View Full Version : Ghost Stories/Authors
With the dark months upon us, I thought this to be a suitable subject to discuss and see if there are any fans on NMP (Darksky)
My favourite ghost story teller/writer would have to be Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936). Born in Kent and raised in Suffolk, he studied at Cambridge first as a student then a don. He incorporates elements of the medieval and the antiquarian into his stories. These he recounted to his students at Christmas around the fire.
'Oh Whistle and I'll Come To You, My Lad' is one of his most known. An antiquarian is staying at a hotel on the east coast of England, when he finds an ancient whistle on the stony beach. He makes the mistake of blowing it.
'The Treasure of Abbot Thomas' is another classic. A scholar of medieval history goes searching for the hidden treasure of a disgraced abbot. He soon wishes he hadn't.
James hints at the darkness and menace, and with subtle prompts encourages our imagination to do the rest. I first read his works in 1997, the book bought at a local market. The BBC dramatised a number of his stories way back in the late 60s/early 70s. 'Oh Whistle' starred the late Sir Michael Hordern.
Why does my name keep coming up :roflmao: Your friendly resident weirdo.
I know I’ve manoeuvred you in the direction of Walter De la Mare’s The Listeners, Fishman but as it’s my favourite poem I think everyone inspired by ghostly stuff ( yes, me) should give it a read.
I also think our resident poet ( yes, you) should post their Gibbet Hill here. Excellent stuff :yesyes:
Your wish is my command Darksky...
On Gibbet Hill
Stroll up yon track
to gibbet hill,
on winter nights
of moonlit still,
through all the long
remembering trees,
recalling highwaymen
brought to their knees..
Up there the hangman
once had stood,
where now crowds close
the watching wood,
when the writhing guilty
stretched taut the noose,
and unleashed those
wicked spirits wayward loose.
Grasping at fools
unwary there,
hands of skeleton twigs
running through their hair,
lurk the restless
dead of gibbet hill,
on winter nights
of moonlit still.
December 2014
The Haunted Barn
'Stray there not', the locals say,
'not after dark, when the dead hold sway',
when crimson rivers run rampant,
among a barn's bones of yonder way,
where the vines drink in perpetual thirst,
creeping clambering would do their worst,
to pulse like slashed veins knotted to choke,
black open mouth and strangled hope.
It's murk hides the shadow's fetid breath,
where ghosts gather in the memory of cold death,
snap cracked skull and arid bone,
the worm tastes his heaven in the dying's groan,
with red earth and a black blood's glee,
the axe would heed no mercy plea,
and sprayed the watching walls with insanity,
the slayers glut in his victory.
Yet condemned to repeat his repulsive part,
the seed of evil's eternal pain,
would grow in that fiend's rotten heart,
and seek evermore to murder and maim,
but a shimmering shaft of shocking moonlight,
is accusatory in luminous white,
and reveals the ghastly, grinning face,
of he that haunts that forsaken place.
April 2013
Borley Church
I first saw you,
or was it you who saw me,
poised praying mantis
upon a hill, as if
you had wished me ill.
Embedded claws
in rock-gripped ridge,
tainted watcher of
stained glass eyes,
high arching spire
your stony crown,
spectral sentinel,
reputation in your
cold stare.
Your headstones gathered round,
all risen up from the ground,
lurking between ancient yews,
and within the dank corners
of your dusty pews,
did I glimpse something,
half imagined, move?
June 2013
Fishman…I cannot say how much these are so very me. I love this kind of stuff.
My son said to me the other day, oh look there’s a massive old grave yard there. I know you like that kind of stuff…. I don’t really know how people see me :ohmy:
Why aren’t you published?
Borley Church? Is that anything to do with Borley Rectory? That’s a really haunted place isn’t it?
Sorry Darksky I've been trying to make a 'cave' for our lab due to fireworks. Again.
OK well I self published a book of my poetry in 2016. It sold 7 copies I think. I'm not sure whether these supernatural poems are in there? Self publishing is dead easy, the only problem is you have to do your own marketing. Once the website 'FeedAread' has taken its cut, and then the printers, you get about £1-80 for each book sold.
Yes Borley Church is on the Suffolk/Essex border, not far from the town of Sudbury. Borley Rectory was across the road from the church but burnt down in 1939. Both the church and rectory were/are haunted. I first went there in 1982 with my Mum, sister and BIL. Then another visit in 2000 but the church had been chained shut. I'm thinking because it was a magnet for ghost hunters. Then a third visit circa 2005? or so.
