The Boughs Withered is the debut collection from accomplished Irish author Maura McHugh. It includes twenty tales - four of them original to the volume - which represent the best strange visions from an award-winning writer of fiction, non-fiction, comic books and plays. Among the featured stories is "Bone Mother", which was adapted into the award-winning stop-motion animated short film by See Creature in Canada. In her horror and dark fantasy stories, Maura McHugh explores her love of the uncanny, delves into the eerie past, and evokes weird landscapes that might just co-exist with our own. "These stories [are] made to last, reaching deep into myth-pools for eternal, primal treasures." - Kim Newman "Maura McHugh's gloriously twisted, tale-spinning imagination entwines and embraces the reader like dark ivy." - Ian R. MacLeod "Hauntings, dark pacts and ancient gods are brought into the here and now by Maura McHugh's peculiar magic." - Priya Sharma "Maura McHugh's stories are hugely enjoyable. Her insight and compassion, combined with a fresh, engaging voice, make her monsters, marvels and myths stand out in a crowded field." - Lisa Tuttle Contents: 1. Introduction by Kim Newman 2. Vic 3. Who Hears Our Cries in Forgotten Tongues? 4. The Boughs Withered When I Told Them My Dreams 5. The Light at the Centre 6. A Rebellious House 7. Beautiful Calamity 8. Home 9. Moments on the Cliff 10. The Gift of the Sea 11. Suspension 12. The Tamga 13. Spooky Girl 14. The Hanging Tree 15. The Diet 16. Involuntary Muscle 17. Family 18. Wake the Dead 19. Y 20. Bone Mother 21. Water 22. Author's Afterword