favourite story was the first one, They Flee From Me That Sometime Did Me Seek by Sarah Perry gorgeously written and deliciously creepy.
I also really liked Mrs Charbury at Eltham by Max Porter and Foreboding by Kamila Shamsie.
Some of the stories just didn't work for me, for instance, I felt like I didn't understand half of what was going on in Mark Haddon's story and there's something about Andrew Michael Hurley's writing that just always seems to bore me.
Overall, I had fun reading this, but it's not a book I'll revisit in the future, Please be aware I read this while the sun was blazing hot and kids were playing noisily outside, This is not the best atmosphere to be reading such a book but here I am! The stories were only interesting for the historical places they were set in rather than the actual story itself sadly.
As usual with short stories many fell under the soap opera ending which I dont personally enjoy, Some also left me confused as to what actually happened, Not worth keeping to reread during spooky season but it has encouraged me to visit some of the English Heritage sites in my local area! I have been obsessively hoarding spooky books for October and am so glad I am finally getting to my most anticipated horror reads.
And that they are living up to the months long hype I have placed upon them!
I begun my spooky October tbr with Eight Ghosts, in which a plethora of renowned authors have written a chilling tale, each told inside a different English Heritage site.
Of the eight authors collected here I had previously read from a good portion of them and heard of all bar one, so was pretty sure I was going to get along well with the contents.
What I didnt anticipate was just how cleverly constructed and historically informative it was going to be!
Each story here was lighter in delivering the horrifying elements than I had anticipated, yet I appreciated this book for that.
Instead of the usual ghostly apparitions and haunted house tropes, many of these authors used their spooky settings to deliver a message.
My personal favourites were Kamila Shamsies Foreboding, which drew parallels between the English ruins of time and the remains from wartorn countries, as well as between the hauntings from ghosts of place and ghosts of a more personal past.
I also adored Jeanette Wintersons As Strong as Death, which transcended time to deliver a small story from lesbian history into her contemporary tale, that had me initially fearful and sobbing by the end of it.
“If haunting is nothing, perhaps thats what it is time in the wrong place, ” Rowan Rouths ed. Eight Ghosts, The English Heritage Book of New Ghost Stories, is eight modern ghost stories written by eight different authors who were given their choice of an English Heritage site which became the setting of their new ghost story.
I thought this a clever idea and decided to read these stories as I have visited some of these sites.
These authors “were given after hours freedom at their chosen English Heritage site”, and the stories they wrote are strange, clever, and quite varied.
If I may, I would like to state that Stuart Evers ghost story set at Dover Castle a place I have seen twice is my favorite of these eight, but the others are by no means any less a good new ghost story.
English Heritage sites include the following: Housesteads Roman Fort, Dover Castle, York Cold War Bunker What an endings!, Carlisle Castle, Audrey End, Eltham Palace another goody, Kenilworth Castle, and Pendennis Castle.
Why not try reading this book to get in the mood for Halloween!stars, A slightly mixed bag, but I enjoyed the majority of the stories, The stand out ones for me were As Strong as Death a beautiful and haunting intertwined love story, Mr Lanyard's Last Case a good old fashioned fireside tale, Mrs Charbury at Eltham when your past comes back to haunt you, and I loved the concept of Never Departed More all are well crafted stories, if not a little short on the chill factor Wonderfully creepy stories.
Most of themstars, but Sarah Perry, Max Porter and, my favourite by far, Jeannette Winterson's deserve a solidstars.
Some of these gave me actual chills while I was reading them at night,
Just wonderful. Hey, I love a good English Heritage site and I also love a good ghost story, Would bebut honestly I found a couple of the stories didn't pack as much of a punch as the others some of those stories got really philosophical which I adored, and also I'm heartbroken that noone wanted to write a story about Bolingbroke Castle If haunting is anything, perhaps thats what it is: time in the wrong place.
Jeanette Winterson
This volume is the prequel to These our monsters, a collection of short stories inspired by English Heritage sites.
The concept of Eight ghosts is identical: eight wellknown authors were given after hours freedom at an abbey, a mansion, a world war bunker, invariably a place rumored to be haunted.
The results are very diverse, but three stories really stood out for me:
Foreboding by Kamila Shamsie: because of its interesting point of view.
Khalid, an asylum seeker, gets haunted by his own particular ghost he left behind while he is working as a security guard at Kenilworth Castle.
