Lee Allen's Blog - Posts Tagged "haunting"

My Christmas novella Alone is available from Amazon and iBooks amongst other retailers.
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All things must end.

Recovering from a recent accident and faced with the prospect of spending another Christmas alone, Jessica accepts the invitation of an old flame to spend Christmas with him and his aged aunt at his manor house in the midst of the Brecon Beacons.

Feeling her arrival is unwelcome, Jessica awaits her reunion with a face from the past, while a snowstorm postpones his arrival and renders her trapped within the house. Behind the silence, something dark is lurking.

Left with little choice, Jessica finds she must face the secrets the old house hides. Yet what she may come to learn is that nothing haunts us more than the secrets of our own pasts, and that burying them does not make them forgotten.
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Read on for a sample below:

December 16th

The gentle trickling of a glittering melody drifted on the air, creeping into the ears of the sleeping woman who lay on the bed in the corner of a sparsely furnished room. Her skin was deathly white, the only sign of life the water vapour escaping between her delicate lips as she breathed.

A shadow crossed her face, a slight creasing of anguish in her expression. There was something troubling about the sight of seeing innocence vanquished in something as subtle, like the moment a child suffers the loss of believing in magic. Worse still was that there was no one to witness the sight. Emptiness swirled around her clammy skin, dancing a Viennese Waltz with the silence that fell like frost in the wake of distant music that wasn’t quite alive.

Jessica awoke, her eyes drifting over the high ceiling. From her memory she grasped vaguely at what had woken her. A metallic tinkle. She listened to the dense blanket of night. The sound of being alone.

She rubbed her heavy brown eyes and sat up. Her unfinished glass of Irish Cream whisky sat on the bedside table, beside the candle that still held the ghost of its extinguished flame. She pulled her cardigan tighter around her shoulders, looking to the window, the landscape aglow even in the black of night.

She closed her eyes and touched her face. If she tried hard enough it was as if a hand reached from memory, fingertips brushing over her fingers, grasping her hand, lips bowing to graze her skin.

She shivered involuntarily. She had a feeling she could hear music, faint and distant, like bells carried on a still wind.

Her toes were cold. She flexed them on the worn carpet. Her feet were weary as she stood, crossing slowly to the window, watching the sky and the snow covered earth, the stars glowing beyond and the desolation of the stretch of beacons. She was lost, a lost girl nearing the end of her journey.

Turning from the window, she found the owner of the metallic tinkle. She stooped, a silver chain grasped in her fingers as she withdrew her hand. She felt the beads grasped under her cold fingertips, squeezing them as the crucifix fell across her palm. She felt the weight of her soul on her heart, sinking to her knees and bowing her head to her hands.

All things must end. And this was how it began.

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Merry Christmas!

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A classic haunted house tale of gothic suspense by Shirley Jackson.

Hill House has stood empty for decades; any attempted occupant having departed swiftly within a few days of coming to stay there. Dr John Montague, a philosopher and researcher of the paranormal, strives to gather a small group together to stay in the house in an attempt to unravel the mysteries which surround it.

One member of this party is Eleanor. Having been caring for her ailing mother for many years up until her death, Eleanor is in search of her very identity and to find her own place in the world. She hopes she may find herself, as one of the explorers of Hill House. But her dream-like journey is soon to descend into a nightmare as she reaches her destination.

Brooding and forbidding, Hill House is an anomalous spectre, with its bizarre construction and indistinct aura. Along with Dr Montague and their fellow explorers, Theodora and Luke, Eleanor begins to experience the phenomena that may have chased so many away in the past. But it appears the house is paying a particular interest in Eleanor; its motives surely malign.

A short novel that immediately provokes a haunting atmosphere, ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ takes you on a slow descent into hysteria as the characters settle uncomfortably, never quite seeing the influences at work, never quite understanding what is happening around them. The house is almost a character in itself, a dominant presence that overpowers all the characters that live and breathe within. Comparatively, the characters are almost like empty shells, the house exploring and exploiting their psyches, seeking a place in which to breed its madness.

Brimming with atmosphere and burgeoning tension, the story builds deftly to its climax, an escalation into terror from which there may be no escape.

The novel has been thrice adapted for the screen – first in 1963 as the theatrical film ‘The Haunting’, which received mixed reviews at the time, but has since grown a cult following. Its second adaptation came in 1999, another theatrical film also entitled ‘The Haunting’, this version receiving negative reviews. In 2018, Netflix adapted the novel under its full name as a ten-episode series. Well-received and popular amongst viewers, it received a follow-up; retroactively becoming the first in anthology series ‘The Haunting’. Despite the dominating presence of the house in the novel, it appears destined to forever find its name left unspoken.

