Breathe In The Darkness ...
Come in, weary traveller, and warm yourself by the fire ... just take care to remain out of the shadows' reach.
This is a place where the dark and the light may meet, while the bizarre and the insane play at their feet. It is a shelter where the vile and the hideous run free with the virtuous and the beautiful. It is an open haven for any who would make use of it, and for any who would leave some part of themselves within.
'Stoking the Fire' is a place where the tradition of swapping tales of the odd, the horrific, and the heroic by the light of the fire meets the medium of the World Wide Web and the light of the monitor. Here, anyone can express just about anything to the mass of whomever may wish to view it, with a few small exceptions. Some things, such as depictions of pedophilia or child pornography, cross the boundary of disturbing into the realm of the illegal, and will not be allowed in this place for any reason.
Beyond that simple guideline, all are welcome to share their works here. This site can only benefit from the input of others, so I would welcome anyone who wishes to post something to forward it to me by sending it to Rage, along with whether you would like an e-mail link back to yourself to be placed with the piece. My usual M.O. is to read the piece and create an image for it. Then to make an orphaned page for the author's approval before making the link to it live.
For those who have come to read the works contained here, the site is divided up into seven main areas of content (as you can see to the left) that vary from the dark to the humorous. If you like something that you read, I would encourage you to get in touch with the author and let them know. Many of the works on this site will have e-mail links back to the author, or you can shoot me a message, and I'll try to get in touch with them for you.
Also, any questions, comments, or suggestions about the site can be sent to me by e-mail, or by clicking on the link to the ever present
Feedback is the best source for ideas, so any and all comments are welcome.
Last updated 04/27/2002
New Additions
Some actual updates for a change ...
"Fear" -- New dark fiction by Derrick Rayburn - 04/27/02
"So Divine" -- New poetry by Jessi - 04/27/02
"Cocaine Cowboys" -- a new Dack Shannon story by Steven Shrewsbury - 04/27/02
"The Rift" -- New poetry by Absynthe Elysium - 04/27/02
"The Hole" -- New poetry by by Absynthe Elysium - 04/27/02
"Invisible" -- New poetry by Art Felix - 04/27/02
"Alone in the Field" -- New poetry by Josh Johnson - 04/27/02
Disclaimers, or whatever you want to call them
This site is owned and more or less (generally less than more) maintained by Rage. On occasion, I even actually update things. Not often, but it does happen.
All images and materials used are owned and copyrighted by Rage, unless otherwise noted, (c)1998/1999/2000/2001/2002, and may not be used without permission. That's all. Nothing witty. Just don't steal my shit or the shit of others, if you please. The world is a better place with more original shit running around.
I've tried to keep this site as browser friendly as possible (given my limited coding knowledge and abilities), but it is still best viewed at 1024 x 768 using a higher level browser (IE or Netscape 4.0 or later). Hopefully it won't look *too* frightening at 800 x 600. It looks pretty good at 1280 x 1024, so go for broke if you can. But if you're one of those freaks who can still read this text at 1600 x 1200, you're officially an alien and should be captured for study in the hopes that your anal probing days be brought to an end at last!! VIVA LA HUMANITY!!
This site was created using Photoshop, and HomeSite.
All hail the Gods at Adobe and Allaire, for their fine products!
Any representatives from the aforementioned companies may now give me free shit.
Life is what happens inbetween dreams.
Dreams are what happens when life fails our expectations.
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