Leah Moore's Blog

In November 2021, myself and M. D. Penman released our adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight at the Thought Bubble comics convention. When we were working on the book, one of the things we always intended to do but never got around to was to visit Lud’s Church together. Now it’s November again, and Mark and I are getting ready to take part in a panel at Thought Bubble all about adapting medieval sources into comics. So, better late than never, on the 2nd of November 2025, we finally made the trip Staffordshire together.

A Strange Season

In Western Christianity, Allhallowstide is a triduum (three-day period of religious observance) lasting from the 31st of October until the 2nd of November; Hallowe’en, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day. In Mexico, Día de los Muertos is celebrated on the 1st and 2nd of November, sometimes also incorporating the 31st of October. In Slavic paganism, the Autumn Dziady (“Forefather’s Eve”) is celebrated across the same three-day period. All of these November / October threshold observences are associated with the dead and the links between this world and the next. This is a time when the departed are honoured and remembered, prayed for and prayed to, and when some, for a short time, return from beyond.

Taking place on October 31st / November 1st, Samhain is the Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the darker half of the year. The medieval Irish text Macgnímartha Finn (“The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn”) records that “the fairy-mounds of Ireland were always open about Samain; for on Samain nothing could ever be hidden in the fairy-mounds”. Another medieval Irish text, Acallam na Senórach (“Tales of the Elders of Ireland”), records that the cave of Cruachan, in County Roscommon, served as a portal to the Other World, from which “certain pigs of paganism”, a trio of female werewolves, and other strange, supernatural creatures, were said to have emerged on different Samhains. Such writings have long been taken as evidence that Samhain was believed to be a time when the barrier separating the human realm and the Other Realm – the place of the Fae, the dead, and other paranormal beings – was somehow at its weakest.

In short, the period between October 31st and November 2nd is widely regarded as a time when ghosts, faeries, and monsters are abroad, especially in certain places. Some so called fairy mounds are in fact prehistoric remains. Extant Neolithic burial sites in Ireland – such as the Hill of Tara, and the Mound of Hostages, in County Meath – are believed to have been deliberately aligned with the Samhain sunrise, meaning that this time of year has held significance for many thousands of years. Other of these supposed liminal sites are natural formations or quirks of the landscape.

History, Myth, and Mystery

Lud’s Church, also known as Ludchurch, is a chasm in Back Forest, Dark Peak, towards the southwest fringe of the Peak District National Park. The age of the rift is unknown, but it’s believed to be post-glacial, and therefore no more than 10,000 years old. Staffordshire folklore says that the scar was made when the Devil scraped a gnarly talon across the landscape. Guidebooks and locals alike will tell you that it was a place of Druidic or Pagan worship long ago, and that Robin Hood and Friar Tuck, and even Bonnie Prince Charlie hid out there for a time. Legends Of The Moorlands And Forest In North Staffordshire (1860) contains a weird entry stating “until a few years ago, the subterranean cavern which issues from Lud’s Church, was inhabited by a strange and distinct race of beings“.

In the early 15th century, the chasm was definitely used as a place of worship by a proto-Protestant group called the Lollards (forbearers of the Church of England). Prior to Henry VIII’s Reformation, the Lollard’s beliefs were deemed hertical, and so it was necessary for them to meet and worship in secret. At one time the congregation was led by the zealous Sir Walter de Lud-Auk. Sir Walter was arrested while preaching there, and this is said to be origin of the name Lud’s Church.

During the latter half of the 19th century Lord Phillip Brocklehurst owned the land on which Lud’s Church stands. Brocklehust turned the site into something of a Victorian tourist attraction, charging visitors an entry fee, and most of the rough stone steps leading to and from the fissure date from his time. Perhaps surprisingly, the Lord also had part of the structure dynamited in an attempt to seal one of its entrances. This ultimately failed, but the explosion was apparently successful in sealing off a narrow subterranean cavern in which Sir Walter de Lud-Auk may have once lived. Notably, this was the same cave that “strange and distinct race of beings” mentioned in that guidebook less than a decade earlier were supposed to have inhabited. [For some eerily similar North West England lore, see: Crank Caverns]

Can this be the Chapel Green?

