Palmer, Geoffrey and Lloyd, Noel. E. F. Benson: As He Was. Lennard Publishing, Luton, 1988.
Payton, Philip. D. H. Lawrence and Cornwall. Truran, St Agnes, 2009.
Pevsner, Nikolaus. The Buildings of England. Cornwall. Penguin, London, 1951.
Thompson, Raymond H. ‘Interview with Susan Cooper’. Part of The Camelot Project website. https://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/text/interview-with-susan-cooper.
Val Baker, Denys (ed.). Haunted Cornwall: A Book of Supernatural Stories. William Kimber, London, 1973.
Various. The Dark Monarch: Magic and Modernity in British Art. Tate St Ives, 2009.
Woolf, Virginia. A Haunted House and Other Stories. Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1973. (Originally pub. 1944.)
Chapter 12: ANCIENT SORCERIES
Baker, Roy Ward (Dir.). Quatermass and the Pit. Hammer, 1967.
Bradbury, Ray. The Halloween Tree. Yearling Books, New York, 1999. (Originally pub. 1972.)
Cartier, Rudolph (Dir.) Quatermass and the Pit. BBC, 1958–59.
Chambers, Emma (ed.). Paul Nash. Tate Publishing, London, 2016.
Clark, Lawrence Gordon (Dir.). Stigma. BBC, 1977.
Fisher, Terence (Dir.). Night of the Big Heat. 1967.
Fryer, Ian. The Quatermass History (booklet accompanying DVD box set). Clear Vision Ltd, Enfield, 2003.
Grant, Simon. Informal Beauty: The Photographs of Paul Nash. Tate, London, 2016.
Haggard, Piers (Dir.). Quatermass. 1979.
Hardy, Thomas. The Return of the Native. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005. (Originally pub. 1878.)
Hardy, Thomas. The Withered Arm and Other Stories. Penguin Classics, London, 1999.
Hardy, Thomas. ‘A Tryst in an Ancient Earthwork’. Electronic version accessed at The Thomas Hardy Society website. (Originally pub. in A Changed Man in 1913.)
Harris, Alexandra. Romantic Moderns: English Writers, Artists and the Imagination from Virginia Woolf to John Piper. Thames & Hudson, London, 2010.
Jarman, Derek. Derek Jarman’s Garden. Thames and Hudson, London, 1995.
Jarman, Derek (Dir.). Journey to Avebury. 1971
Johnston, Derek. Haunted Seasons: Television Ghost Stories for Christmas and Horror for Halloween. Palgrave, Basingstoke, 2015.
King, Stephen. Danse Macabre. Sphere, London, 1982.
Lister, Derek (Dir.). The Ice House. BBC, 1978.
Losey, Joseph (Dir.). The Damned. Hammer, 1963 (UK release).
Kubrick, Stanley (Dir.). The Shining. 1980.
Marshall, Steve. Exploring Avebury: The Essential Guide. The History Press, Stroud, 2016.
Montagu, Jemima (ed.). Paul Nash: Modern Artist, Ancient Landscape. Tate Publishing, London, 2003.
Nash, Paul. Fertile Image. Faber, London, 1975 (2nd ed.). (Originally pub. 1951.)
Pitt-Rivers, Michael. Dorset: A Shell Guide. Faber, London, 1966. (Contains the intro Nash wrote to his original 1935 ed. of the guide.)
Schlesinger, John (Dir.). Far from the Madding Crowd. 1967.
Scott, Peter Graham (Dir.). Children of the Stones. HTV, 1977.
Smiles, Sam. British Art: Ancient Landscapes. Paul Holberton Publishing, London, 2017.
Tomalin, Claire. Thomas Hardy: The Time-torn Man. Viking, London, 2006.
Tourneur, Jacques (Dir.). Night of the Demon. 1957.
Various. Derek Jarman: A Portrait. Thames and Hudson, London, 1996.
Wheeler, Sir Mortimer. Maiden Castle. HMSO, London, 1972.
Young, Rob. Electric Eden. Faber, London, 2011.
