Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism" by Amanda Montell was book #38, a non-fiction book looking at the linguistics of cults and similar groups. #booksky #sanderreads
The cover of Amanda Montell's Cultish, featuring a vintage black and white illustration of a UFO on a solid beige background, with geometric waves coming in from two opposite corners
September 21, 2025 at 4:03 PM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
Book #37 was Nick Cutter's "The Deep", a horror novel set in a research station at the bottom of the Mariana Trench #booksky #sanderreads
A photo of a hand holding a copy of Nick Cutter's novel "The Deep", a black cover with bubbles rising from the bottom and the blue glow of light from the surface at the top.
September 21, 2025 at 3:58 PM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
"Harrow Lake", by Kat Ellis was book #36. Following a teenager who's father (a famous horror director) is attacked in their home and she is sent to stay with her grandmother in the town where he filmed his most famous film. #booksky #sanderreads
The cover of Kat Ellis's novel "Harrow Lake", which is bright yellow, and features a patchy black silhouette of a marionette puppet with a simple smiley face.
September 21, 2025 at 3:54 PM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
Book #35 was Iain Reid's "I'm Thinking of Ending Things", a short thriller that honestly didn't really work for me. #booksky #sanderreads
The cover of Iain Reid's audiobook "I'm Thinking of Ending Things", featuring a photograph of an uncomfortable looking woman sat at a dinner table and holding a wine glass, in front of a busy floral wallpaper.
September 21, 2025 at 3:50 PM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
"The Mist" from Stephen King was book #34. This was only the 3rd King novel I've read (the others being Carrie and It, both a long time ago) and this one sits solidly between the two in terms of my enjoyment. #booksky #sanderreads
A photograph of a hand holding a copy of Stephen King's "The Mist" the cover is a purple illustration of a massive of tentacles over misty silhouettes of buildings. A dinosaur bookmark pokes out the top of the book
September 21, 2025 at 3:46 PM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
baby
Epsilon, a grey and white cat with a pink nose and toe beans, sleeps soundly on a platform of a cat tree in front of a book case. His tail, and two of his paws hang over the edge. He is adorable
September 10, 2025 at 7:06 AM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
Book #33 was Pageboy, by Elliot Page, a memoir focusing on Page's life through the lense of his gender and sexuality. #sanderreads #booksky
The cover of Pageboy by Elliot Page. The cover features a photograph of Elliot Page sitting in a white tank too and blue jeans against a read background, a thick white border carried the title and author in a black font.
August 1, 2025 at 1:42 PM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
Book #32 was Jeff VanderMeer's "Annihilation", a tense sci-fi following an expedition into the mysterious Area X #sanderreads #booksky
The cover of Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation. An abstract image of swirling white lines and starbursts on a black background. The title written in lime green and the authors name in white.
August 1, 2025 at 1:08 PM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
Book #31 was Chuck Tingle's "Bury Your Gays", an incredibly pointed horror novel about Hollywood's relationship to queerness #sanderreads #booksky
A photo of a hand holding a copy of Chuck Tingle's "Bury Your Gays". The author and title are printed on a black background, a saturated LA sunset in the titles lettering and a bloody sledgehammer cutting across the whole thing.
July 28, 2025 at 12:07 PM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
Book #30 was "Off The Edge" by Kelly Weill, my first non-fiction of the year, was a look at the flat earth movement from its origins in the 1800s, to the present day. #sanderreads #booksky
The cover of Kelly Weill's book "Off the Edge". A fuzzy green and blue line extends most of the way across a bright pink background, the black silhouette of a sailboat tipping off the edge.
July 24, 2025 at 9:02 AM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
The Guest List by Lucy Foley was book #29, a murder mystery set at a wedding on a remote island that I've seen a lot of people compare to an Agatha Christie novel. #sanderreads #booksky
The cover of Lucy Foley's novel, The Guest List. A minimalist design, a black silhouette of an island on a white background, the text in a textured red and black.
July 17, 2025 at 10:17 AM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
Book #28 was "The Sun Down Motel" by Simone St. James, a murder mystery/ghost story following a now disappeared woman in the 80s, and her niece in the 2010s trying to find out what happened to her. #sanderreads #booksky
The cover of "The Sun Down Motel" by Simone St. James, a picture of an 80s style motel sign featuring the title, weathered like an old photograph.
July 14, 2025 at 8:46 AM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman is book #27 this year. A quietly eerie short novel about a teenage couple who find... Well... A house at the bottom of a lake. #sanderreads #booksky
The cover of Josh Malerman's "A House at the Bottom of a Lake". The cover features an illustration in muted greens and yellows of a ramshackle house on a light dappled lakebed, one window illuminated in yellow. Two tiny figures in diving gear swim down towards it, streams of bubbles rising behind them.
July 14, 2025 at 8:24 AM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey was book #26 of the year. An absolutely gnarly (complimentary) book following a demon hunter in New York trying desperately to claw her life back on the rails. #sanderreads #booksky
A photograph of a hand holding a copy of The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey. The cover is an illustration in bright saturated colours on a black background, the statue of liberty is split in two, a head emerging from between the halves. It's humanoid, except for the mouth which hangs open revealing rows of sharp teeth and long pink tendrils.
July 9, 2025 at 1:11 PM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
Book #25 was John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids, which means I have actually already hit my reading goal for the year, which is Super Exciting! #booksky #sanderreads
The audiobook cover for John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids, which features a black and white image of a hand holding a small stick sprouting leaves with the title overlaid in bright green.
July 2, 2025 at 11:46 AM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
Horowitz Horror, by Anthony Horowitz is book #24 this year. This short story collection (or collections, I had it in two volumes as a kid) was the very first horror book(s) I ever read. #sanderreads #booksky
A photo of a hand holding a copy of Horowitz Horror, The Ultimate Collection, by Anthony Hororwitz.
June 30, 2025 at 9:41 AM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
Book #23 was Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle. Safe to say this is an instant favourite, I absolutely devoured this book in a single evening. #sanderreads #booksky
A hand holding a copy of Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle. The cover is a painting featuring a row of cabins in front of a dark treeline, blue light spilling from the door and windows of one in the centre. Above the trees, in vivid reds and oranges, is the nose and mouth of a face in profile, screaming out a cloud of mayflies.
June 27, 2025 at 3:51 PM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
Book #22 is The King In Yellow, by Robert W Chambers. Been in a bit of a reading slump the past couple months but I was reminded that I had this on my To Read Shelf and finally got into it. #booksky #sanderreads
A photograph of a hand holding a copy of The King In Yellow, by Robert W Chambers. The cover features artwork of a seated human figure covered in a yellow sheet, tall antlers protruding from his head, wearing a crown that is gilted to be a shiny silver, the background is a blotchy dark blue. Across the top reads "mystery and supernatural", the title is written in the middle, over the centre of the figure, and the authors name at the bottom. All the text is in the same shiny silver as the crown.
June 26, 2025 at 7:44 AM
lysanderthenerd.bsky.social
More like The Gaslighthouse am I right?
A black and white still of Willem Dafoe as Thomas Wake in The Lighthouse, he is laughing but the dark background and the low angle of light thrown on his face suggests a sinister tone
April 29, 2025 at 7:03 AM