Terribly thrilled to be the subject of a sudden and somewhat humbling retrospective of my work thanks to the guys at Horrified Magazine. In their words (not mine) - "What better way to see in Halloween than with a celebration of the very writer who scared the hell out of anyone who settled down on a Saturday night, All Hallows’ Eve in 1992, to watch a BBC ‘spoof’ horror programme? Ghostwatch left an indelible mark on many, if not everyone, who experienced it and caused such tremendous shockwaves that it’s never been rebroadcast. Even 28 years later, Ghostwatch is still heralded as landmark horror television, and quite rightly so. 

"Yet, Stephen Volk’s career is about more than Ghostwatch alone. From the screenplay to Ken Russell’s Gothic (1986) to last year’s set of essays, Coffinmaker’s Blues, by way of the brilliant triptych, The Dark Masters Trilogy and 2011’s The Awakening, his work continues to terrify, thrill and challenge us. 

"Our celebration features an essay on Ghostwatch, a new 3-part interview with the man himself, a special Halloween giveaway of Stephen's books (see below) from PS Publishing, reviews of The Dark Masters Trilogy and Coffinmaker's Blues – plus a brand new short story, "For the Benefit of the Tape" written exclusively for Horrified. 

"And," they add, helpfully - "just before you think of leaving this page - remember, Pipes said we’ve got to stay…"

Best-selling novelist Neil Spring - author of The Ghost Hunters (adapted into the ITV drama Harry Price: Ghost Hunter starring Rafe Spall), The Watchers, The Lost Village, and The Burning House, kindly asked me to interview him for the online launch of his spooky and gripping new novel The Haunted Shore. I was more than delighted to do so.  I think we had an enteratining chat in the run-up to Halloween about what intrigues us both about the subject of the supernatural in fiction and real life - in fact, both of us rather blur the lines between the two. (For instance, Neil features Aleister Crowley as a background, malignant force in The Burning House, whereas I use him as a fully fledged character in "Netherwood" - one of the stories in my Dark Masters Trilogy.) Watch the whole conversation on Facebook here. Neil reveals some fascinating insights into the inspiration for The Haunted Shore, set as it is against the atmospheric and eerie background of Orford Ness, and, as ever with his stories, is as much about a sense of place as it is about the echoes of past traumas acted out in the present. A real page turner. ​

Buy your copy of The Haunted Shore here