Supernatural Tales

Anyone who loves old Hammer films as I do will be familiar not only with the big stars, but also the regulars of the supporting cast. Among the latter was Miles Malleson , a stalwart of the theatre who became a familiar face in British films in the decades after WW2. He was often cast as comic relief in the role of butler, undertaker, petty bureaucrat etc. He certainly looked the part, as you can see. Like Michael Ripper, Malleson is one of those actors I'm always glad to see, even (or especially) if the actual film isn't first rate. And apparently he was just as amusing to work with as he was on screen, Here's a lovely clip of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee explaining why. And thanks to the Peter Cushing Appreciation Society for posting this on their Facebook page.

Yesterday afternoon I attended a rather spiffing event at Newcastle Central Library, as part of the Books on Tyne literary festival. Genre expert and author Dr Gail-Nina Anderson delivered a brilliant talk on the Gothic, offering an overview of literature, movies, works of art, and the way high and low culture combined to produce a uniquely modern sensibility. Only she put it better - if you ever get the chance to hear her talk about anything, take it. Then Ray Russell of Tartarus Press talked about the world of book collecting, its pleasures and perils, and the rise and fall of the odd little bookshop. There was also a Q&A involving Ray, Gail, Rosalie Parker (the other half of Tartarus, so to speak), and local bibliophile Malcolm Henderson. It was one of those two hour sessions that could easily have lasted two days, such is the scope of things Gothicky, as Ray put it. Coincidentally, on Friday morning I attended a funeral, which is I suppose the ideal precursor to consideri...

There's a little link to my YouTube channel over to the right, there. It's right there, there! I'm pointing at it! Anyway, if you click on it, it opens into a little window. My latest upload is a ghost story I wrote in the last century (gosh, that still looks weird when you type it). See if you can guess which famous ghost story author I pastiched in 1989. You don't need to guess, do you? Anyway, if you're not familiar with YT, there are different playlists covering categories like TV and movies, Stories from Supernatural Tales, old radio shows, and so on. I've also 'liked' various videos, including trailers to some films that impressed me. This one, for instance, I'd recommend to lovers of slightly off-beat ghost story/horror films.

Well, here it is - the BBC's ghost story for Christmas, all three hours of it. And, like all things Yuletide, it's under way in November. A three-part modern ghost story set in Yorkshire, Remember Me certainly has the potential to be a classic, if the first episode is any indication. Written by Gwyneth Hughes and directed by Ashley Pearce, the first hour was almost a scene-by-scene lesson in how to put the ambiguity at the heart of a ghost story on screen. Indeed, this is one of the best examples of Gothic drama I've seen in a while, and there's not a castle or frilly white nightie in sight. Though of course, both can be found in Yorkshire... Spoiler alert, and all that!

Regular readers of Ghosts & Scholars and All Hallows magazine won't need to be told that James Doig is a consistently good author of supernatural tales. His stories fall into the M.R. James tradition, but certainly rise above pastiche. So it's good news that Robert Morgan of Sarob Press is releasing a splendid hardback  collection of tales by James Doig, including one previously unpublished story. Here is the contents list from the Sarob blog. Stories: “Malware*” “Wolferton Hall” “The Kindness of Strangers” “Mathrafal” “Threads” “The Wild Hunt” “The Land Where Fairies Linger*” “Out of the West” “The Dead Heart” “Friends of the Dead”  *previously unpublished. With an introduction by the author. The cover art by Paul Lowe - as you can see above - is typically evocative. If people will go rummaging about in old books and fiddling with historic churches, well... You can find out more about James Doig at the Australian Horror Writers Association . Yes, he is Austra...

Cover art by Sam Dawson Yes, let joy be unconfined, if only for a little while. The new issue of ST can now be purchased in print form, or as an ebook for Kindle (or things that run the Kindle app). Print Version (site accepts PayPal) PDF Version Smashwords (all formats, accepts PayPal) Kindle UK Kindle US Kindle Canada (Pop over to the Buy Supernatural Tales! page for links to purchase back issues.) Here's the contents list. 'Bright Hair About the Bone' by Jacob Felsen. 'Doorways' by William Wandless. 'Mr and Mrs Havisham' by Gillian Bennett. 'Look Both Ways' by Sam Dawson. 'A Name in the Dark' by Michael Chislett. 'Fiveplay' by E. Michael Lewis.  'The Shrouder' by William I.I. Read 'Snowman, Frozen' by Tim Foley. I've said it before, I know, but I think there's something for everyone here. There are ghosts, in the traditional sense, and there are less conventional reven...

Note: this is a review of an ebook, which is available for Kindle here . It can also be found at Kobo and iTunes/Books. The scene is the Ben Lomond - a pub in Jarrow , a former industrial town on the south bank of the Tyne. The time is just after closing. The characters are Gav, the assistant manager, and Steve, a postgraduate student working part-time as a barman. The plot ingredients are drink, drugs, class conflict, and strange phenomena rooted in local history and/or folklore. And, if you're not from the North East, you might struggle a bit with some of the terms. Hence this book's 'Glossary of dialect words, phonetic spellings, local usage and historical persons'. If you want to know about Jarrow, its Geordie inhabitants, or the ingredients of the wondrous cheese savoury sandwich filling, it's all there. There's a venerable tradition of the vernacular ghost story - tales couched in non-standard English, if not always in a given dialect. There are ...