Tag Archives: ghost stories

The Haunted House

What image comes to mind for you when you think of a haunted house?

I’ve been writing ghost stories for 5 years now and I’ve realised that the houses I have haunted have become progressively more ‘everyday’ with each successive story. As if you don’t need heightened melodrama of a setting to chill – fear can come to you in the most mundane of places.

In The Boy in the Burgundy Hood, the red-hooded boy and the wounded woman haunt an old medieval manor with sprawling grounds and a creepy stumpery. Bramley Manor is a stately medieval hall with a grand fireplace and a Tudor section.

The haunting in The Girl in the Ivory Dress takes place in a Victorian guest house in a remote spot on the Welsh coast. The house is quite old, but it’s been completely renovated and has all modcons.

Alice and the Devil focuses on a rundown Victorian rectory on the moors in the Peak District, although much of the action takes place on a curious set of giant, wooded rocks nearby that are filled with caves and strange features.

My latest ghost story Black Beacon, however, is set in an ordinary 1930s house – although it is isolated from civilisation up on the Sussex Downs. And even more so, after a rare Christmas snowfall.

Do you prefer your ghost stories set in a classic, decaying country house – or do you think the spook can happen anywhere?

You can check out all my books on my Amazon page – perfect for the festive season!

Black Beacon – a reading

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Time for a short reading from my latest book, BLACK BEACON, a chilling ghost story for Christmas!

Theo, short of money but determined he and his wife shall have a good Christmas, has decided to take a tree from the forest – but he’s got hopelessly lost. Then he comes across a figure in the darkness…

Here’s some of the wonderful things people have been saying about Black Beacon since its release:

***** I loved this book and read it in one sitting late at night with the aftermath of a storm whistling outside

***** What a great ghostly Christmas book

***** His best book yet

***** A deeply haunting ghost story

***** This was such an original Christmas ghost story, I could not put it down. From the first pages I was gripped and wanting to know what happened to Nat and Theo.

You can check out Black Beacon now on Amazon:

Black Beacon – Cover Reveal!

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Ta-dah! As promised, here’s the new cover of my forthcoming Christmas ghost story, Black Beacon – a spooky tale of love and betrayal, set in the 1970s on the South Downs of East Sussex.

Black Beacon Christmas Ghost Story cover

What do you think?

Hope to have it out early November!

What I’m writing now…

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The few months since I published my latest Ghosts of Alice novel, Alice and the Devil have flown by. I’ve been very happy with the reviews (averaging 4.5 stars on Amazon!) – and wanted to let you know the things I’m excited to be working on next.

A Christmas Ghost Story

I’ve loved reading Shani Struther’s Christmas ghost stories (link below), so on the runup to Christmas I started on my own festive ghost story. It’s set on the South Downs of England and it’s a departure for me in several ways:

(1) it’s a completely standalone novel, not part of any series;

(2) it’s set in the 1970s – the heyday of the Christmas single! – and

(3) it focuses on a married couple, Theo and Nat, whose haunted, complex pasts are about to come crashing into their seasonal plans.

I did have what I thought was the perfect title for it, but unfortunately it’s been used elsewhere recently and would cause a bit of a clash – so X👻?🤔X will be out later this year. Most likely in the autumn, to tie in with the build up to Christmas.

The next Ghosts of Alice story

Whilst I’m editing this book, I’m also excited to be working on the plot of the next Alice novel. For those of you who’ve read my books, you’ll know I like to mix things up a bit and play around with expectations. So, whilst there’ll be all the essential spooky ingredients, this is going to be quite a different tale, in a very different setting. Although, for those of you who have read my young adult series, The Secret of the Tirthas, some things might be familiar…😉

The Man in the Woods

I’m also revisiting one or two pieces of older writing, short stories and novellas that I really liked but for one reason or another never completed. One of these is The Man in the Woods… who is that lonesome figure our narrator comes across whilst cycling out in the forest? What’s he doing, camping out there in all weather? It’s a creepy, psychological suspense novella with a big twist. It’s definitely one of my most sinister stories. I hope it gets to see the light of day!