Never departed more by Stuart Evers: in which an actress, preparing for a part as Ophelia, falls in love with a ghost, Edward, at Dover Castle.
You know from the very first word this doesnt end well,
The wall by Kate Clanchy: in which history is viewed as therapy and ghosts always accompany the living, in this case strolling around Hadrians Wall.
I particularly enjoy this concept of English Heritage publications and would definitely welcome another collection! Bit of a mixed bag overall to be honest some of the stories were spooky and fun, but some I found a little boring or confusing.
Eight Ghosts stories, all set around English Heritage properties in order to raise money for the charity,
Eight ghosts was very underwhelming, andout ofof the stories failed to capture my attention as a reader.
The stories did not really capture the atmosphere of a ghost story for me and instead of a nice Halloween read, was a little bland.
Meh. Not at all scary, and the stories were too short to really develop any atmosphere, More like an ad campaign for English statelyhome tourism, Eight Ghosts is a collection of short ghost stories by various authors, Each story is based in a different English Heritage property and all have differing themes and time period settings, Some I enjoyed more than others, but none are particularly scary just a little creepy, But overall, an enjoyable read, I loved the concept behind this collection of creepy stories eight British authors were given time to explore haunted English Heritage sites, and asked to contribute a ghost story afterwards.
The tales make fabulous use of their settings, drawing on existing folk lore, or architectural features of the locations, to recount fictional hauntings.
While each story is quite different, they are united in their creativity and eeriness, Sarah Perry, Max Porter and Stuart Evers' tales stood out to me as the strongest, An enjoyable collection, albeit some more enjoyable than others as with any collection of this type, Appreciated the informative section about supposed haunted English Heritage sites which is included at the end, I was so excited when I heard about this collection, You have to admit its a fantastic idea eight authors, eight haunted locations, and eight ghost stories based on places the reader is able to visit in real life.
I was expecting a lot from a group of stories by writers including The Essex Serpent author Sarah Perry, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NightTime author Mark Haddon, and The Loney author Andrew Michael Hurley.
Thankfully, I was not disappointed,
Theres a chance that any collection of short stories based on a common theme will be repetitive, But these delightfully creepy ghost stories are varied enough to make sure the reader never gets complacent, and can never guess what is going to happen next.
From Sarah Perrys tale of possession at a Jacobean country house, to Mark Haddons story set in a Cold War bunker, each story is as unique as the writer who created it, and every reader is sure to find something to enjoy here.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the section in the afterword A Gazetteer of English Heritage Hauntings in which we explore some of the most haunted buildings looked after by English Heritage, including the ones chosen by the writers.
The only change I would have liked to see would be to have the notes about the authors chosen settings immediately after each story, to add a little more context.
Sarah Perrys story set at Audley End, They Flee From Me That Sometime Did Me Seek, and Mark Haddons The Bunker were my favourite stories from this collection.
They build a sense of dread so powerful that I almost didnt want to keep reading,
The collection also includes Kate Clanchys heartbreaking tale set at Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrians Wall, and Kamila Shamsies chilling story about a night security guard at Kenilworth Castle.
These brilliantly written and fantastically creepy tales are a must for ghost story fans, Guaranteed to send a chill down your spine,
Many thanks to September Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, Fantastic little collection of modern ghost stories! For me, Kamila Shamsies “Foreboding” set at Kennilworth Castle was far and away the best story in this collection.
“Never Departed More,” by Stuart Evers for Dover Castle and “Mrs, Charbury at Eltham,” by Max Porter are also worth reading, A one day wonder no,A good collection of modern stories I loved both Mr Lanyard's Last Case amp They Flee From Me That Sometimes Did Me Seek Interesting book idea picked because of Jeanette Winterson's inclusion some short stories worked well of particular note Sarah Perry Kamila Shamsie.
Winterson's 'As Strong as Death' did not disappoint, "Eight Ghosts: The English Heritage Book of New Ghost Stories" consists of eight eerie tales, each inspired by and set within the walls of one of English Heritages historic properties.
Contents:
"They Flee From Me That Sometimes Did Me Seek" by Sarah Perry
"Mr, Lanyard's Last Case" by Andrew Michael Hurley
"The Bunker" by Mark Haddon
"Foreboding" by Kamila Shamsie
"Never Departed More" by Stuart Evers
"The Wall" by Kate Clanchy
"As Strong As Death" by Jeanette Winterson
"Mrs.
