Tag Archives: Ghosts

Fellside by M.R. Carey

31 Wednesday Aug 2016

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I’ve been waiting forever for this to come out in paperback and I devoured it in two evenings! A shame that it was over so soon, but wow, what an experience.

Carey’s word-of-mouth bestseller, The Girl With All The Gifts, is about to released as a film (please read the book first!) and definitely has ranked him as one of my favourite, must-read authors in the horror genre. Fellside initially feels so different to The Girl, but the same strengths are there – vivid, corporeal characters who you really care for, a strong plot that won’t let you go, and a perceptive, subtle subversion of the genre. Fellside

Jess Moulson is a nice person with a bad, bad habit. It leaves her amnesiac, with half her face burnt off, and one of Britain’s most notorious female criminals, sentenced to Fellside, a grim women’s prison in Yorkshire. Devastated by what she’s done, she goes on hunger strike, wanting to end it all – but the ghost of a young boy won’t let her die. He needs her to find out the truth about his death- which means delving into the minds of her fellow inmates. Cue surreal sequences in the other world, which could be dreams, the afterlife, insanity, or even hell. But unknown to Jess, the staff and inmates of Fellside have their own vested interests in whether she lives or dies, and she’s caught in a violent web of corruption and manipulation; trapped between two worlds, Jess must fight for survival in both.

Like Miss Justineau in The Girl, Jess is a very sympathetic character, and her journey really hooked me in to the narrative. The thing about Jess is that she just wants to keep her head down, not to get involved; but both before and during her incarceration, she is no bystander. The conflict between selfishness and doing the right thing is very finely observed and this is the recognisable flaw that makes her such an empathic and real character. Carey’s are all strong female characters (the cast in Fellside is largely female!) and a delight to meet, even those who are truly evil like Harriet Grace, the lifer who controls Goodall block and directs the violence. And the male characters are similarly believable – like the Sergeant in The Girl, whose story evolves from villain to hero, deliciously vile prison officer Devlin (the Devil) and poor lost Dr Salazar (Sally) have their own tragic and poignant trajectories which grip you. tgwatg

The supernatural elements in some ways form the subplot of Fellside, and can almost be a matter of interpretation; is the other place to be taken at face value, or is this the effect of drug addiction, or mass delusion? The psychology of incarceration is at the forefront, and this is where it differs from The Girl With All The Gifts, which is very firmly in established horror territory; Fellside is much more internal, a state of mind.

I loved it – compelling drama, characters that punch their way off the page, a touch of genuine spookiness and twists and turns that will floor you as effectively as Big Carol herself.

Rating: ****

Orbit Books, 2016, ISBN 9780356503608

The Girl With All The Gifts – Official Trailer

The Stopped Heart by Julie Myerson

19 Sunday Jun 2016

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This is a novel I’d been eagerly anticipating reading and it didn’t disappoint! In fact, I would say that this is Myerson’s best novel so far. It’s a harrowing, but beautifully told, tale of loss, grief and evil.

Mary and her husband Graham buy an old farmhouse in rural Suffolk – it’s a new start, an attempt to save their marriage, after the tragic deaths of their daughters. But making space in their lives for new friends is not easy – even when they are so easy-going and understanding as Eddie and Deborah. And for Mary, there’s a strange undercurrent in their new home, an awareness of something other. Could it be a ghost?

A hundred years ago, the farmhouse was home to Eliza and her large family. One night, during a terrible storm, a stranger arrives seeking help and the family take him in. It’s not long before James has his feet well under the table and his relationship with teenage Eliza evolves into something sinister. Just who is he really, and what does he want?

Sometimes in novels that are split between two different times or narrators, you end up favoring one over the other. But not so in this case – the two stories are woven together so assuredly they are like the two sides of the heart in question, and that it will be stopped is painfully evident as the narrative progresses. What Myerson does is surprise you – this is not just a story about evil acts and the grief they beget, but also about the hope that comes in the wake of the storm. She tells you that it is possible to heal, and that healing might come about in a totally unexpected way. The story is harrowing; she does not flinch from tackling very painful and disturbing subjects, but her prose is so beautiful, so insightful, she carries you along the darkest path always with a glimmer of light.

StoppedHeart

This  is a stunning read. My Mum has just returned my copy and said she couldn’t put it down; we had both been affected by the same particular moments in the narrative, and the story will stay with us both for a very long time.

Jonathan Cape, 2016, ISBN 9780224102490

Rating: *****

The Company of Ghosts by Berlie Doherty

28 Tuesday Jan 2014

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You can’t go wrong with Berlie Doherty. She’s a highly accomplished author for Young Adults and never wastes a single word. The Company of Ghosts is no exception.

