Ghost Stories and Supernatural Tales - Softcover

Sharp, P G

Softcover

ISBN 10: 095758931X ISBN 13: 9780957589315

Publisher: Acutus Press, 2013

Synopsis

Ghost Stories and Supernatural Tales

Ghosts are not just history

Twelve beautifully written short tales of the paranormal, including some mild horror stories:

Don’t Go Back

Becalmed in a dinghy in supernatural fog, Charles and Mike see a spectral ship destroy another vessel. Should they tell the story, or will that bring calamity on themselves as well?

The Girl on the Train

Helping a sick girl on a train, a commuter learns he cannot ignore the distress of others and that phantoms may appear in crowds, offices and train stations. They might not seem like spirits, and they might not come from the dead ...

Changing Lanes

Mike’s wife and daughter vanish at a roadside service area after he angers a vengeful Hell’s Angel. Mike searches for them, but finds a security guard who will not give him a straight answer.

Come to Mummy

Ten-year-old Melanie plays hide-and-seek with her mother in a cypress maze, but what secrets does it conceal? Do spirits twist sorrow into malice and a compulsion to possess, even after death? As a storm gathers, Melanie looks for her mother ...

Dead End

Don Beavis’s car breaks down in a desolate forest, forcing him to seek sanctuary as night falls. But what is haunting him, influencing the animal in the road and changing the way the wind blows? And what is the carving on the rock? Don comes face-to-face with an old tragedy.

Oasis

Life, his family, other people and even dogs abuse Gerald Hughes in this paranormal romance. They drive him into depression, violence and trouble with the law. At first, a stranger on a cliff top and a haunting scent of jasmine do not seem to help, but fate has some surprises in store for Gerald.

Remember Me

Not the prettiest of phantoms, and intent on retribution, Edward Rains tortures the boss who made him redundant with horror stories of his own past ... and his employer’s future.

Riverside Afternoon

Strolling by the river, Dani and Tally are dressed to tease the boys and do not mind lying to get their way. With the river rising, they become trapped on the bank. The girls summon help on cellphones, but when it comes it is not what they expected, and it does not like liars ...

Read the Small Print

An email lures debt collector Barry Allardyce into a web of e-titillation. But lust for his cyberspace object of desire does not blind him to changes in her appearance. Is she devil, demon or delusion, and what horror awaits him?

Three’s a Crowd

Shooting two burglars satisfies Monty Dewar’s sense of justice. But he soon discovers that disposing of bodies, and encounters with policemen, are not the only problems he faces in his now haunted house ...

The Lamplighter

A faulty bathroom light convinces Mervyn Drake he lives in a haunted house. When the apparition appears he does not seem scary, amusing Mervyn with ghost stories of his own about the spirit world. But he wants revenge on his murderer, and inflicts some of his personal agony on Mervyn to persuade him to do the dirty work.

Not Gone

Regretting his earthly rejection of the afterlife, a dead scientist suffers a fate worse than eternal hellfire and returns to warn a friend. Can he save his colleague from the same doom and free himself from torment?

About this title

From the Author

M R James (1862-1936), the renowned English writer of ghost stories, was a pioneer in setting his accounts mainly in his own time.  Not for him the ancient Gothic horror stories of other paranormal writers. He wished to remind readers that modernity affords no protection from the spirit world.
Ghost Stories and Supernatural Tales follows in the great tradition established by James, and shows how 21st century sophistication and technology neither eliminate the paranormal nor insulate against it. Cell phones, computers, emails and cars can feature in scary stories as readily as the haunted house or the midnight graveyard.
In many of my narratives, victims are slowly drawn into supernatural danger without even suspecting it. Readers will discover that although the trap is sometimes brutal, it can often be more subtle and gradual.
Ensnarement of the unwary has happened, is happening now and will happen again, so keep your eyes open. If you don't want my next story to be about you, take heed of the fates I have recorded of those who were not on the alert.

From the Back Cover

Ghost Stories and Supernatural Tales contains modern tales to chill and thrill.You are about to meet:

• Charles and Mike, becalmed in paranormal sea fog
• A sick commuter, who is not what she seems
• A vindictive Hell's Angel
• Little Melanie, who only wants to play hide-and-seek
• Don, marooned in a haunted forest by his car's navigation system
• Gerald, his greedy daughter and a haunting perfume
• Burnt Edward, taking supernatural revenge on his brutal employer
• Tally and Dani, whose lies do them no good
• Cruel Barry and beautiful Rohana - but what is she?
• Monty, who comes to regret shooting two intruders in his haunted house
• A murdered but jovial sailor with rough justice in mind and some ghost stories of his own to recount
• A dead scientist whose torment exceeds hellfire

I hope you enjoy this selection of paranormal, mild horror and scary stories.

Edition details

• Publisher: Acutus Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 095758931X
• ISBN 13: 9780957589315
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 288