Why is it that people love ghost stories even when they claim not to believe in ghosts? In his introduction, musician and broadcaster Stephen Johnson describes his epiphany, aged five, when expecting a "Listen with Mother"-type radio broadcast like the usual Winnie the Pooh, what was broadcast was the dulcet tones of David Davis, head of BBC's Children's Hour, reading M.R. James's bloodcurdling "The Haunted Doll's House". A fearful, haunted night ensued, but, even at that tender age, he was hooked. In this uniquely curated anthology he draws together 12 of the most chilling and enigmatic extracts from works by authors as diverse as Flann O'Brien, Henry James, Penelope Lively, Alexander Pushkin, M.R. James, Emily Bronte, Tove Jansson and Ambrose Bierce, a spine-chilling selection of magisterial storytelling with a frisson of threat and fear that will thrill and unnerve in equal measure. Pocket sized 182pp in dark blue linen binding and scarlet satin bookmark.
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