Ellie’s running away from home, and receives a lucky break when she’s invited to stay on a remote Scottish island. Chance to clear her head and get some space. But then circumstances play a cruel trick and Ellie is left on the island – alone. Only perhaps not quite alone as she thinks… Who is the mysterious woman in the lighthouse, and will anyone help Ellie get home?

This is an atmospheric ghost story with a compelling and well-visualised setting. Ellie is a sympathetic character, and the resolution to her family troubles is ably handled. It’s a gentle ghost story but one that effectively lingers in the memory, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Andersen Press, 2013, ISBN 9781849397292

Ghost Stories for Christmas

23 Monday Dec 2013

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Here’s a treat – a boxset of chilling tales, perfect for dark and stormy nights….

I’m cheekily regarding this as research for the ghost story I’m currently attempting to write, rather than an indulgent curl up on the sofa with a glass of wine luxury… But it has been both a delight and a lesson in how to terrify, so both will do. This is the 6-disc set of the classic tales which were a bit of a Christmas tradition, and as Mark Gatiss is resurrecting that tradition on Christmas Day this year with an adaptation of The Tractate Middoth, I’m doubly thrilled.

This collection contains both the 1969 and 2010 versions of Whistle and I’ll Come To You, one of the most unsettling of M. R. James’s supernatural tales. This is a study in the uncanny, and the sense of isolation and unease that permeates this simple story is unparalleled. Both Michael Hordern and John Hurt in the role of the haunted man give magnificently understated performances and this is rightly a classic. There are five further tales from M.R. James adapted in the 1970s – The Stalls of Barchester, A Warning to the Curious, Lost Hearts, The Treasure of Abbot Thomas and The Ash Tree. My favourite is Lost Hearts, a vampiric tale which is properly disturbing, although the baby-faced spiders from The Ash Tree give it a run for its money. There’s also an adaption of Dickens’s The Signalman, which is far more of a conventional tale but the figure haunting poor Denholm Elliott is very, very creepy.

Two more 1970s stories, Stigma and The Ice House, have modern settings so strike a different note. Stigma is possibly the story that has stayed with me the most – a family are moving some standing stones in order to create a new garden, but the wife suddenly starts bleeding with no apparent wound. This was a wonderfully atmospheric and dark story, all the more so for being in the light of normal modern-day life. The slightly ambiguous ending with the daughter freaked me out! The Ice House is the weirdest tale in the collection; an intriguing story, but the dialogue and delivery was very stylised, which struck a wrong note with me – I’m undecided about this one.

The stories of M.R. James were resurrected in 2005 and 2006 with A View from a Hill and Number 13 respectively. The former is a brilliant idea and the ending is chilling; Number 13 is a traditional tale but very effective.

If you like ghost stories, this is a must-have collection. There are also lots of extras to enjoy with Christopher Lee and Robert Powell re-telling the tales. Now if only I could write like M.R. James….

 

The Orphan Choir by Sophie Hannah

11 Monday Nov 2013

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This is the second Hammer novel I’ve encountered and is a vast improvement on Jeanette Winterson’s The Daylight Gate, which is an immense relief, and means that I’ll be actively seeking out more Hammer tales. Sophie Hannah writes very tense psychological thrillers based firmly in real life, so it was interesting to read a spooky twist on her normal genre. The story is told by Louise, who is in a not particularly happy marriage, and is missing her young son, who has been packed off to a boarding school on the basis that he’s a talented member of its prestigious choir. Louise is stressed out and a nuisance neighbour – nicknamed Mr Fahrenheit after his choice of song – is driving her crazy with his loud music. No one is prepared to help her, and in desperation she decides to leave her house and rent a property in a quiet, communal private estate. But the music follows her – and what seemed like a particularly vicious torment from her neighbour, the sound of young boys singing choral songs – takes on a sinister new resonance. As Louise starts to lose her grip, it seems that her son is in danger, and only she can save him. Is she crazy, or is there really a ghost calling out a warning?

This was a gripping read and very effective in getting inside Louise’s head and showing the effects of sleep deprivation and depression. Louise isn’t always a likeable character, but this worked well for me in keeping me invested in her story – I wanted to know if she was telling the truth or not. The storyline is taut and the twist in the tale genuinely shocking; both attributes of Hannah’s writing which translate well to the horror genre. The length is just about right too – any more would have been stretching credulity, but it’s easy to read in one sitting to get the full creepy effect. It’s definitely a good Hammer ghost story, and a good modern gothic tale. Rating: ***

Hammer, 2013, ISBN 9780099580027

Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough

28 Sunday Apr 2013

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Another lovely creepy tale! This genuinely scary story for teenagers is set in 1958. Cora and her little sister Mimi are packed off to stay with Auntie Ida in the country by their feckless father, who doesn’t want to look after them. Ida doesn’t want the children either but for very different reasons – there’s a horrible history of harm that comes to children at Guerdon Hall, and she’s desperate to stop it happening again; but lumbered with the children she is paralysed by fear and unable to prevent the supernatural stirrings of an ancient evil… Before long Cora is aware of a ghostly presence in the house, and as she and her new friends Roger and Pete explore the local church they encounter more terrifying spectres. As the vengeful spirit of Long Lankin sets his sights on innocent Mimi, can Cora stop him and save her sister?

