Maura McHugh
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splinister.bsky.social
Maura McHugh
@splinister.bsky.social
Writer. Works across media. Lives in the West of Ireland.

https://splinister.com/easylinks
I'm so pleased to have a video essay on the limited edition Blu-ray release of Nocebo (2022), directed by Lorcan Finnegan and written by Garret Shanley, and released by Viva Vision. Entertainment.https://viavision.com.au/shop/nocebo-2022-blu-ray-limited-edition-3d-lenticular-hardcase-art-cards/
June 9, 2025 at 11:30 AM
What a treat for my story, 'The First and Future Forest', to be part of ParSec #13, with beautiful cover art by Vincent Sammy, stories by @neilwilliamson.bsky.social, Garry Kilworth, Paul Di Filippo, Cécile Cristofari, Kevin Burke, & @mikeowencarroll.bsky.social. pspublishing.co.uk/parsec-digit...
March 28, 2025 at 1:05 PM
My weather app serenely informs me there is a moderate wind warning for tomorrow, while the Irish news shows our map dripping in red, and I imagine daggers chopping into the country as the 'killer' Storm Éowyn advances. I do not enjoy waiting to discover the truth of its effects.
January 23, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Wishing all of you in the Northern hemisphere a Merry Midwinter! (Enjoy your Super Summer Solstice in the south.) I took this photo on a very frosty solstice morning years ago, as the sun rose over the peaceful landscape. The cycles turn and we move with them.
December 21, 2024 at 5:18 PM
Happy Thanksgiving! I think the gist of a ‘giving thanks’ holiday is marvellous. I had lunch with a dear friend and I am grateful to have that support in my life. Wishing you all at least one understanding pal at this busy time. ‘Still Life with Cheese’ by Floris Claesz van Dijck, c. 1615.
November 28, 2024 at 6:11 PM
Since it's Saturn's Day, here is 'The Throne of Saturn' by Eilhu Vedder, 1883-1884. Nothing says Saturday quite like the Ruler of Time tapping his foot and reminding you of all the errands/chores you need to accomplish when you're trying to enjoy a chill weekend morning.
November 16, 2024 at 11:11 AM
The first Waterford International Comics Art Festival is taking place this weekend, with a terrific line-up of talent, showcasing the wide spectrum of comics / graphic novels / cartooning as an inventive and multifaceted artform. Details: wicaf.art
January 29, 2024 at 5:53 PM
Happy New Year! May the stars align well with all your plans in 2024!

📷 globular cluster - NGC 2210 - in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), courtesy of NASA.
December 31, 2023 at 7:12 PM
Last night's showing of The Outcasts ('82), the OG Irish folk horror film, impossible to find for decades and now restored, was a revelation. A peasants' eye view of Irish 18th century life in which difference marked you as suspicious in a world ruled by practical necessity. 1/2
December 13, 2023 at 10:11 AM
Looking forward to this screening at the IFI Dublin: The Outcasts, introduced by filmmaker Paul Duane.
December 12, 2023 at 6:34 PM
Suircon in Waterford is on! There's a lovely crowd coming in despite the icy conditions outside.
December 2, 2023 at 10:33 AM
I'm going to be at Ballinasloe Library tomorrow at 2.15pm, on a Comic Book Creators panel, moderated by Gar O'Brien and with Paul Bolger, @paulcarroll.bsky.social and Fiona Boniwell. It's great to see Galway libraries celebrating comics and games! #comics
November 3, 2023 at 8:17 PM
It's to be expected, but without the buffer of Thanksgiving in Ireland everything has switched from cool spooky stuff to buy, buy, buy Xmas gifts in the space of a few hours.

However... I do like a mince pie, a warm fire and cheery lights on these short, cold nights...

📷 a local café, last year.
November 1, 2023 at 3:13 PM
💀🦇 Happy Hallowe'en - Oíche Shamhna shona daoibh! 🦇💀 Wishing you all a fun and spooky day!
October 31, 2023 at 9:41 AM
'Spooky Screens', my latest Substack newsletter is out, where I make some suggestions for film/TV watching as Halloween approaches. splinister.substack.com/publish/post...
October 25, 2023 at 2:51 PM
I'm at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain where I'm on the Méliès d'Argent Jury, and later today I'll be moderating a conversation between Kyra Elise Gardner (director of Living with Chucky) and Katharina Kubrick (actress and art director) on ‘Exploring the Fantasy Legacy’.
October 6, 2023 at 10:54 AM
Happy Publication Day for the anthology, Tales of the Otherworld, presented by Anne Doyle, and published by Gill Books 🥳 It's available in all good book stores now! It's a frightfully brilliant collection of supernatural stories (including one of my own).

www.gillbooks.ie/stories/stor...
September 28, 2023 at 9:34 AM
Hi, hope you're well! Blimey, there's a lot of you now. I was a bit hectic in August doing actual in-person stuff, and my social media impulse has withered to a vestigial pulse. No offence to you, my beauties, but I will have an erratic posting schedule. 🎨 'Women of Phoenicia', Robert Fowler.
September 4, 2023 at 1:59 PM
Hello, Lilith!
June 2, 2023 at 9:07 AM
Hi all, I've started a daily practice for the month of June over on my Substack, called Reading the Signs. Here's the post explaining it all. Feel free to join in!
https://splinister.substack.com/p/reading-the-signs-june-challenge
June 1, 2023 at 10:36 AM
🤘😈
May 26, 2023 at 8:16 PM
There's at least a week of hot weather ahead of us in Ireland... beware the lobster people, soon they will be among us!

🎨 'Lobster salad' by George Hope Tait - 1900.
May 26, 2023 at 11:35 AM
Wheeeeee! Maura flies across blue skies wondering if this will be a fun experience. Here's a photo from the Wild Atlantic Way yesterday, near the 'cliffs of insanity' (aka the Cliffs of Moher).
May 25, 2023 at 4:45 PM