Refuge is (perhaps) a mythical place; somewhere everyone needs at some point in our lives. A place like no other--yet like so many--you might think of Refuge as a retreat from the tedium of our commonplace lives; somewhere to hide from the monstrosities of the real world and the monstrous at our door.As with the people of Refuge who walk its streets and about whom these tales are told, why we seek Refuge and how we arrive is part of our own secret story. Topically, more and more are desperately seeking escape... from military or religious conflict, financial doom, domestic violence, institutional abuse, oppressive governments or spouses.These tales, then, are for the people who have almost given up on hope, who are in search of safe harbour, asylum, sanctuary. In short, they are tales of refuge...This, then, is a collection of tales from Refuge; an encyclopaedia and a guidebook to its people, its places and its peculiarities. A glimpse into their lives, their nightmares. After all, sometimes Refuge isn't what we expected it to be. It has been said that by many that travel here that it's Heaven to some, Hell to others. Steve Dillon, 2016, series editor.