Rituals, Ancestors and Trance

Rituals, Ancestors and Trance is a cycle of twelve mythological tales of the Khoi-San people of Southern Africa. The stories explore the perilous boundary between memory and invocation. Set in sacred landscapes where dust, fire and trance become vessels of ancestral presence, each story unfolds as a ritual - an act of calling, naming and reckoning.The collection follows a recurring pattern: the community gathers, the ceremony begins, the voices rise. Ancestors shimmer through smoke and silence, pressing for recognition. Some are named and bound to memory. But always, one remains - the Nameless, unbanishable, unbound, lingering at the edge of every rite.Written in a cadence that echoes oral tradition and mythic horror, the stories are not only about ancestors. They are about us: our fear of forgetting, our need to belong, our struggle to bind what cannot be bound. They are about the silence that listens, the dust that waits, the fire that does not fade.The circle waits... Barry is a creative storyteller whose short fiction blends emotional depth with atmospheric suspense. His collections explore untold corners of the human experience - where memory lingers, isolation speaks and the supernatural brushes against the everyday. Whether crafting biblical fiction, cosmic horror or surreal allegory, Barry's work is driven by a passion for immersive prose, earned endings and the quiet power of unresolved questions.Each story is a doorway. Step through and you'll find yourself somewhere unforgettable.