‘The Haunting of Hill House’ is a gothic horror classic and a fine example of the genre, a short sharp shiver to be enjoyed in the darkened months as the nights draw in.


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The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A chilling gothic ghost story from the pen of Susan Hill.

Arthur Kipps, relaxing on Christmas Eve with his family, refuses to be drawn into the light-hearted tradition of telling ghost stories and ghoulish tales at the fireside. For he is reminded of a terrifying experience from his past, when he was a junior solicitor and dispatched to attend the funeral of one of the firm’s clients, Mrs Drablow, and undertake an audit of her private papers at her property, Eel Marsh House. But this reminder of the past leaves him driven to recount his tale on paper.

Feeling as if he is getting further away from civilisation as he travels to the small town of Crythin Gifford, Kipps regards the locals as what he can only interpret as superstitious in how they regard Mrs Drablow and Eel Marsh House. In fact, no one wishes to speak of them. Attending Mrs Drablow’s funeral, Kipps finds it tragic that no one attends to mourn her – until a woman dressed in mourning black arrives, who appears to be suffering from a form of wasting disease. But he is soon shocked to find that the mere mention of this mourning, emaciated woman strikes fear and dread into those to whom he mentions her.

Kipps makes the journey to Eel Marsh House to begin the task required. Secluded and solitary, only accessible when the tide is low, it now stands empty, residing over the treacherous marshes like a spectre through the mist. Amongst the gravestones of an ancient cemetery, Kipps once again sees the woman in black. So begins a series of increasingly disturbing experiences in the vicinity of the house that will threaten his very sanity and ultimately reveal the malevolent intent of the woman in black.

Susan Hill has crafted a sublime tale, grasping you from the very first page in a vice-like grip as if held by one of the decaying hands of the woman in black herself. Haunting, gothic and descriptive, the narrative weaves suspense with the dexterity of a spider, wielding tension with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel, bubbling over into moments of terror and hurtling towards its devastating conclusion. The characters are as well-crafted as the plot, while the sense of place is so vivid that you could so easily get lost in the mists of the marshes, hearing the echoes of long ago tragedy. This may be one of the most perfect ghost stories ever written.

The novel has been successfully adapted for the stage, the play having run in London’s West End for over thirty years. I saw a performance in Cardiff’s New Theatre several years ago, highly entertained by the twist on the storytelling, which creates an entirely new experience of the story. It has also been adapted for the screen – first in 1989 as a TV film; this version unseen for many years until recently. In 2012, the resurrected Hammer Film Productions released a theatrical adaptation, which was followed by a theatrical sequel, ‘The Woman in Black: Angel of Death’, in 2015.

‘The Woman in Black’ is a modern classic, a haunting tale of horror and suspense, destined to long be regarded alongside the greats of gothic literature.



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The Meadows by London Clarke

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A gothic supernatural chiller to haunt your waking moments.

Scarlett DeHaven plans to start life afresh, focusing on her songwriting and new business venture, leaving her history of addiction behind. Moving to a remote town, she purchases a property with plans to open a bed and breakfast. But Asphodel House has a disturbing history, one that haunts it from every nook and cranny.

The strange atmosphere of the house rapidly unsettles Scarlett and she begins to feel, hear and see anomalies she fears may not be real, while the prospect of them being real is more terrifying still. With its history of brutal murders, reports of paranormal activity, and its use by a cult purporting to be vampires, in the present day the Meadows poses a threat to Scarlett’s sanity.

As she descends back into addiction she hoped to escape, Scarlett desperately searches for answers, finding help from demonologist Hunter Massabrook, who has his own history with the house. But as forces of darkness coagulate around Asphodel House, it becomes clear that whatever malign scheme has played out within its walls has not yet come to its conclusion and no one who has been touched by its shadow is safe.

London Clarke’s first volume of the ‘Legacy of Darkness’ is a gripping, thrilling delight for fans of gothic horror – with its setting of a lonely, secluded property haunted by malign entities that may be demonic or spirits of the dead; the mysterious cult, calling themselves the Colony, which may or may not exist, while its members may or may not be vampires; a group of outsiders, aliens in this secluded spot, meeting an array of locals, some portraying their fair share of eccentricities.

Creative, troubled and aspiring for a new start, Scarlett is a splendid central character – at times endearing and at others difficult to relate to, perfectly capturing the jarring nature of a relationship with an addict, as both an observer and from Scarlett’s own perspective. Her mistrust of her own recollections and emotions heightens the mystery and suspense that envelope every twist and turn of the plot, as it propels towards its conclusion and the secrets of the Meadows are finally unveiled.