Charbury at Eitham" by Max Porter
Afterwords
"Within These Walls" by Andrew Martin
A Gazetteer of English Heritage Hauntings
Biographical Notes
A collection of brand new ghost stories by a strong selection of highly regarded authors, inspired by historic English Heritage sites Eight Ghosts was a musthave, a book I just had to buy as soon as I laid eyes on a copy.
It didn't disappoint. Although I liked some more than others, I enjoyed every one of these tales, with those by Sarah Perry, Stuart Evers, Kamila Shamsie and, particularly, Max Porter standing out as highlights.
The stories are accompanied by a short essay 'Within These Walls: How the Castles, Abbeys and Houses of England Inspired the Ghost Story' by Andrew Martin and apage gazetteer of English Heritage hauntings.
The book itself is a beautiful object if you have a lover of ghost stories in your life, I'd recommend picking this up as a gift.
'They Flee From Me That Sometime Did Me Seek' by Sarah Perry inspired by Audley End House and Gardens, Essex
Short but potent, Perry's tale is a pleasing chiller with an outcome that brings to mind the short stories of Daphne du Maurier and Shirley Jackson.
The framing device, wherein the narrator is told the story secondhand by a friend, adds to the effect,
'Mr Lanyard's Last Case' by Andrew Michael Hurley inspired by Carlisle Castle, Cumbria
Hurley is alone among the authors in choosing a historical setting this story is set in the midth century.
In the time of the Jacobite trials, Lanyard is a prosecutor with a fearsome reputation, while the narrator is a clerk who observes his strange downfall.
A tale of terror that fits a rather traditional mould but the creepy capuchin monkey is a stroke of genius.
'The Bunker' by Mark Haddon inspired by York Cold War Bunker
I was excited about this York Cold War Bunker sounds so intriguing, and promised to inspire something a bit different from the other locations.
However, I found the plot in which a nurse begins to experience blackouts in which she appears to enter an alternative timeline unclear and unsatisfying.
For me, this was probably the weak point of the collection,
'Foreboding' by Kamila Shamsie inspired by Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Garden, Warwickshire
Right from the beginning, the characterbuilding around Shamsie's protagonist Khalid was so powerful that I completely forgot this was a ghost story.
The narrative is as much about Khalid's feeling of being trapped between two cultures and languages as it is about the hauntings at Kenilworth.
His close bond with his sister, whom he often thinks of, proves to be pivotal to his fate,
'Never Departed More' by Stuart Evers inspired by Dover Castle, Kent
A dissolute young American actress has been cast as the lead in Ophelia seemingly a version of Hamlet with a focus on that character and visits Dover Castle, where it will be shot, to prepare.
Throwing herself into the role, she dons her costume and wanders the castle in character, reciting lines when she meets a man dressed as a WWIIera pilot, she takes it all in her stride and plays along, even while the feelings she develops for the man Edward are very real.
I loved the vivid imagery here there's something of the fairytale about the description, Maya's blithe acceptance of strange sights, and the 'be careful what you wish for' culmination of the plot.
'The
Wall' by Kate Clanchy inspired by Housesteads Roman Fort, Northumberland
Since 'the fire', when she burned her school books in a bin, teenage Alison hasn't been the same.
The narrator, her mother, struggles to get through to her and resents the fact that it seems easier for her husband, Simon.
On a trip to Hadrian's Wall, the real nature of this family's problems becomes evident, While it's effectively bittersweet, this is a quiet sort of story that hasn't stuck in my mind as much as some of the others.
'As Strong As Death' by Jeanette Winterson inspired by Pendennis Castle, Cornwall
Two women, Tamara and Jamie, are getting married at Pendennis Castle told in vignettes, their story charts their relationship alongside the history of the castle, its romances and tragedies.
It flows beautifully, despite being structurally choppy, but again, this one didn't really stay with me,
'Mrs Charbury at Eltham' by Max Porter inspired by Eltham Palace and Gardens, London
The best is saved for last I LOVED this.
It's also the most audacious, choosing to centre a character whose attitude towards English Heritage contains a great deal of contempt.
The titular Mrs Charbury is a stubborn woman who, in her twilight years, revisits Eltham, where she used to attend wild society parties thrown by the Courtaulds.
It was also the last place she saw her sister, 'poor peculiar Delia', before the latter disappeared, Porter weaves the colourful history of Eltham into his story effortlessly, making it funny, intriguing and genuinely unnerving,
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