My Review (4 stars out of 5) Antiquarian bookseller Adam Snow gets lost on his way home from seeing a client. Discovering an apparently abandoned Edwardian house, he has a look around. In doing so, he experiences a strange sensation – the feeling of a child’s hand slipping into his own. Following a series of…
Category: Ghost stories
‘Thin Air’ by Ann Cleeves
My Review (5 stars out of 5) A group of friends travel to Shetland to join the celebrations when one of their number gets married to a local. But following the wedding party, one of the women disappears. When she is found dead, cops Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves launch an investigation. Learning that the…
‘The Haunting of Borley Rectory’ by Sean O’Connor
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Moving into Borley Rectory in 1928, Eric and Mabel Smith discovered a human skull in a cupboard. Subsequent events suggested the house might be haunted. Within a year, the family had moved out. Reverend Lionel Foyster and his young wife then moved in and became aware of what…
‘Ash’ by James Herbert
My Review (4 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) Paranormal investigator David Ash is sent to the mysterious Comraich Castle to look into possible supernatural causes behind the bizarre death of one of the castle’s inhabitants. But Comraich is no ordinary fortress and Ash soon finds that the people who work there are part of a…
‘Ghost Story’ by Peter Straub
***** The elderly members of The Chowder Society meet regularly to tell each other stories, but after one of their number dies, the stories become more ghoulish in nature. More disturbingly, each of the remaining members begins to experience similar, nightmarish, dreams. Contacting the nephew of their dead friend, they find he also has something…
‘The Demonologist’ by Gerald Brittle
*** Thought by some to be experts on demonology and exorcism, Ed and Lorraine Warren have many thousands of investigations to their credit. With several movies (such as The Conjuring) based on the Warrens’ experiences, this should be a fascinating book. However. It’s certainly true to say there are some chilling stories in The Demonologist,…
‘The Exorcist’ by William Peter Blatty
The Exorcist It begins with noises in the attic, strange odours, a sickly child. Then the bed starts jumping around, furniture moves by itself and a man is found dead with his head turned completely around. Movie actor Chris MacNeil is concerned for her daughter…
‘Ghostland’ by Edward Parnell
Ghostland (Audiobook) Tormented by the nightmare of a family tragedy, Edward Parnell retreats into the ghost stories that entertained him as a boy. Embarking on a search for the authors, places and images from those stories, he travels across Britain, exploring the tales of a host of writers, including MR James, Algernon Blackwood, Lucy Boston…
‘The Hellbound Heart’ by Clive Barker
The Hellbound Heart Clive Barker’s superlative novella tells a gruesome tale of greed, love and desire, as the hedonistic Frank determines to explore the intricacies of a strange and magical box. Given that the book prompted a great movie series (Hellraiser et al) which Barker also directed, I’m puzzled that it’s taken me this long…
‘The Haunting of Hill House’ by Shirley Jackson
The Haunting of Hill House Unhappy with the way her life is going, Eleanor jumps at the chance of helping out when Dr Montague invites her and two others to stay at the mysterious Hill House. Along with Theodora and Luke, she soon discovers the initial cheerful atmosphere in the house becoming oppressive. Famously inspirational…
Colin Garrow 