Acknowledgements
Many people helped and encouraged me during the writing of Ghostland, and I am obliged to all of them, including those who assisted with visits or queries that didn’t make it into the finished book. I’d like to express my gratitude to Ray Russell at Tartarus Press for answering my enquiry about William Hope Hodgson, and to James Machin and Mark Valentine at the excellent Friends of Arthur Machen. Many thanks are due to Anthony Morris, for letting a complete stranger inside the house on the borderland. Equally, to my friend Christine, for the story of the real Dr Selwyn and of the place where Max Sebald first lived in Norfolk. To Janette Mullett, for showing me E. F. Benson’s Lis Escop. And to Diana Boston, for her warm welcome to Hemingford Grey Manor and allowing her late husband’s wonderful illustration of Tolly arriving at Green Knowe to be reproduced here. In addition, thanks to Dr Suzanne Reynolds and Nicholas Robinson at the Fitzwilliam Museum for giving me permission to look around MRJ’s former office. I’m also grateful for the questions answered by Dave Rogers at RSPB Lakenheath Fen, as well as to Lesley Manning for digging up her old notes about the Wash filming of her adaptation of Elizabeth Jane Howard’s Three Miles Up. And to Frank Gordon for sharing memories of his brother Jack, author of The House on the Brink. All these travels in Ghostland were assisted by a grant from the Authors’ Foundation, which is administered by The Society of Authors.
I received useful early editorial comments from Elizabeth Ferretti, as well as design feedback from Ian Claxton and Simon Brooke. Thanks also to James Wilson, who gave me initial encouragement about the idea, and who put me back in touch with Anna Power, now my agent at Johnson & Alcock – thank you Anna for all your assistance and hard work.
I’m particularly indebted to Paul Willetts for his invaluable knowledge of how to approach a book proposal, and for his help throughout. And to my friend Philip for his support and suggestions, and for revisiting Hengistbury Head with me on that sun-blasted morning. A special thank you to Clive Dunn, who accompanied me on my first visit to Great Livermere, when I was merely interested in seeing where M. R. James grew up and any ideas of a non-fiction narrative in which MRJ would feature had not even crossed my mind. The day led to me writing a serendipitous blog post that was seen by my soon-to-be editor Tom Killingbeck, and out of our initial bonding over folk horror films (and the cult 1970s schlock of Psychomania) this book was born; with his surname, I’d like to think that Tom was predestined for the job … Thanks to everyone at William Collins who has helped to produce Ghostland – and to Richard Wells, a fellow devotee of vintage movies, whose wonderful cover and illustrations really make it stand out.
Finally, I’m grateful to my sister-in-law Karen’s patient attempts to answer my questions about which year a particular half-remembered family event might have occurred in, and to my late Aunt Pat who performed a similar role at the start of the research process. Also to Hardy, my feline companion during the days spent working on Ghostland, who chased away the phantom chimes of the Westminster Quarters.
Above all, however, this book wouldn’t have happened without Kirsty and her unflinching support for my writing, and for helping me to see past the ghosts.
Index
The page numbers in this index relate to the printed version of this book; they do not match the pages of your ebook. You can use your ebook reader’s search tool to find a specific word or passage.
