Short Story
Steve Hatherley

		 UNREAL STORIES, STRANGE TALES
			    PRESENT
		   A SHORT STORY COMPETITION

	To celebrate the publication of the first issue of 
	the premier magazine of unusual fiction, Unreal 
	Stories, Strange Tales is offering a prize of œ25
	and a life subscription to the author of, in the 
	editor's opinion, the best short story submitted to 
	the address below.
	
	Send your entries to:

		Unreal Stories, Strange Tales
		PO Box 52
		Wapping
		London

	Results will be published in the first issue of 
	Unreal Stories, Strange Tales which is to be 
	published in June.

	The advert should catch the eye of any aspiring author wishing 
to make a name for himself in the world of strange fiction. It is 
entirely possible that past events have gifted the young writer with 
several ideas for some peculiar tales involving gods, cultists, 
monsters and magic.
	The magazine is genuine. At least, there is a small group of 
people trying to put one together. However, it is destined for 
failure and will not survive beyond the first issue.

Possibilities
1       The magazine is being used by cultists trying to gain more 
mythos knowledge. This is not a very secretive way of going about it, 
but it may work if other 'investigators' decide to relate their 
experiences to the magazine.

2       One of the authors printed in the first issue evidently knows 
quite a bit about the mythos, and writes a gruesome story featuring 
some of the gods. If the players can contact him, he will be a useful 
ally in their battle against the dark forces.

3       An author, writing about a location well known to him, 
accidentally reveals a possible mythos presence in the locality. The 
story is a mix of fiction and fact, but there are certain clues and 
references to things which indicate that things may not be what they 
seem.

Copyright (c) 1990 Steve Hatherley
steve@flar.demon.co.uk