“Sir Gawain in Staffordshire: A Detective Essay in Literary Geography” was the title of an article published in The Times in May 1958. In the piece professor and runologist Ralph Warren Victor Elliot first put forward his theories about Lud’s Church as a possible location for the Green Chapel of the poem. Elliot later expanded upon these in “The Gawain Country: Essays on the Topography of Middle English Alliterative Poetry“, published by Leeds University in 1984. Sadly, though both works are cited left right and centre, I have been unable to find either online or in print.

While written in Middle English, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight nevertheless contains some dialect words which a number of scholars (Elliot included) believe to be proof of its Staffordshire origins. Others argue that its author was more likely from Cheshire, not least because of Sir Gawain’s crossing of the wyldrenesse of Wyrale (“wilderness of the Wirral“) early in the poem. Whatever the truth of the unknown author’s county of origin, Lud’s Church has become synonymous with The Green Knight’s Green Chapel in the minds and hearts of many.

The poem’s description of that dreaded meeting place seems, to many, a perfect representation of Lud’s Church.

on both sides high steep banks,
and rough hunched crags with projecting stones;
the shadows of the cliffs seemed to him terrible.

But soon, a little distance off on a grassy spot he descried a mound
as it were, a smooth hill by the bank of the stream
near a ford of the flood that ran there.
The burn babbled there as if it were boiling.
The knight urges his steed, and comes to the hill;

It had a hole at the end and on either side,
and was overgrown with grass in clumps everywhere,
and was all hollow within — nothing but an old cave
or a crevice of an old crag. He could not understand it
at all.

“Alas, Lord,” quoth the gentle knight,
“can this be the green chapel?
Here about midnight the devil
might tell his matins.”

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Sir_Gawain_and_the_Green_Knight_(Neilson_translation)

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Further readinghttps://www.mysteriesofmercia.com/post/lud-s-churchhttps://archmdmag.com/luds-church-history-and-mythology/https://adventuresnatch.blog/2021/04/01/myths-and-mysticals-luds-church-staffordshire-and-the-peak-district/

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Leah Moore & John Reppion will be appearing as guests at Thought Bubble Comic Convention, Harrogate Convention Centre, Harrogate, Yorkshire, on Sat the 15th & Sun the 16th of November 2025.

You can find us at table A7 in Comixology Hall

John will be taking part in Out of Olde Bokes: Adapting Comics from Medieval Sources – Panel Room 2, Queen’s Suite, 15:15 – 16:15, Sat 15th.

Leah will be taking part in 2000 AD Writer Talent Search – Panel Room 2, Queen’s Suite, 12:45 – 13:45, Sun 16th

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The lovely people at Redragon have very generously sent me yet another keyboard to try out. This time it’s the Antonium Pro: a 108-key / 100% keyboard. It’s Windows and Mac compatible (a two-way switch on the rear, next to the USB port, selects the mode) and connects via Bluetooth 5.0, 2.4Ghz wireless, or via standard USB Type-C. A three-way switch at the rear of the board allows you to switch between connection modes. It has an onboard 4000mAh battery.

The Antonium Pro is available in two colourways: Black & White and Purple & White. I got the Black & White. The keycaps are rounded profile PBT, with black characters on the white keys, and white characters on the black keys.

The Antonium Pro comes loaded with Mint Mambo Linear Switches which I have previously enjoyed using on boards such as Redragon’s Star Blade and Wyvern. The switches are, of course, hot-swappable with any other 3 or 5-pin switches.

The Antonium Pro has south-facing RGB LEDs. There are plenty of easily accessible onboard presets, and further customisation is available via Redragon’s own software. There’s also another stripe of lights between the arrow keys and Del, End, Pg Dn – but these aren’t customisable.

The Antonium Pro weighs around 1 kg. So, it’s a pretty decent weight and possibly too large to be truly portable for many people. Then again, sometimes you want a 100% keyboard for your laptop, don’t you? Typing angle is adjustable with two-position flip-out feet, which have silicone pads.

The Antonium Pro is gasket-mounted. Equipped with 3.5mm PO foam, IXPE switch foam, PET sound pad, bottom socket foam, silicone bottom pad, and a silicone gasket.