80 Days Around the World (Jules Verne) 255
200,000 Feet on Foula (Powell) 151n
2001: A Space Odyssey (film, 1968) 317
Abercrombie, Lascelles 87
Aberdyfi 190
Aberystwyth 183
Abigail’s Party (Leigh) 160
Addington Palace, nr Croydon 374
‘Adlestrop’ (Thomas) 132
Aickman, Robert 64 and note, 66–7, 121, 218n, 227, 270n, 362 and note
Alain-Fournier (Henri Alban Fournier) 223, 294
Aldeburgh 265, 267, 285
alder flycatcher 155, 156–7
Alderley Edge 309–11, 312–13, 314–21, 322, 328, 341
Alfreton, Derbyshire 214
Alington, Cyril 19
All Saints church, Dunwich 270–1 and note, 272
All Saints’ Church, Minstead 106
Alloway Auld Kirk, Ayrshire 140–5
&
nbsp; ‘Alphabet Cipher’ (Carroll) 324 and note
Ampton Water, Suffolk 6, 8
Angel of Mons 229
Anglo American Oil Company 86
The Antiquities of Scotland (Grose) 143
Antonioni, Michelangelo 341n
Anworth Old Kirk 174–5
Anwoth 174
Apaches (film, 1977) 325n
Ardahan, Co. Galway 186
Argento, Dario 251
Arkham House publishers 79 and note, 195
Arthur, King 211, 215, 312–13, 347, 392
‘The Ash Tree’ (James) 8, 19, 161
Ashley, Mike 115
Asquith, Anthony 373
Asquith, Herbert 373
Asquith, Margot Tennant 373
Aswarby Hall, Sleaford 23–4
Attack of the Mushroom People (film, 1964) 191
Austerlitz (Sebald) 259
Avebury 408–9, 411–12, 414
Avebury Restored (lithograph) 412
avocet 378
Badbury Rings 385–6, 388–91, 392
Baker, Frank 120n
Barker, Audrey Lilian 53–7
barn owls 46
Barnaby Rudge (Dickens) 392
barnacle geese 172
barred warbler 421
Barrett, Syd 213n
Barthomley 321–2
Barthomley Church 323
Bateman’s, Burwash 92, 94
Bates, Alan 400
BBC 16, 23, 27, 68 and note, 84, 119–20, 160 and note, 166, 284, 287, 324
bearded tits 378
Beardsley, Aubrey 212
Beat Girl (film, 1960) 341n
Beckenham, Kent 53
‘The Beckoning Fair One’ (Onions) 218n
Beerbohm, Max 373
Benson, Arthur Christopher 372 and note, 373
Benson, Edward Frederic 156n, 365–6, 369, 370–9
Benson, Edward White 370, 371, 373, 374
Benson, Eleanor Mary ‘Nellie’ 371
Benson, Margaret ‘Maggie’ 371 and note, 380
Benson, Martin 371
Benson, Minnie ’Ben’ 371
Benson, Robert Hugh 372–3
Berlin, Sven 355–6 and note
Bertoline, St 321, 322n
Betjeman, John 391
‘Between Sunset and Moonrise’ (Malden) 25n
Bewick, Thomas 40–1
Bewick’s swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii) 40n
Bignell House, New Forest 108, 112–13, 115
Birch, Samuel John ’Lamorna Birch’ 358
Birkin, Jane 341n
bitterns 134
Black Forest 120
Black Heath, Dorset 397
black-headed gulls 358
blackbirds 132
Blackburn 187, 201
blackcaps 132
Blackmore End, Essex 185
Blackwood, Algernon 81, 113–22, 125, 126–31, 213, 218, 342, 399n, 415
The Blair Witch Project (film, 1999) 288
Blakeney Point 155–6, 244, 378
Blandford Forum 392
The Blood on Satan’s Claw (film, 1971) 165 and note, 167, 405
Blow-Up (film, 1966) 341n
Blue Book Magazine 191
Blue (film, 1993) 415
Blue Remembered Hills (Potter) 160
The Boats of the ‘Glen Carrig’ (Hodgson) 190–1
Boleigh fogou, Lamorna 361–2
Bombay (Mumbai) 91
Boneland (Garner) 321
Bord, Janet & Colin 348
Borley Rectory 1
Borth, mid Wales 183, 200, 203
Bosch, Hieronymus 21
Boston, Diana 30–4
Boston, Lincolnshire 59, 244
Boston, Lucy M. 26–35
Boston, Peter 30
Boston Stump 149
Botallack 349–50 and note
Boulting Brothers (John & Roy) 149
Bourne 75
Bournemouth 303, 417
Bowen, John 160, 412n
‘The Bowmen’ (Machen) 228, 285, 313
The Box of Delights (Masefield) 28
Bradbury, Ray 418
Bratislava 126
Bray Studios 350n
brent geese 60–1, 64
Breton, André 359
‘Brickett Bottom’ 81–2, 85
The Brickfield (Hartley) 78
Briggs, Raymond 101
Brighton Rock (film, 1948) 149
Brightwell Barrow, Oxfordshire 317
British Museum 420
Britten, Benjamin 273n
Broad Water, Suffolk 6
Broke, Jane Anne 7
