Eight writers pen eerie tales for English Heritage

Stories from award-winning writers including Jeanette Winterson, Max Porter and Sarah Perry are to feature in a new collection of ghost stories from English Heritage and September Publishing.

The collection, 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 Heritage’s historic properties. Eight Ghosts, which features sites including the York Cold War Bunker, Dover Castle and Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall, will mark the first time that English Heritage has commissioned new works of fiction. 

Other writers to have penned tales for the spooky collection are Kate Clanchy, Mark Haddon, Andrew Michael Hurley, Stuart Evers and Kamila Shamsie. The book will be available to buy through all retailers, with English Heritage's proceeds going towards the conservation of its sites across the country.

Mark Haddon (©David Levene)

The book deal was negotiated between Bronwen Riley, head of content at English Heritage, and Hannah MacDonald, founder of September Publishing.
 
Riley said: “The castles and stately homes of England have long inspired ghostly myths and legends, after all, white ladies, cursed souls and headless apparitions all need somewhere fitting to haunt. We wanted to challenge today’s writers to use these buildings and come up with a new twist on the English ghost story. Our writers have risen to this challenge magnificently.
 
“Many of the sites in our care have provided the setting for great poetry and prose including a number of ghost stories. But this is the first time that English Heritage has commissioned creative writing and this collection has partly been inspired by our new role as a charity and our desire to look at these wonderful old buildings in new ways.”