This is a pretty short review, I know, but that’s because the Antonium Pro is a pretty straightforward keyboard. Full-sized boards don’t seem to be as popular as they once were, but if you’re looking for all of the keys and all of the functions at a reasonable price, then Antonium Pro seems like a good option to me.

The Antonium Pro is available to order directly from Redragon for £69 GBP / $65 USD

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The lovely people at Redragon have very kindly sent me one of their Artemis Pro Anime keyboards to try out. This is a keyboard that makes quite a statement. Everyone who has seen it on my desk has said “wow”. Visually, it has a lot going on, but it’s also packed with features.

The Artemis Pro Anime is an ANSI 95-key, 96% compact layout mechanical keyboard. It has a multi-function knob/dial, and a 1.41 inch TFT screen (more on that below). It’s Windows and Mac compatible (mode selected via the screen and knob).

The Artemis Pro Anime connects via Bluetooth 5.0, 2.4Ghz wireless, or via standard USB Type-C. A three-way switch at the left side of the board allows you to switch between modes.

The Artemis Pro Anime is a specific variant of the K719 keyboard, which comes in several different colour ways. So, it is definitely worth keeping in mind that, if you like everything about the Artemis Pro Anime except for its Anime-ness, you do have quite a few other options.

The Artemis Pro Anime comes loaded with Redragon’s own custom Hi-Fi linear switches. They do not feel or sound like linear switches, to me. They are pretty clicky, and they have enough tactile feedback to let you know that you’re typing. That isn’t a complaint. They feel pretty good to me. The switches are, of course, hot-swappable with any other 3 or 5-pin switches.

Keycaps on the Artemis Pro Anime are OEM profile (so their height adds a little bit of extra travel in there), and are 5-sided Dye-Sub PBT, covered with anime-themed patterns and elements. Redragon describe the character featured on the board as “personalized waifu character Ignara”. Ignara features not only on some of the keys, but also on the back of the board.

The Artemis Pro Anime has RGB backlights. There are plenty of onboard presets which can be controlled via the multi-function knob and screen, and additionally via the free-to-use software.

There was a time when mini TFT screens on keyboards felt a bit like a gimmick, rather than a useful feature. On the Artemis Pro Anime however, the screen really does serve a purpose. You have your time/date, OS mode, connection mode, battery percent, etc, displayed as default. Click the knob and you enter a multi-screen menu which not only allows you to customise your backlights, but also adjust the time, on-screen language, Win/Mac, and to select a Gif to display in place of the default info screen. Using the software, you can upload your own Gif images or animations to the board.

The Artemis Pro Anime weighs about 1kg, but somehow it feels lighter than that to me. Typing angle is adjustable with two-position flip-out feet, which have silicone pads. I’m using the feet at full extension, and that feels good to me.

The Artemis Pro Anime is gasket-mounted. It has five layers of sound dampening: equipped with 3.5mm PO foam, IXPE switch foam, PET sound pad, bottom socket foam, silicone bottom pad, and a silicone gasket.

So, the Artemis Pro Anime has a very distinctive look. It looks like someone’s personalised gaming keyboard: as if it has been designed by and for one very specific user out there. As a result, it’s not going to be to everyone’s taste. As I said above, though, this board is just one variant of several K719 keyboards, which all have the same features and functionality.

The Artemis Pro Anime is a light-weight, 95-key board, with a multi-functional screen and dial/knob. Its keycap profile and typing angle are easy on the fingers, and its switches are tactile and responsive.

The Artemis Pro Anime keyboard is available to order directly from Redragon for £82 GBP / $90 USD

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The lovely people at Redragon have very kindly sent me one of their OTIIM K729 Pro keyboards to try out.

The K729 Pro is an ANSI 87-key, 80% layout mechanical keyboard with a volume knob/dial. This is set into the back of the board, which does make it a little less accessible than your average vol knob, but only marginally so. It’s Windows and Mac compatible (a two-way switch on the rear, next to the USB port, selects the mode).

The K729 Pro connects via Bluetooth 5.0, 2.4Ghz wireless, or via standard USB Type-C. A three-way switch at the rear of the board allows you to switch between modes. It has an onboard 4000mAh battery.

