The Hammer of Dr Valentine by John Llewellyn Probert

Two years ago, a series of horrific murders shocked the city of Bristol. These were killings so in their planning, and so outrageous in their execution, that they made national headlines for weeks. Now the journalists who wrote the stories behind those headlines are beginning to die, in even more gruesome, even more flamboyant, and even more unbelievable than the murders they themselves wrote about at such length in the national dailies all those months ago. Dr Edward Valentine, brilliant surgeon Read more […]

Anthology News – The Spectral Book of Horror Stories

Announcing a Brand New Annual Anthology! THE SPECTRAL BOOK OF HORROR STORIES Release date: September 2014 Published by Spectral Press, edited by acclaimed, award-winning novelist Mark Morris (Toady, Stitch, The Immaculate, Fiddleback and the forthcoming Obsidian Heart trilogy) and inspired by the Pan and Fontana books of horror and ghost stories, which were hugely popular in the 1960s and 1970s, The Spectral Book of Horror Stories will be the first volume of a non-themed annual Read more […]

Whitstable by Stephen Volk
Horror , Spectral Press , Stephen Volk / August 7, 2013

1971. A middle-aged man, wracked with grief, walks along the beach at Whitstable in Kent.  A boy walks approaches him and, taking him for the famous vampire-hunter Doctor Van Helsing from the Hammer movies, asks for his help. Because he believes his stepfather really is a vampire… I like the premise of Whitstable, it’s most definitely intriguing. Taking a celebrity like Peter Cushing and crafting a horrific tale around events of his life seems like an ideal fit. The first element of the Read more […]

The 13 Ghosts of Christmas edited by Simon Marshall-Jones
Horror , Simon Marshall-Jones , Spectral Press / December 14, 2012

Christmas – a season of goodwill given to all mankind, and of snowbound winter wonderlands; a time for the gathering of families and friends to share in a bounteous harvest of good cheer, of sparkling decorations and roaring fires lighting up the parlour; and of glittering presents strewn beneath the glorious fir tree, and of excited children full of boundless joy in their hearts. And the time when the ghosts of those long gone, of the restless, the unhappy and the bitter are closest to the living, Read more […]

What Gets Left Behind by Mark West
Horror , Mark West , Spectral Press / October 2, 2012

In 1981, Gaffney was terrorised by the Rainy Day Abductor. Local girls went missing. And two boys made a terrifying discovery. Now one of them has come home, to try and lay the past to rest. I read Mark West’s novelette, The Mill, last year and I was impressed by the author’s skill when it came to effectively conveying a sense of loss in his writing. What Gets Left Behind treads similar ground to The Mill, but rather than focusing on family this story is all about the bonds of friendship. West Read more […]

The Nine Deaths of Dr Valentine by John Llewellyn Probert
Horror , John Llewellyn Probert , Spectral Press / September 21, 2012

The police in Bristol have been confronted by a series of the most perplexingly elaborate deaths they’ve ever encountered in all their years of murder enquiries. The only thing which connects them is their seemingly random nature and their sheer outrageousness. As Detective Inspector Longdon and his assistant Sergeant Jenny Newham (with the help of pathologist Dr. Richard Patterson) race against time to find the murderer, they eventually realise that the link which connects the killings is even Read more […]

The Eyes of Water by Alison Littlewood

The Mexican cenotés. Flooded caves that fracture the Yucatan Peninsula – places of mystery, the unexplored, and of ancient sacrifice. When Alex meets an old friend while travelling, he doesn’t realise how far the encounter will take him. For Rick is exploring deep beneath the surface of the world, discovering new cave systems, one leading to the next. And when Alex is compelled to follow he has no way of knowing just how deep he will be expected to go, or how dark are the places he will find Read more […]

The Respectable Face of Tyranny by Gary Fry
Horror , Spectral Press / May 22, 2012

What monsters used to achieve with claws, they now manage with pens…   Three years ago, Josh lost a lot of money on the unforgiving stock market. Now he’s divorced and living with his teenage daughter in a seaside caravan. Sally wants a tattoo; Josh just needs work.  For solace, he explores Saltwick Bay, a secluded stretch of beach whose cliff-side rock runs back to the ruthless Jurassic periods. There’s also a rotting boat there, leftover from the violent Second World War.  But Read more […]

Rough Music by Simon Kurt Unsworth

Rough music: (- n) a loud cacophony created with tin pans, drums, etc,; the cacophonous ringing of bells, hooting, blowing bull’s horns, the banging of frying pans, saucepans, kettles, or other kitchen or barn implements with the intention of creating long-lasting embarrassment. Sometimes, the sounds we hear in the dark have resonances that we cannot foresee… This story has a wonderfully simple premise and can check this content experience that beautiful premise. A man, called Cornish, Read more […]

King Death by Paul Finch
Horror , Paul Finch , Spectral Press / November 23, 2011

In 1348, England is stricken by the Black Death. The worst pandemic in human history has reached the kingdom of the warlike Edward III, a monarch who in battle against human adversaries cannot imagine defeat. Two thirds of his subjects now perish. Woods become wild again, farmland goes to rack and ruin, villages, towns and castles are left empty, inhabited only by ghosts. Little wonder that fear of the supernatural reaches an all-time high. Little wonder stories ignite about witches and Read more […]

Nowhere Hall by Cate Gardner

We want to live… In the ballroom, wallflower mannequins stretch their fingers towards Ron. He can’t ask them to dance. He’s already waltzing with other ghosts. Someone stole the world while Ron contemplated death. They packed it in a briefcase and dumped him in the halls of the ruined hotel–The Vestibule. A nowhere place. Last weekend I felt the urge to read another short story and who better to provide that necessary fix than Spectral Press. I’ve previously reviewed their first two Read more […]