With its host of well-drawn characters, gothic imagery and lightning-paced plotting, the novel takes inspiration from the classics to conjure a contemporary tale of unease. By the time I closed the book on the final page, I was already very excited to delve into ‘Whickering Place’, London Clarke's second volume in the ‘Legacy of Darkness’ trilogy.

Gothic and atmospheric, ‘The Meadows’ is a well-crafted and thrilling paranormal horror novel, demonstrating the allure of the supernatural remains as resolutely unshakeable as the walls of Asphodel House itself.



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The Haunting Season: Ghostly Tales for Long Winter Nights by Bridget Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A collection of deliciously haunting tales, oozing atmosphere and winter chills.

A visitor's fascination with an abandoned property may prove a fatal error...
An estranged wife, isolated in shame in an old house, finds she and her child may not be alone...
A family's attempt to find peace and tranquility takes a dangerous turn...
A photographer obsesses over the beauty whom he has been enlisted to capture in her final rest...
A woman injured in a riding accident is confronted with a restless spirit...
An ex-churchman recounts the experience that led to his irrational fear of evergreens...
A mother describes her experience with a witch that followed the birth of her child...
A man's desperate quest to unearth a great discovery may prove his undoing...

'The Haunting Season' is a collection of eight short stories by eight different authors, each tightly plotted and superlatively well-written, building suspense with layers of mystery and supernatural occurrences until reaching their satisfying conclusions.

My personal favourites were Natasha Pulley's 'The Eel Singers', a concoction of unspoken emotion and lurking danger in an isolated community; Jess Kidd's 'Lily Wilt', a gripping tale of burgeoning obsession that escalates rapidly out of control; and Kiran Millwood Hargrave's 'Confinement', a chilling account of creeping fear and dark, malicious power.

Overall, this is an incredibly enjoyable collection. Many of the tales take us back into the heart of the Victorian era, which witnessed the birth of the traditional winter ghost story, complete with a modern edge in the exploration of themes, characterisations and circumstances. Each of the writers has crafted a glimpse into individual worlds, delivering slices of mystery and terror.

'The Haunting Season' is a perfectly ghostly collection to enjoy at Christmas and into the New Year, when the temperatures are low and inclement weather howls out in the night.



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"As the monastery swallowed the last morsel of daylight, he didn't notice the murder of magpies gathering on the roof and window ledges..."

As the countdown to Hallowe'en begins, this month's spotlight is on short story "Bluebell", a tale of present-day haunting and historical mystery.

Behind the Story

Part of the concept for "Bluebell" first came to me many years ago. I was on my way to a date and thinking of a new crime story, the title and the twist already formed, considering the idea of a date as the hook, a man trying to move on but haunted by the unsolved disappearance of his wife. As I walked, a single magpie flew past and landed ahead of me. Those elements coalesced and remained linked in my mind.

I returned to "Bluebell" several years later when working on my short story collection. I combined the original crime story with gothic horror and a historical mystery to be solved from the present day, with a streak of feminism running through the tale. Probably the most traditionally gothic story in the collection, with the crumbling presence of the monastery ever-looming, it is set on Hallowe'en night and also serves as a love letter to autumn.

"Bluebell" was the final story I wrote of the seven featured in "Whispers from the Dead of Night". I remember writing the final words and the incredible sense of achievement and excitement I felt at that moment. Perhaps due in part to this, if I had to choose my favourite or the story of which I'm most proud among those short stories, it would probably be this one.

Let the chill of autumn pull you into its embrace and get yourself a warm drink, ready to join me for mystery, romance, and an investigation into a haunted monastery...
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"Now the monastery's secrets were for all to find, if they could decipher the clues left under the weight of years gone by."

An investigation into a haunted monastery...

During a chance meeting, Emily and David arrange their first date. Despite the chill of autumn, the hope of romance is in the air.

But David cannot escape the visions of a wraith haunting his step, while Emily's fascination with a crumbling monastery may lead her into jeopardy.

For it is Hallowe'en night, when the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest, and the past and present collide...
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Opening Scene

The decaying remnants of a life long ago lived stood at the peak of a gentle slope, descending to a field at the front and woodland at the rear. The church tower and lopsided walls framed the façade, while the ghost of the moon’s glow filtered through the cracked stonework. Stars winked through hollow windows.

The wind strummed the weeds and grass that had grown around the gravestones that lined the inner wall of the garth like soldiers. Percussive against the weathered stone, it drummed its beat along with a whistling accompaniment through the cracks in the crumbling stone.