The K729 Pro is available in two colourways: White & Grey or Gradient Black. I got the White & Grey. The keycaps are SA profile PBT, with black characters on the white and grey keys, and white characters on the black keys.

The K729 Pro comes loaded with Redragon’s own Custom Silent Peach Switches. These are really, really quiet. Surprisingly so. As you would expect, they are less tactile than your average mechanical switch, but once I got used to them, I actually really liked them. “Cushioned” and “Creamy” are words I would never use in a review, but that’s how Redragon describe them, and they’re not wrong. If loud, clicky keyboards are something you want to avoid, then this could be the keyboard for you. The switches are, of course, hot-swappable with any other 3 or 5-pin switches.

The K729 Pro has two separate, independently controlled sets of lights: south-facing RGB LEDs behind the keys, and sidebar lights to the left and right of the board. There are plenty of onboard presets for both sets of lights, and they’re further customisable using Redragon’s own software. There’s also another stripe of lights between the arrow keys and Del, End, Pg Dn – but these aren’t customisable.

The K729 Pro weighs 930g. So, it’s a pretty decent weight, but certainly light enough to carry around with you for on-the-go use. On the desktop, it’s sturdy and solid. Typing angle is adjustable with two-position flip-out feet, which have silicone pads. The angle feels great without any adjustment to me, but it’s always good to have that option.

The K729 Pro is gasket mounted. Equipped with 3.5mm PO foam, IXPE switch foam, PET sound pad, bottom socket foam, silicone bottom pad, as well as the silicone gasket. Basically, this is a very, very, very quiet keyboard.

Like the majority of Redragon’s boards, the K729 Pro is really aimed at the gamer market. These are the keyboards you’re supposed to be buying for your kids to use with their bedroom PCs. In fact, the high-sided design of the board is specifically so that gamers won’t bash their mouse into the keys when they’re playing. The K729 Pro is fully plastic, so it’s not a high-end, luxurious board, but it doesn’t look like a toy either. In fact, it has a little bit of a Model M retro vibe to it.

Sometimes when I’m testing out a board – which I do by just plugging it in and using it day-to-day for a week or two, typically – I’m actually looking forward to getting back to my “proper” keyboard when I’m done. That has not been the case with the K729 Pro at all, however. Even the switches, which I initially wasn’t sure I liked, won me over in the end. As I said, if you’re looking for a really quiet mechanical keyboard, this might be the one for you.

The OTIMM K729 Pro is available to order directly from Redragon for $65 USD / £69 GBP

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DEMO ACCORDS
BOOK BY PERFUMER PIA LONG
Book and sample kit now available to preorder for one month only.

Containing ten fully published perfume formulas, one piece of fiction and nine essays on political and personal topics, Demo Accords is a multidisciplinary collection of narratives where perfumery is part of the story and the stories are part of the perfumes.

In this work Pia explores the intersection between her two lifelong loves: writing and perfumery. Part manifesto, part polemic, part protest, part autobiography, the common thread is radical vulnerability of the perfumer’s art, practice and personal views.

Interrogating some fundamental questions about who perfumery belongs to and creating a parallel platform without a brand or a commercial consumer product, Demo Accords aims to exist for its own sake as a project that uses perfumery as an artistic storytelling device.

If the book is a script, then the formulas are sheet music, and the actual resulting liquid is therefore the orchestra playing. It is not necessary or compulsory to buy the liquid perfume sample kit to go with the book, but it will help everyone hear the music.

Leah has contributed an illustration to accompany the story “Well, actually (a watery folk tale)” in this forthcoming limited edition book, written by award-winning creative perfumer Pia Long.

The book can be pre-ordered via demoaccords.com

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A companion to the acclaimed Dream Theater album, PARASOMNIA: The Graphic Album expands on the exploration of just how thin the line is between the waking world and the world of dreams, as each of the eight powerful tales examines the impact of the dreaming world on our everyday lives; Brought to life by a stunning roster of award-winning writers and artists.

