A COLLECTION of “deliciously dark poems” inspired by East Renfrewshire’s countryside has been launched.

Mister Dead, which is rooted in the macabre spirit associated with Hallowe’en, is the latest work by local writer, speaker and piper Johnny Gauld.

He used the “hidden country corners” of Barrhead, Neilston and Caldwell as inspiration to create the fictional village of Snibber M’Craw.

Johnny, 46, told the Barrhead News: “I’ve partly put this out there because I’m sure everybody is fed up with this year and I really wanted to create a collection to cheer folk up.

“The inspiration for the village and all of these scary stories has been growing up in the countryside around here.

“A lot of these places have wee stories which have been lost over the years, so I came up with the idea of a fictional village with an overarching evil in it, a character called Mister Dead and then various other stories about dark deeds happening in and around this wee village.

“It’s aimed at all ages. Adults can read it but also mums and dads and grandparents can read it to their kids to give them a wee scare for the dark winter nights coming in.

“Kids will get a lot of fun and humour from it.”

Mister Dead is the 13th book to be released by Johnny, who turned to writing after working as a mechanical engineer until the age of 30.

He has also published Mithie Musings – a collection of original poems and songs inspired by the coastline between Arbroath and Auchmithie, in Angus, where he enjoyed holidays as a child.

Johnny’s first collection of poems – Eastend Mammy, Southside Daddy – was released in 2009 and was inspired by his childhood days in Barrhead.
For now, though, Johnny is focusing his creative talents on tales of the unexpected.

“The darker some stories are, the better,” said Johnny, who lives in Caldwell.

“Every story should have a warning in it but, no matter how dark the story becomes, there should always be a glimmer of light and a wee sense of hope.

“In the wee poems I’ve put in Mister Dead, no matter how bad things may look for the characters there is still a warning to be taken from it and it’s up to yourself whether you want to apply that warning in your life or whether you want to keep going down that dark road.”

Copies of Mister Dead and Mithie Musings are priced at £2 each, plus postage. To place an order, visit caledoniancowboy.com/shop.