I loved the story’s multiple narrative voices, particularly that of Roger, who wonderfully captures the spirit of a free-range 1950’s childhood. There’s a genuine sense of supernatural menace in this story and a dark, brooding presence in the murky landscape, mirrored in the everyday world by the inability of the adults to recognise and respond to danger, or the childrens’ fears. Only Ida understands and she is so afraid she cannot act, unlike feisty Cora. The conclusion is meaty and tense, providing a satisfying resolution to the creepy unease that has been deftly built throughout the story. A good read for teenagers and adults alike. Rating: ***

Corgi Books, 2011, ISBN 9780552563215

The Stone Tape

27 Wednesday Mar 2013

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Okay, a little digression from book reviews but I can’t resist – I’ve spent the evening watching a favourite film of mine which has just been re-issued on DVD after being quite hard to track down for several years. And if you are a fan of ghost stories, you simply have to watch this.

The Stone Tape was scripted by Quatermass creator Nigel Kneale and directed by Peter Sasdy (of Hammer fame) in 1972. The technology and the casual racism do date it, but the story is excellently plotted and executed. It stars Jane Asher as Jill, a computer expert working for Ryan Electrics. The company is involved is highly secret research, attempting to create a new recording media to supersede magnetic tape (this is way before today’s modern optical media!) and has relocated to Taskerlands, a dilapidated house which is being renovated to house the development team. But there’s a problem – the builders won’t complete work on one room earmarked for the computer lab. Jill quickly discovers the cause – the room is haunted. As every member of team encounters the disembodied footsteps and the terrified screaming of a woman, Jill’s boss (and lover) Peter becomes obsessed with capturing a recording of the haunting. And as the team pit technology against terror, the stage is set for tragedy.

It’s an intense story simply told with a minimum of special effects, a limited set and a concentration on character, and all these things mark it as a classic drama. The haunted room is genuinely a scary place – my body temperature actually drops every time one of the characters enters the room. Jane Asher is brilliant as the fragile but determined Jill, and Michael Bryant as Peter is a character you’ll love to hate as he drives his team to the brink of sanity. Supported by a fine cast of familiar faces from the 70’s screen including Iain Cuthbertson and Tom Chadbon, this is a true gem. It’s a genuinely chilling ghost story and I love it – although I’m not going to go to bed just yet… is that footsteps I hear on the stairs…?!

Rating: *****

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

01 Tuesday Jan 2013

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It’s taken me a while to get round to this story, although it’s been recommended to me by several people, but I’m glad I finally did. It’s the story of an expedition to the Arctic in 1937, the accidents that slowly reduce the team to one last man standing, and his terrifying experience as he is stalked by a ghost. Just what is the shadowy figure haunting the ice floes, and what does it want with Jack? The setting is quite unique for a ghost story but works brilliantly – Jack is alone in permanent darkness, where one false step on the ice outside could kill him – and adds a tangible sense of terror and claustrophobia to the tale. You really do get the sense that there no escape, and that the horror is circling ever closer, making for a very tense read indeed. I think even if ghost stories are not your cup of tea, you couldn’t fail to be hooked by this, as it’s unusual and beautifully written, and in my opinion destined to become a classic. Definitely one to read when you’re curled up on the sofa, safe and warm, and there’s six foot of snow falling softly outside… Rating: ****

Orion, 2010, ISBN 9781409121183

The Secret of Crickley Hall by James Herbert

04 Tuesday Dec 2012

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I’m not a huge Herbert fan, but the promise of a ghost story is one I find to resist, and this is an effective chiller that does not disappoint. A traumatised family rent the foreboding Crickley Hall to temporarily escape the pressure of the loss of their son. But the Hall has terrifying secrets and before long they are being tormented by ghostly presences. The hostile villagers slowly start to reveal some of what happened at the Hall during the Second World War, but the truth is worse than anyone could possibly imagine – and history is about to repeat itself…. This is, in truth, a formulaic ghost story with stock characters, and won’t surprise you. But it is difficult to put down and the horror of some of the scenes is gruesomely addictive, so it does its job splendidly. If you’ve just seen the TV adaptation be warned – this is far more violent and graphic, much more of a horror than a spinetingler – but if the TV version left you wanting something a bit meatier, then the book will definitely deliver. Rating: **

Pan Macmillan, 2012, ISBN 9781447231035