People see you as a horror/supernatural/unexplained fan. Nothing wrong with that :)
No one beats Stephen King for a good story.
I've read most of his books but there's one I couldn't finish.
I started it about 20 years ago but had to put it down about halfway through and haven't picked it up again since as it was too much for my imagination.
It's called From A Buick 8.
I read The Rats….isn’t that by King? That was a horrible book…needless to say l loved it.
James Herbert wrote The Rats, Lair and Domain trilogy.
Demon
All the years you wreck,
suckered, cloying at my face,
your coils about my neck.
You clamber,
emerge from deep within,
like some creeping, glutinous
bursting through thing.
The scar on the soul,
slithered from your
bottomless hole.
You elude the spoken word,
exist only in the feeling,
you are the scream
that goes unheard.
You are the stain
on another spring day,
the tormented price I pay,
and pay.
April 2015
Maneater
I become her fly,
wrapped in the
smothering silk
of her embrace.
Sweet words smother,
strung in gossamer threads,
that mask the poison
of her needling kiss,
her's a deadly
passion such as this.
With practised skill
my senses are spun,
turning me over,
stuck fast upon,
her web of lies,
paralysed.
May 2015
Films…..I love Poltergeist and Paranormal Activity. Trouble sleeping afterwards, definately under the bedclothes, because everyone knows sheets protect you from demons:shades:
Dead Man's Marsh
'Across them
marshes keep to the path,
or quail at the dead
man's cackling laugh',
the innkeeper had warned,
for better or worse,
lest I fell beneath
that deadly curse.
'Best not wander
the marshes', he had said,
for the spectre holds
the secrets of the dead,
sunk deep in ancient
mud was to be his fate,
with the patience of
death for the living he waits.
Heedless, from that inn
I braved a night walk,
and scorned the
landlord's foolish talk,
for through the marshes
I would wander,
yet peace of mind I would
forever squander.
Thus the dunes rose
above the creeping sea mist,
over the mire no sun
had ever kissed,
where November dripped from
the crooked dead trees,
and wailing gulls fled
from the raging seas.
Hearing murmured warnings
from the whispering sedge,
with skies that reached
to the world's very edge,
I beheld a lone figure
calling out for me,
over yonder marsh
and toward the sea.
Black bog mud plastered
his straggling hair,
his bleached white bones
wind-blasted bare,
I suffered his cold in
these bones of mine,
as if his dead fingers
ran down my spine.
Flee, flee to the village I must,
to escape the deathly
shadow's lust,
yet gripped in the icy
clench of fear,
I dreaded the ghost's
rattling breath near.
To claim me as
one of his own,
he grinned the
leering face of bone,
and beckoned toward
his reeking grave,
with horror again
calling out my name.
With trembling hands
clapped over ears,
he whispered to me of
all the years,
that he had stalked
that stinking marsh,
through summers fair
and winters harsh.
Yet as I swayed and
sure to swoon,
I spied the dawn
cutting through the gloom,
to break the foul
fiend's ghastly spell,
and save my soul
from otherworldly hell.
Thus with the waxing
sun's first welcome beam,
vanished from his dead eye
was that evil gleam,
and crawling back to
his festering mud,
he tasted not my
precious life's blood.
And with a stagger and a sway,
I stumbled for the road
to lead me away,
back to my room
above the village inn,
from whence this
nightmare did begin.
Yet reaching the
safety of that inn,
I heard a hideous voice
upon a chill wind,
'you cannot escape boy
not from me, for I shall
come another night for thee'.
November 2014
I could literally see that one Fishman. It sparked my imagination. I do need to sleep tonight you know.:ohmy: :D
If I was a literary agent, you would be on my books like a shot.
Aww thank you Darksky, you're very kind :hugs: Seriously though, have you read any M R James? You can get his ghost story collection on the big South American river. An Xmas present from Mr D?
No I’ve not read any by him. I’m presuming it’s a male….that’s a bit sexist of me.
I’ve got a queue of books forming behind me…My withdrawal symptoms from TROP have driven me to start the LOTR again. I’ve only got as far as Arwen finding Strider and the Hobbits. Subsequently whipping her cloak off and revealing herself as Glorfindel. Not many people know he was partial to a bit of cross dressing.