So it had stood and played its melodies for centuries, more shrivelled year by year, but ever present. Sometimes, it sounded as if nature’s tunes were accompanied by a choir singing, the harmony not of the wind, but voices, once human but no longer. In years past, the locals steered clear of the ruins by night, still wary by day.

As the years fell away, the fear was forgotten, relegated to myth, the choir now a campfire tale. Many sought out the ruins to listen for it. Few could claim honestly to have heard it.

So it was that many a still night lit by the moon would not be greeted by music or the voices of a choir. The wind rocked against the plants, rustling tree branches, leaves floating to the ground. The moonlight shone through the broken roof and walls, lighting the windowless voids from within. In a rear window, a shadow moved, framed in the moonlight. Its shape appeared human, perhaps possessed by something that once was. But there was no one there to see it.

Want to continue reading? "Bluebell" is available as part of the original "Whispers from the Dead of Night" short story collection in ebook and paperback and the deluxe collection in ebook, paperback and hardcover.

Order "Whispers from the Dead of Night"
Order "Whispers from the Dead of Night - The Deluxe Collection"

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Whickering Place by London Clarke

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A traumatised young woman becomes an unwitting legatee of darkness in this gripping paranormal thriller.

Whickering Place presents a new chapter in Avery's life, following unexpectedly inheriting the estate. Having suffered with agoraphobia for years following an attack that killed her boyfriend, Avery struggles to adapt to her new environment.

As she learns more about her deceased father and his home, she begins to experience strange and unsettling incidents, which may be preternatural in origin.

As the darkness surrounding Whickering Place intensifies, Avery discovers its secrets, some of which may prove impossible to escape.

'Whickering Place' is the second volume in London Clarke's 'Legacy of Darkness' trilogy, following 'The Meadows'. Both a standalone supernatural horror thriller following Avery's experiences after inheriting the eponymous property and another chapter in the history of The Colony, the vampire cult with links to murder and corruption, it immediately immerses you in its atmosphere of classic gothic horror through a modern lens, a well-crafted chiller that will keep you hooked late into the night.

Avery is a brilliant gothic heroine - vulnerable, traumatised, struggling with her mental health - her own demons and past experiences haunting her, making for a perfect storm with the supernatural activity in the house she inherits from her father. Gothic and horror fiction surrounding hauntings is at its best when it crosses into psychological horror territory and no one can quite trust what they are experiencing to be true or if their own senses are betraying them.

Along with the house, Avery inherits two tenants, brothers, both of whom she finds herself attracted to - one kind and dependable, the other mysterious and hiding dark secrets. Having been a recluse for so many years, they are the first people with whom she develops emotional connections in a long time, through which she finds herself facing her past and battling her mental health issues, now with more to lose than ever before.

We also delve deeper into the history and practices of vampire cult The Colony, their rituals of murder and sacrifice and the evil at its core, as they gather around Whickering Place and wish to claim it for their own. With flourishes of romance, a creeping, haunting atmosphere, entwined with glimpses of an investigation into a series of brutal murders, London Clarke has combined multiple elements to create an absorbing supernatural thriller, dripping in suspense.

The novel concludes with a tantalising glimpse of how the story will continue, leaving us in anticipation of 'Nocturne House', which concludes the trilogy.



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Rawblood by Catriona Ward

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A creeping tale gothic horror and a haunting family legacy.

Rawblood stands isolated and aloof on the Devonshire moors; home to the Villarca family, only two of whom remain – Iris and her father.

Iris has been warned of the Villarca affliction, either a disease or a curse which strikes when one feels powerful emotion. Iris’ health is threatened by her bond with Tom, a young man from a neighbouring family estate.

Through a history steeped in shadows, the secrets of Rawblood emerge, a prison from which no Villarca can escape.

'Rawblood' is the debut novel by Catriona Ward, a gothic tale stretching across decades, telling the history of the Villarca family and those in their close orbit. A concoction of perhaps the foremost three of the gothic sub-genres – horror, family saga and romance, it is a beautifully written and richly descriptive novel, employing a non-linear narrative to detail events through the Victorian era, Edwardian era, and the First World War and its immediate aftermath, exploring multiple character perspectives and how their stories intertwine. Against the backdrop of vivid settings, including the mansion lost in the midst of the wilderness of Dartmoor, into the heart of an asylum, and travelling to Siena, is an intricately plotted and deftly-paced saga, with an escalating psychological claustrophobia throughout.

