‘The Wyrm’ Editions and Inspirations
Winter’s Gibbet
Stephen Laws, freezing to death in mid-winter at Winter's Gibbet, just outside Elsdon in Northumberland. The gibbet was one of the inspirations behind the novel. At the time the photograph was taken, there was a tendency for the wooden head hanging from that gibbet to be stolen by local rascals - so the parish Council had a special budget head for replacement heads.
Original photograph taken by Terry White. Subsequently re-edited and formatted by Keith Durham.
First Hardback Edition
Cover for first hardback edition, published by Souvenir Press. The gibbet as central 'feature' would appear in one form or another on most of the subsequent publications both here and abroad; with one exception - J'ai Lu's French edition (see later). The artist isn't credited by Souvenir, but if you're still around and want to get in touch, please do - and I'll be more than happy to give credit where credit is due.
First Paperback Cover
First paperback cover for the Sphere edition, with another great painting by an uncredited artist. Once again, I'm happy to give credit if someone gets in touch. I particularly like the dead owl lying in the foreground, which references a sequence when all the terrified wildlife trying to get out of the cursed, sealed-off village are killed by the Wyrm's deadly and impenetrable fog-barrier.
Paperback Re-release
Cover of New English Library's paperback re-release, with painting by Steve Crisp, who also produced paintings for the re-releases of GHOST TRAIN and SPECTRE.I was so enamored of Steve's work that I bought all three paintings, and they're on my study wall. THE WYRM painting had to be reformatted for the text on the front cover, and unfortunately the horde of approaching zombies featuring prominently at the bottom of the painting can't be seen on the book cover itself.
Dutch Edition
Dutch edition, with cover painted by Gerard Schriemer. Love the little girl in the foreground, very much like my own daughter when she was that age. This is another one which has been framed and hangs on the Laws study wall.
Cover of the Dorchester/Leisure paperback edition in America.
German Edition
Retitled 'On the Trace of Evil/On The Track of Evil'. Surrealistic painting by Marion and Doris Arnemann.
PIECES OF MARY: Laws maintains a feeling of dread and horror throughout, and some excellent manifestations of the creature make this a real page turner.
French Paperback Edition
Wonderfully lurid cover for the French paperback edition released by J'ai Lu. Unlike some of the strange representations that have appeared on other international editions of my novels which seem to have no relation to the events being depicted in the narrative, this is based on a scene that actually takes place when villainous Billy Rifkin is possessed and metamorphosed by The Wyrm. Artwork by Matthieu Blanchin.