No one beats Stephen King for a good story.
I've read most of his books but there's one I couldn't finish.
I started it about 20 years ago but had to put it down about halfway through and haven't picked it up again since as it was too much for my imagination.
It's called From A Buick 8.Sorry Phil I didn't respond to you. Yes Stephen King is I think the 'King' of horror story writing. Google says 89 of his books were made into films!!
No I’ve not read any by him. I’m presuming it’s a male….that’s a bit sexist of me.
I’ve got a queue of books forming behind me…My withdrawal symptoms from TROP have driven me to start the LOTR again. I’ve only got as far as Arwen finding Strider and the Hobbits. Subsequently whipping her cloak off and revealing herself as Glorfindel. Not many people know he was partial to a bit of cross dressing.He was male yes, sorry :blush:
That book you mentioned…The Lost Village. Knowing me, as you must do by now….is it for me? It seems it could be. I’m looking for a new book.
I think I've an idea of your literary taste now Darksky. Well so far it's been a page turner. Its not the kind of book where you think 'oh I suppose I'd best get on with it'. I'm maybe a third of the way through. I'd say go for it, based on what I've read so far. Knowing my luck it will tail off into drivel :blush:
OK off to the South American River.
or maybe eBay if it’s cheaper.
Thank you. :yesyes:
Watch those piranhas though!! :ohmy:
I have successfully outmanoeuvred the bitey things and ordered from eBay. Loads cheaper.
I doubt it will be in my Christmas stocking as I’m a bit late but soon after I hope. :D
Darksky, I’ve reached a scene in the book where the young woman is making her way across Salisbury Plain when she’s stopped by a local
He says ‘Get ye garn, back werr ye came frarm. An keep te the rood crass them moors’. Honestly that’s what he says.
:roflmao:
Almost need a translation.
It reminds me of that scene in American Werewolf in London. When those oddball locals in the pub tell those two lads to keep to the path when they cross the moor. Of course they don’t and one of them becomes a tasty snack.
Oh yes American Werewolf in London was a classic. Lots of intended cliches and a very early appearance of the late and brilliant Rik Mayall.
I have to agree about Stephen King. He's hard to beat as a writer of horror and supernatural. I didn't realise he'd written so many books though. I'm more of a film watcher than a book reader and tbh I don't delve into that stuff anymore because of my anxiety.
But one of my all time favourite films in this genre has to be The Thing. Followed by The Green Mile.
WiredIncorrectly
14-12-22, 11:11
Necrocomicon is a great collection of stories from H.P Lovecraft :yesyes:
WiredIncorrectly
14-12-22, 11:12
IThe Green Mile.
I watched that film yesterday. It always make me laugh when Percy tries to get the mouse, and ends up getting locked in the padded cell. It's sad at the end when they have to put the poor fella to death. Not many films can tug the heart strings like The Green Mile.
Can’t go wrong with Tom Hanks :yesyes:
Fishman, yes Rik Mayall was the absolute best. I loved him. Did you watch Bottom with Ade Edmondson? A manic mess but so funny. I also loved him as Lord Flashheart in Blackadder. Quite attractive as that character, I found.:D
Don't forget 'The Young Ones' Darksky.
Oh yes they were great. I loved Neil and his lentils. Do you remember when they did a spoof of University Challenge? When they put the P in front of Rick. What was Vivian’s hamster called? Was it something like Special Patrol Officer? Childish humour but it hit home with me.
Comedy is just not the same any more :weep:
You're right Darksky it isn't. Things you could say back then, you can't now. In many ways it's killed comedy but there you go.
Fishman, your writing is so good! I used to read a lot of Edgar Allen Poe when I was in high school.
Fishman, your writing is so good! I used to read a lot of Edgar Allen Poe when I was in high school.Aww thank you Erin. Edgar Allen Poe was one of the great horror/darkness writers. Such a tragedy he died at the young age of 40. 'The Raven' is a great poem and 'The Tell-Tale Heart' one of his best stories.
I once got an A + in creative writing for a ghost story I wrote..
Teacher: 'You have quite an imagination, Nora'.
Me: It's a true story.
* Cue suspenseful music*
I once got an A + in creative writing for a ghost story I wrote..
Teacher: 'You have quite an imagination, Nora'.
Me: It's a true story.
* Cue suspenseful music*Sorry Nora I missed this, do tell.