At the centre of the story is Iris, who as a child first learns of the family malady that may have its origins in something physical, psychological or supernatural. Rebelling against the fears her father instils in her, she cannot foresee the horrors that will be unleashed. Three decades earlier, Charles Danforth travels to Rawblood to reunite with an old friend, recording his stay in diary form. These slow-burning narratives coalesce with menace and suspense, featuring forbidden relationships, scientific experimentation, and the lingering spectres of guilt and trauma. Adjacent to their narration, supporting characters’ perspectives flesh out this history, providing clues to the truth behind the mystery. While balancing these many elements, revelations withheld and insinuated, only to fully emerge as the final chapters come to fruition, between the lines is oppression and abuse – physical and psychological; familial, institutional and societal.

Oozing atmosphere and entwining a treasure trove of gothic themes, Ward has woven a work of art. Reminiscent of classics such as 'Frankenstein', 'Rebecca' and ‘The Haunting of Hill House’, with touches of 'The Woman in Black', 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' and even ‘Dracula’, whilst nevertheless being its own unique story, it contains so much which I love about the genre in one novel and is a superlative portrayal of a haunting - balancing the supernatural with the psychological, origins swathed in horror and mystery. The journal entries of 1881, the chapters within the asylum during and after the war, and the tale of traveling companions Miss Hopewell and Miss Brigstocke in 1839-50 all stick in my mind as perfectly evoking their characters and place. Also inspirational for me as a writer, this book features many elements that I strive for in my own fiction and find deeply fascinating. This is the first of Ward's novels that I've read and already places her as a new favourite of mine.

Tragic and evocative, ‘Rawblood’ is a haunting horror story and family saga, one you wish to both devour and savour in equal measure.



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Comes the Blind Fury by John Saul

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A vintage tale of classic, haunting horror.

Michelle moves to her new home in Paradise Point with her family, shortly starting at her new school. A happy and loving child, Michelle appears to be settling well into her new life.

At home she finds an old doll, christening it Amanda. But Amanda is no mere doll. Once, she was flesh and blood, a sweet, blind girl who suffered at the hands of bullies and met her death on the treacherous cliffs.

Amanda reaches out to Michelle through the mists from beyond the veil. Amanda's soul has been twisted by pain, intent on vengeance, and all will feel her wrath.

'Comes the Blind Fury' is a 1980 horror novel by John Saul, set in the US East Coast village of Paradise Point, a small community seemingly on the edge of civilisation. On one level, the novel is a light and breezy read, drawing you gently into the narrative, while the horrors linger beneath the surface in an intense and emotive plot; I love horror with psychological depth and an authentic feel, driven by the characters and slowly unravelling the mystery behind supernatural events.

Haunting every page is what remains of a sweet, tormented child, desolate and alone for decades in her death, becoming consumed by hatred and a desire for vengeance. Through another innocent, and living, child who is just looking for a friend, she wreaks her havoc. The characters of the children are all captured and developed brilliantly, driving the story while the adults fail to grasp the true nature of what's happening around them until it's too late. Michelle and even Amanda are especially relatable, the sting and the isolation as a result of bullying embedded in many of our psyches. The devastating impact of their actions, juxtaposed with this innocence warped and twisted out of shape by suffering, is tragic.

I adored the coastal setting, the rugged beauty of the cliffs and the ocean perfectly realised, while a deliciously gothic atmosphere pervades each chapter - through the creeping paranormal events and vivid settings, while secrets of the past threaten to reach from the grave. This is the sort of vintage horror story that may have made you fall in love with the genre in the first place, blended effortlessly with mystery and the macabre, building suspense and momentum until we dive headlong into a treacherous finale, secrets revealed and more tragedy unfolding before the final chilling moments.

The majority of Saul's books are now out of print. Discovering a long lost book feels like uncovering something from the past, much like the relics of the fiction itself. Digital publishing now lets you enjoy many of these, but there is nothing quite like the magic of the printed word. This certainly won't be the last I read of John Saul's work.

Devastating and thrilling, 'Comes the Blind Fury' is an example of paranormal horror at its finest.



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The Winter Spirits: Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights by Bridget Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An atmospheric collection of terror and tragedy.

'The Winter Spirits' is a collection of twelve short stories of the gothic and the ghostly, following the previous volume 'The Haunting Season', written by twelve masters of the craft, each tale a vividly realised and chillingly immersive piece of sublime storytelling.

With messages through the veil and malign creatures haunting the living, to the cold hand of vengeance from beyond the grave and a feared visit from Krampus himself, we bear witness to supernatural phenomena, hauntings of the mind and the home, lashings of guilt and hope for mercy, all the while each of the authors developing a sense of creeping paranoia and burgeoning dread.

To be savoured for its fine prose, gothic imagery, rich character development and intricate plotting, the collection is the perfect companion for frosty mornings, peaceful afternoons and cold, blustery evenings, when you want nothing more than to snuggle up with a ghost story to celebrate the festive season.



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