Time. That’s all I need. More time…

Author redundancy alert!

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I was playing around with the new AI language tool, ChatGPT, recently. I wondered how it would do if I asked it to generate an author bio for a ghost story writer. That’s all the detail I gave it and at once it produced this, which I’ve tailored with my name and books only. You can see why UK universities are currently scrambling to work out how to assess students, when it produces reasonable essays on pretty much anything ranging from the causes of WW1 to Brexit.

And, whilst a bit wonky, it sounds relatively human. I asked it to write me a poem about wrens and it was reasonable – not brilliant, probably not even good, but not doggerel either. I checked it wasn’t plagiarised on Google and of course, it wasn’t.

So, how long before it’s writing a 60,000 long ghost story full of creepy twists and turns? Not long, I suspect. Especially with a good human (at least for now) editor. This thing is learning fast, helped by useful free fodder such as myself, helping it with the nuances of language. And that really is the key – I suspect it’s rapidly learning things that take novelists years, if not decades, to discover and refine.

My hope is that human creativity will always pip AI. We know the world, we experience pain and beauty unmediated by all except our senses. And we use that to innovate. I like to believe Nick Cave’s response when a fan sent him ChatGPT mimicry of his lyrics.

But I’m no technologist. It’s possible that in a few decades, whilst ChatGPT will never know who we are, it might well be able to replicate books that we’re unable to distinguish from those written by real people. The first article I read about ChatGPT was by a seasoned journalist who was seriously discomforted by its attempt to produce something similar to her writing.

Have you tried ChatGPT yet? What are your thoughts?

In the meantime, remember that horror helps build your resilience, always useful when we’re faced with a future straight out the Terminator – so why not grab my latest ghost story, Alice and the Devil, now?

Click below to view on Amazon:

Alice & the Devil – a reading: Ben finds Alice

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Time for another reading. Here’s a short extract from my new ghost story, Alice and the Devil – the perfect read for Christmas!

Alice is working in her boss’s house in the Peak District. There’s a storm outside on the moors. Suddenly, a young boy appears, drenched through, at her door. She soon finds out that he’s on a strange mission. A VERY strange mission…

While you’re here, I wonder if I could ask a small favour? I designed the cover of Alice and the Devil myself and it’s through to the second round of the All Author December Cover of the Month competition! Could you spare a moment to vote for it by clicking here? (Note – there are only a certain number of readers who can vote without registering – so don’t worry if it won’t let you!)

You can check out Alice and the Devil by clicking the icon below:

The Mysterious Rocks that inspired Alice & the Devil

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Alice and the Devil, my third ghost story in The Ghosts of Alice series, is set in the Peak District in the English midlands. Alice is working remotely in her boss’s cottage on the moors, hoping the peacefulness and distance will help her recover from the trauma of Peacehaven. But then a boy arrives and pleads for her help, claiming his grandfather is being terrorised by the Devil. Everything is going to take a big turn for the worse…

As a writer, I’m always rooting about for inspiration. For the last few years I’ve been holidaying in the Peaks with my family. I knew it was just a matter of time before the bleak moors took their place in one of my ghost stories. But it was the discovery of the ancient and mysterious Rowtor Rocks that finally sealed the setting for Alice and the Devil.

Alice and the Devil - Clay's cave inspiration

Alice and the Devil - Jackson's Rocks inspiration

Metamorphosed into Jackson’s Rocks in the book, I drew on the story of Thomas Eyre, a Reverend who was fascinated by local tales of witchcraft and pagans doing rituals on the rocks. Eyre had a band of workers carve features – seats, symbols, entrances – into the ancient slabs of limestone.

In Alice and the Devil, the Rev. Horace Clay has similar features carved on to Jackson’s Rocks, including a small amphitheatre. And he takes his occult practice one big step further into darkness – with devastating implications for Alice two centuries later…

Alice and the Devil - Clay's cave escape passage!

Rowtor Rocks is a special place. I urge you to visit if you ever find yourself in the Peaks.