Darksky, I've now got the rest of Neil Spring's books and the one I'm reading next is set around Borley rectory and church. Borley is a tiny hamlet on the Suffolk/Essex border, I've been there three times. First in 1982 when I was just 16, 2000 and 2005ish. The rectory was damaged by fire and demolished, so the ghosts moved across the road to the church.
Darksky, I’ve just finished ‘The Lost Village’. What a cracking book and the end totally threw me. I really didn’t see that coming. That’s one of the best books I’ve read in quite some time, certainly of the genre. Will start the Borley book now.
MyNameIsTerry
06-01-23, 07:10
Oh yes American Werewolf in London was a classic. Lots of intended cliches and a very early appearance of the late and brilliant Rik Mayall.
Yeah isn't he in the pub? I didn't recognise him at first since he wasn't drinking half a pint of mild with best mate Eddie telling the barmaid about his tiny nob :biggrin:
Darksky, Bottom remains one of my all time face comedies. Very sad those enormous y fronts are now in the same cupboard as Ed the duck, Gordon the gopher, Mr Blobby (unless Noel kept it for some weird niche adult cosplay :whistles: and Dusty Bin.
MyNameIsTerry
06-01-23, 07:12
Can’t go wrong with Tom Hanks :yesyes:
Fishman, yes Rik Mayall was the absolute best. I loved him. Did you watch Bottom with Ade Edmondson? A manic mess but so funny. I also loved him as Lord Flashheart in Blackadder. Quite attractive as that character, I found.:D
Nursey says leave him alone :biggrin:
MyNameIsTerry
06-01-23, 07:13
I have to agree about Stephen King. He's hard to beat as a writer of horror and supernatural. I didn't realise he'd written so many books though. I'm more of a film watcher than a book reader and tbh I don't delve into that stuff anymore because of my anxiety.
But one of my all time favourite films in this genre has to be The Thing. Followed by The Green Mile.
Reading his latest at the moment, Fairy Tale.
Used to love the old King films. Maximum Overdrive is one of my faves. The AC/DC soundtrack adds to it.
WiredIncorrectly
06-01-23, 21:36
I once got an A + in creative writing for a ghost story I wrote..
Teacher: 'You have quite an imagination, Nora'.
Me: It's a true story.
* Cue suspenseful music*
:roflmao:
The Lawn
Is pressed by unseen feet, and ghosts return
Gently at twilight, gently go at dawn,
The sad, intangible who grieve and yearn……
Fishman, this book has some excellent pieces in.
Is that from 'The Lost Village' Darksky?
Sorry, yes… I am enjoying it. About half way through I reckon. Although at the moment my concentration is suffering a bit but I’ll get there.
We can't always control what happens in our lives. However, we can escape for a while in a good book.
I'm currently reading 'The Ghost Hunters' by the same author. It's about Borley Rectory and church, somewhere I've visited 3 times. The Rectory no longer exists, it was badly damaged by fire and demolished though the church still stands. The real Harry Price carried out investigations there. I may have said all this? Age :blush:
Urgh, the death of Marie Hartwell was a bit graphic and gory, Fishman. I was expecting a swift hanging but no….it had to go and get a lot worse :scared15::D
Finally finished The Lost Village. A very good read.
Don’t think I will look at china dolls in the same way ever again.
One regret…that Harry didn’t realise that his son was alive all along. Graveside confessions don’t count.
'The Ghost Hunters' which I'm about two thirds of the way through, is the first in the series and deals with the meeting of Sarah and Harry Price.
I certainly 'felt' some kind of menace when visiting the hamlet of Borley. But Harry Price calls that 'Location Bias'.
Bit of a twist there at the end Darksky? That Sarah had been murdered in a previous life?
Yes that was a surprise…I love it when you get to the end of a book thinking you’ve got it all sussed, then the rug is pulled.
Also the fact that Pierre was actually alive was a surprise to me. I was convinced he was really a spirit child.
That Oscar Hartwell was a piece of work wasn’t he? But then, was his father ultimately to blame. Probably.
I am a paranormal investigator, have been for 25 years. I love horror and ghost stories, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, those cheesy 80s horror books, I recently read The Exorcist, I had no problem reading it, but I cannot watch the movie..it scares me. when I was a kid I lived in a haunted house, I was also fascianted by The Borely Rectory Haunting, but I heard that it turned out to be a fraud.
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