Wire report
Severed hands, crushed bones and a ‘monstrous mermaid with sharp teeth’: Reece Shearsmith on his dark obsessions
The League of Gentlemen and Inside No 9 co-creator has always displayed a sense of gothic unease, and his new book combines myth, memoir – and his own disquieting drawings When Reece Shearsmith was a boy, he overheard relatives chatting at a New Year gathering. “One of them was talking about [the ghost of] a woman they’d seen standing on the village green at three in the morning,” he recalls. “Another knew a woman who woke up and found a figure sitting at the end of her bed. It’s my first recollection of being properly scared and loving it.” From then on, the Yorkshire-born Shearsmith was fascinated by all things uncanny. He would stay up late to watch Hammer horror films – his mother allowed it because she loved them, too – and immerse himself in books including the Hamlyn Book of Horror, Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories and the works of Edgar Allan Poe. His obsession carried throu
coverage / Wire report
Get updates, read source context, send useful records, share the story, or support the reporting work from the reading page.
The League of Gentlemen and Inside No 9 co-creator has always displayed a sense of gothic unease, and his new book combines myth, memoir – and his own disquieting drawings When Reece Shearsmith was a boy, he overheard relatives chatting at a New Year gathering. “One of them was talking about [the ghost of] a woman they’d seen standing on the village green at three in the morning,” he recalls. “Another knew a woman who woke up and found a figure sitting at the end of her bed. It’s my first recollection of being properly scared and loving it.” From then on, the Yorkshire-born Shearsmith was fascinated by all things uncanny. He would stay up late to watch Hammer horror films – his mother allowed it because she loved them, too – and immerse himself in books including the Hamlyn Book of Horror, Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories and the works of Edgar Allan Poe. His obsession carried throu
Check the original link, updates, and responses when a detail is contested.
Open topic or search related wording such as records, sources, agencies, dates, and locations.
What happened
According to The Guardian’s source item, Severed hands, crushed bones and a ‘monstrous mermaid with sharp teeth’: Reece Shearsmith on his dark obsessions, The League of Gentlemen and Inside No 9 co-creator has always displayed a sense of gothic unease, and his new book combines myth, memoir – and his own disquieting drawings When Reece Shearsmith was a boy, he overheard relatives chatting at a New Year gathering. “One of them was talking about [the ghost of] a woman they’d seen standing on the village green at three in the morning,” he recalls. “Another knew a woman who woke up and found a figure sitting at the end of her bed. It’s my first recollection of being properly scared and loving it.” From then on, the Yorkshire-born Shearsmith was fascinated by all things uncanny. He would stay up late to watch Hammer horror films – his mother allowed it because she loved them, too – and immerse himself in books including the Hamlyn Book of Horror, Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories and the works of Edgar Allan Poe. His obsession carried throu
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Technology file for readers following technology, science, product policy, markets, infrastructure, and the public consequences of innovation. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-10-08T07:00:13+00:00.
What to watch
Open questions include whether primary sources issue follow-up statements, whether local or market impacts become clearer, and whether additional reporting changes the timeline or adds material context.
Source
Primary source: Severed hands, crushed bones and a ‘monstrous mermaid with sharp teeth’: Reece Shearsmith on his dark obsessions via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
Keep following
This file can keep developing
vininews.com uses reader tips, public records, right-of-reply requests, corrections, and follow-up reporting to keep important stories current.
Support and subscriptions never buy coverage, placement, suppression, or corrections.
This VINI report keeps the original publisher link available and does not republish third-party article bodies without rights clearance. 1 reference listed.
Source links
- Severed hands, crushed bones and a ‘monstrous mermaid with sharp teeth’: Reece Shearsmith on his dark obsessionsThe Guardian - 2026-10-08T07:00:13+00:00
Reader comments
Moderated discussion
Comments are open to authenticated approved accounts, screened for spam and abuse, and published only after newsroom moderation unless editors change the story control.
No approved comments yet.
Substantive, civil comments can be submitted by approved account holders.