Click here for more about Alice and the Devil on Amazon.

Alice and the Devil – Out Now!

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I’m excited to tell you my latest book, Alice and the Devil, is out now! The perfect spooky ghost story for this Halloween…

Here’s what it’s about:

‘Yes, I can see ghosts,’ she said.
‘That’s why she told me to come here. Because you can help us. You can help grandad and me. You can help us defeat him.’
‘Him?’
‘Yes, him. The Devil.’

A boy crosses the moors in a storm to plead for Alice’s help, claiming to be sent by a ghost.

Is the boy’s grandfather really being terrorised by the Devil himself? Alice can’t quite believe it – but then she’s experienced things she’d never imagined could come true. But even with her paranormal experiences, little does she expect the horror she is about to face at the lonely rectory overlooking the moors…

Alice and the Devil is the third standalone novel in The Ghosts of Alice series, about a young woman with a mysterious connection to the dead.

Available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon now!

What readers say about The Ghosts of Alice:

‘Loved the main character and plenty of twists and turns mean you are kept guessing right up until the end’

‘If you love ghost stories, read this one!’

‘Twists and turns that weren’t predictable and with a believable background setting. Would be good as a Christmas Eve ghost story gift’

‘Too scared to sleep … extremely good book, I read it in one day!’

‘Turn the screw it does, right up to its terrifyingly dark finale’

‘Creepy and satisfying…. real psychological depth as well, as Alice’s troubled personal history dovetails into the storyline’

‘The best ghost story l have ever read’

Click below to view on Amazon:

The Best Ghost Mystery Stories

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So you don’t want to sleep tonight, do you?

My final list of books that I’ve prepared for Shepherd.com is the best ghost mystery stories.

Why I love horror stories

We try and pretend the world is not mysterious, in the vague hope of exerting some control over our lives. But that’s a doomed endeavour. Everything will always slip away from our grasp, plummeting into a chasm that we can only fill with two human responses: awe or terror. Sometimes – perhaps most often – both.

This is why I’ve always preferred the gothic and sublime to the classical and ordered. Both are necessary, but the gothic like the church spire always points to the infinite, to the profound mystery that envelops us. That’s why I’ve liked horror movies and books ever since I was a kid. You’re forever clutching at a cushion, guessing – or rather fearing – what lies ahead, just around that corner…

And that’s why I started writing ghost stories, books that major in suspense and make you realise, as Stephen King’s narrator says in Bag of Bones, that “reality is thin, you know, thin as lake ice after a thaw, and we fill our lives with noise and light and motion to hide that thinness from ourselves.”

My favourite ghost mystery stories

So if you’re hankering after a shot of terror (often with a smidgeon of awe thrown in), check out my best ghost mystery stories here. And if you think I’ve missed a treat, let me know your favourite ghost story in the comments below. (You can also check out my other book lists for Shepherd, the best books with portals for children and young adults, and the best books with nature poems to make you think and feel.)

And while you’re here, why not take a look at my own ghost mystery stories, The Boy in the Burgundy Hood and The Girl in the Ivory Dress – the two standalone novels in The Ghosts of Alice series, about a young women who has a very strange connection to the dead:

Interview by US fantasy writer Jessica Cantwell

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I’ve been interviewed by talented US fantasy author Jessica Cantwell on her blog. Here’s her intro, click the link at the bottom of the page for the full interview. (And while I’m here, a quick reminder that both The Boy in the Burgundy Hood and The Girl in the Ivory Dress are on Kindle sale over Halloween – hurry!)

Halloween is days away. Now is the perfect time for a ghost story!

Enter The Boy with the Burgundy Hood, a fantastic book by Steve Griffin. This is an entertaining read with a sprinkle of paranormal activity. If you are a fan of The Haunting of Hill House or The Haunting of Bly Manor, then this is the book for you!

You can learn more about The Boy in the Burgundy Hood by reading an interview with the author, Steve Griffin, on my blog. Link is in the bio.

We talk about ghosts and psychopaths. This is a fun interview you won’t want to miss!

Click here to read the full interview!