FAQ by Stefanie Müller, as provided by Steve Toase
Art by Leigh Legler
1. When was the clinic founded?
The clinic was first established in 1892 in the small Bavarian town of Spukendorf. As the practice expanded, the clinic was moved to the larger town of Gespentstadt in 1905. We have been operating in Gespentstadt ever since.
2. How many people does the clinic employ?
We employ forty-two full time staff. At any time, we have an extra ten surgeons from across the globe working on site and learning our methods.
3. How old is ghost limb transplantation as a method?
The principle of ghost limb transplantation was first discovered by our clinic founder Herr Doktor Stichstein in 1874. He postulated that ghosts were formed of matter to allow them to manifest, but that this matter must be very fragile due to their ethereal nature. This would render them liable to serious injury much easier than the living. This, he argued in “Treatise of Limb Damage and re-attachment post Mortis” (1877, Munich), was the main reason behind the presence of aggression within the spirit world. When Herr Doktor Stichstein first established the clinic, he performed ten operations in a year. We now expect to successfully complete twenty in week.
The principle of ghost limb transplantation was first discovered by our clinic founder Herr Doktor Stichstein in 1874. He postulated that ghosts were formed of matter to allow them to manifest, but that this matter must be very fragile due to their ethereal nature. This would render them liable to serious injury much easier than the living.
To read the rest of this story, check out the Mad Scientist Journal: Summer 2017 collection.
Stefanie Müller is a junior doctor attending Der Heilige Antonius von Padua Klinik von Geisterbefestigung as a surgery resident. Born in Bremen, she saw her first ghost at 12. So far she has not participated in a ghost limb transplant procedure, and has spent most of her first six months updating the Klinik’s web content. She owns a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a hen.
Archaeologist and writer Steve Toase lives in North Yorkshire, England, and Munich, Germany.
His work has appeared in Scheherezade’s Bequest, Not One Of Us, and Cafe Irreal amongst others. In 2014, “Call Out” (first published in Innsmouth Magazine) was reprinted in The Best Horror Of The Year 6. He is also a regular Fortean Times reviewer.
Recently, Steve worked with Becky Cherriman and Imove on Haunt, about Harrogate’s haunting presence in the lives of people experiencing homelessness in the town. http://stevetoase.wordpress.com/
Leigh’s professional title is “illustrator,” but that’s just a nice word for “monster-maker,” in this case. More information about them can be found at http://leighlegler.carbonmade.com/.
“Der Heilige Antonius von Padua Klinik von Geisterbefestigung” is © 2017 Steve Toase
Art accompanying story is © 2017 Leigh Legler