Brontë, Charlotte 40
Brooke, Rupert 87 and note, 148, 357
Brown, Allan 168n
Brown, Lancelot ‘Capability’ 292
Browne, Sir Thomas 134, 226
Browning, Robert 370
Bruegel the Elder, Peter 21
Brunel, Isambard Kingdom 256
Bryant & May 132–3
Bryn Hall, Llanymawddwy 335, 336
Buchan, John 152–5
budgerigars 263
The Buried Giant (Ishiguro) 229, 261
Burns, Robert 140–6, 168, 274, 279
Burns, William 141, 142
Burnstow 274
Burrow Head, Dumfries and Galloway 159, 169, 171
‘Bus-Conductor’ (E.F.Benson) 375
Butler, Reverend Alban 322n
Bwlch y Groes 342
‘By the North Sea’ (Swinburne) 272
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (film, 1920) 22
Cade, Rowena 365
Cader idris 190
Caerleon 211–12, 214–15, 227n, 313
Caernarfon Castle 1
Caerwent 234–5
‘The Call of Cthulhu’ (Lovecraft) 227n
Cambrensis, Giraldus 172
Campbell’s Soup factories 37
Canada geese 318
‘Canon Alberic’s Scrapbook’ (James) 12, 17, 374
‘The Canterville Ghost’ (Wilde) 373n
Captain Gault: being the exceedingly private log of a sea-captain (Hodgson) 200
Carey, Gordon 21
Carnacki the Ghost-Finder (Hodgson) 114, 200
Carnival of Souls (film, 1962) 49–50, 102
Carroll, Lewis 87, 236, 324 and note
‘Casting the Runes’ (James) 19, 40, 219, 401–3, 404
Cat People (film, 1982) 402n
Chaceley 161
Cheltenham Art School 358
The Children of Green Knowe (Boston) 26–35, 95n, 127, 161
Children of the Stones (TV drama, 1977) 408, 411–12
Children’s Film and Television Foundation 350n
The Chimneys of Green Knowe (Boston) 30
Chinese (or king) quail (Synoicus chinensis) 263
Chitchat Society, Cambridge University 16, 374
choughs 351–2 and note
Christchurch Harbour 426
Christie, Alec 28
Christie, Julie 400
A Christmas Carol (Dickens) 16
Cilento, Diane 168–9
Clare, John 48, 322n
Clark, Alan 161
Clark, Lawrence Gordon 16, 159, 287–8, 412
Clarke, Roger 7n
clearwings 125
Cley 378
Clulow Cross 316–18
Cold Hands in Mine (Aickman) 362n
Collected Ghost Stories (James) 138, 278n, 285
Collins, Wilkie 218
Colquhoun, Ithell 357, 358–63, 412
Th
e Coming of the Fairies (Doyle) 107
common cranes 134
Complete Poems (de la Mare) 86
Conrad, Joseph 123, 191
Constable, John 404
Cooper, Susan 47–8, 313, 318, 363–4
Corfe Castle 393
Corman, Roger 252
cormorant 59
corn bunting 394
the Cot 365
Côte d’Azur 201
Cottingley 106
‘Count Magnus’ (James) 15
Cox, Ka (Katherine Arnold-Foster) 357
crack willows (Salix fragilis) 126
Creetown 174
‘Crew’ (de la Mare) 88
Crewe, Marquess of 326
Cronenberg, David 191
Crossings (de la Mare) 93n
Crossley family 265
Crossley, Sir Francis 256
Crossley, Sir Savile, 1st Lord Somerleyton 256, 260, 263
Crowland 48
Crowland Abbey 77–8
Crowley, Aleister 212, 219, 357, 368
crows 430–1
Crow’s Hall, Debenham 32n
The Crying of the Wind (Colquhoun) 359
Culzean Castle, Ayrshire 174
Cunedda 184
Curfew & Other Eerie Tales (Boston) 34n
Currie, Finlay 150
Cushing, Peter 420n
‘Cwm Garon’ (Rolt) 227–8
Cwmbach 244
Dadd, Richard 231
Dad’s Army (TV series) 153
The Damned (film, 1961) 420n
Danse Macabre (King) 417
The Dark is Rising (Cooper) 47–8, 318, 363–4, 364
The Dark Monarch (Berlin) 356 and note
Dartford warblers 123, 426
Davidson, Betty 141
Davies, David 245
Davis, Bette 102
de la Mare, Walter 80, 83–4, 85–8, 93n, 148, 355
De Tribus Impostoribus 226
Dead of Night (film, 1945) 222–3 and note, 245, 361, 375
deadly nightshade (belladonna) 77 and note
Deakin, Roger 54
Deeping High Bank 45–6
Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) (1914) 357
del Renzio, Toni 359
del Toro, Guillermo 214
Delane, John Thadeus 108, 109
Derek Jarman’s Garden (Jarman) 415–16
Derleth, August 79, 195
Devil’s Bridge, North Wales 195n
Devil’s Grave, Alderley Edge 310, 311
Ghostland Page 33