CREATORS

Cat Rambo, Lydia Rasero, Kevin J. Anderson, Christian Rosado, Benjamin Raab, Deric Hughes, Gianenrico Bonacorsi, Dan Hernandez, Damien Worm, Gavin Highnight, Sofia Girol, Vajra Chandrasekera, Rocky Obk, Steve Niles, Stan Yak, John Reppion, Ryan Kelly, Simone D’Angelo and Lucas Carvalho.

Pre-order now from Z2 Comics

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Join us for the tale woven by acclaimed writer Leah Moore, from the songs and videos by The Funeral Portrait.

Irving Westhound, a driven man on a mission, tries to discover why the kids of the town are unable to resist the siren call of the Cults’ enigmatic leader before it’s too late!

Story by Lee Jennings & Caleb Freihaut
Written by Leah Moore
Illustrated by Andres Labrada
Edited by Jasminne Saravia

Cover art by Andrés Labrada

Pre-order from Z2 comics [image error]

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A midsummer evening of fiction, talks and music inspired by pagan places and standing stones. This is a special event to celebrate Dark Earth’s third birthday.

Ramsey Campbell, Simon Bestwick, John Reppion, and M.S. Swift.

With music from Orchids.

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Saturday, June 21, 4 – 7 pm.

Dark Earth Records, 16 Seaview Road, Liscard, CH45 4LA, UK

Tickets £10

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Ramsey, Simon, John and M.S. will each read to us, the pieces especially selected for the occasion. Followed by an open Q&A (chaired by Tim Shewan, MRJAS) and a meet-and-greet/book-signing with the authors.

The event will be brought to a close with an exclusive, debut live performance by Liverpool-based pagan folk band, Orchids.

Organised in partnership with the M.R. James Appreciation Society.

RAMSEY CAMPBELL 

“Britain’s most respected living horror writer” – (Oxford Companion to English Literature)

Ramsey Campbell (born in Liverpool) is a multi award-winning English horror fiction writer, editor and critic who has been writing for well over 60 years. Three of his novels have been filmed, both for English and non-English-speaking audiences. Since he first came to prominence in the mid-1960s, critics have cited Campbell as one of the leading writers in his field.

SIMON BESTWICK 

“Bestwick is brilliant” – (The Guardian)

He is the author of seven novels and four full-length short story collections, has been four times shortlisted for the British Fantasy Award. Iconic horror writer, Ramsey Campbell has described Bestwick as part of an important class of contemporary British writers developing a “consciously political form of horror fiction, using the genre to examine and symbolise Thatcher’s Britain and the country’s subsequent decades.”

JOHN REPPION

“Reppion creates a wonderful and faithful poetic adaptation that is a delight to read” – (Comicon.com review of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight)

John Reppion is an author, scriptwriter, essayist, and folklore enthusiast whose works include a graphic novel adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Fascinating Folklore, a compendium of comics and essays.

M.S. SWIFT 

M.S. Swift writes dark fantasy and horror, often with an occult influence. His work has been published in various anthologies, including Cthulhu Lies Dreaming: Twenty-three Tales of the Weird and Cosmic, Lovecraftiana, and quarterlies such as Chthonic Matter.

His work has been praised as “magical and captivating”, “subversive content with complex themes”, “lavish, hallucinogenic”, and some of “the weirdest and disturbing tales.”

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Leah will be appearing as a guest at Małopolska Comics Festival 2025, in Kraków, Poland.

May 31st to June 1st, 2025.

The Małopolska Comics Festival is an annual event that attracts comic art lovers, illustrators, and fans of pop culture. From May 31 to June 1, 2025, the Voivodeship Public Library in Kraków will host a multitude of inspiring meetings, lectures, workshops, and exciting competitions.

The Festival will feature plenty of attractions for comic book fans of all ages. Our invitation has been accepted by Leah Moore, Max Sarin, Anna Krztoń, Radosław Koch, Tomasz Minkiewicz, Wojtek Wawszczyk, and many other creators!

Representatives of the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology and the DOMIN School of Drawing and Painting will share their knowledge and skills with the participants.

Guests also can count on the regular events of the Małopolska Comics Festival. There will be a comic book market, a comic book walk, a field game, an autograph zone and a comic book battle.

Full details on their website

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