Testimony

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What you are about to read is not fiction. It is fact. Then again, we are told there are no facts – just different perspectives of the same view, subjective, coloured by personal beliefs, doubts, fears. Yet when two of those perspectives are aligned, we start to get closer to the heart of the matter. When three, four or five are in tune we can be pretty sure we have got as close as we can to the truth of an event. The Ones We Leave Behind (in The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror vol 18, edited by Stephen Jones, Carroll & Graf) I want to tell you a true story. About ghosts, and things more terrifying than ghosts. I‘m a journalist, fully rooted in the real world. I write about foreign affairs and politics, economics, the arts, science, health, archaeology. Reality and evidence-based. Remember that. Of course, the church, all churches, has been telling us this for years. Every religion is based on the supernatural, some force inexplicable by science which shapes our lives. But as the philosophers repeatedly tell us, there is no proof of God. You either believe or you don’t. At its core, that is what this book is about: faith. Do you believe?

Who Slays the Gyant, Wounds the Beast’ (in The Solaris Book of New Fantasy, edited by George Mann, Solaris; also in Year’s Best Fantasy 8, edited by David G Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer, Tachyon) A.M.Heath is proud to be a member of the Association of Authors’ Agents and endorses the principles of best practice in the Association’s Code of PracticeI could go on at length about Mike Flanagan’s tour-de-force. It’s a show that people will be talking about for ages, because of that meaning and depth married to a chilling tale. Born in the English Midlands from a long line of coal miners. [3] he gained a degree in Economic History [1] and went on to become a journalist, working for some of Britain's leading newspapers and magazines including The Times, [3] The Independent, and Marie Claire. [2] What is The Haunting of Hill House about? Not ghosts, not really. They sweep by on the surface, terrifying and driving the plot, but it’s what they really mean that is truly horrifying. I first heard about the case through a small piece in The Independent newspaper about the baffling power drain, which had been investigated by the local electricity company and independent experts. As a journalist, I was intrigued enough to get in touch with Bill for a follow-up. I wasn’t prepared for what I found. The ruined medieval Manor House in the garden with its private cemetery. (c) Elizabeth Udall The scientific community which has provided the framework for our lives since early in the last century tells us this is all there is. We are at the mercy of strictly defined rules which allow no place for the paranormal. The torchbearers of this fundamentalist rationalism are, of course, ignoring the testimonies of everday people. Doctors, lawyers, secretaries, dustbinmen, shop workers and middle managers. People who are not unduly gullible, who live their lives fully in the “real” world yet who have experienced, or know someone who has experienced, something which cannot be explained away by those scientific rules. The truth is, in the quiet of our lonely rooms we can look deep inside ourselves and know that life is strange. That the rules aren’t so rigid. That things and thoughts and happenings creep around the shadows of our lives yet never enter the light. We would never admit it in public, of course. But in our hearts, we know…

The King of Rain (in The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror vol 8, edited by Stephen Jones, Carroll & Graf)

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An old house in mid-Wales seemed like a haven to Liz and Bill Rich. But within weeks of their arrival, inexplained happenings turned their enchantment to horror. This is their story - the true story of an experience that has defied all explanation.

Any issues with the book list you are seeing? Or is there an author or series we don’t have? Let me know! Farewell to the 21st Century Girl (in The British Invasion, edited by Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon & James A moore, Cemetery Dance) Odd stories. Perhaps unbelievable stories. Yet all of them were reported in British newspapers in the first half of 1995. They are just a tiny drop in the tidal wave of weirdness that sweeps over us every day of the year, all over the globe. Somehow, though, we persist in maintaining the illusion that in this age of high technology there can be no such thing as the supernatural. At least that is the view presented by much of the media. a b Roberts, Paul Dale (3 July 2006). "MARK CHADBOURN Writer of Book of Shadows & The Age of Misrule". www.jazmaonline.com . Retrieved 10 December 2007.A film script is a palate-cleanser after a novel, and vice versa. Journalism and comics and TV all have their particular joys, and they all complement each other. In the multi-media, cross-platform, constantly mutating 21st century, why would any writer want to limit their storytelling to only one area? His journalism has appeared in almost all UK national newspapers as well as several magazines including Empire, Marie Claire, Select, and You. In the US, he has published the critically-acclaimed graphic novel Book of Shadows at Image, and has written several other graphic series. Bill’s dream would have been that his work could at last be appreciated and understood. I know he would have been overjoyed to see his art work reaching a wider audience.” Six of his novels have been shortlisted for the British Fantasy Society's August Derleth Award for Best Novel, and he has won the British Fantasy Award twice, for his novella The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke (2003), and for his short story "Whisper Lane" (2007). [5]

I was drawn to the story of the Rich family by an article which appeared in The Independent, a newspaper not renowned for fantastic supposition. It told of a house where strange things happened. Where electricity was drained from the system for no reason. It also hinted at other, darker things which it decided, in its wisdom, to leave well alone. I, not being particularly wise, wanted to know more. I rang the Richs and chatted to them about their experiences, ostensibly to write an article for a magazine, but also because my curiosity was piqued. You see, I’ve always wanted to know if there was something more. As a journalist, talking to people all the time, you realise most folk are inherently truthful when talking about their experiences; they don’t fabricate. So on a human level you come to realise that all those who claim a brush with the supernatural can’t be lying. There must be something there. Why aren’t there more investigations? And on top of all the writing and the endless, endless meetings, I do various talks, lectures, and signings here and there. The next one is a screenwriting workshop at the Derby Book Festival Writers’ Day. Yet if only we could be sure it wasn’t our extremely powerful imagination playing with us. If only those scientists would tell us we were right all along and then we could stop doubting and questioning and feeling uncomfortable. If only we could be sure… Negative Burn 2009 (By: Phil Hester,Joe Pruett,Kyle Strahm,Ken Meyer,Jason Caskey,Sam Costello,Michel Fiffe,Bruce McCorkindale,Jeff Limke,Ron Kasman,Kat Roberts,Jody LeHeup,Nancy Dorsner,Pablo Peppinoi) I’ve seen some of the art and it definitely deserves a public viewing. I’m sure Liz would be keen to hear from anyone with gallery space or the wherewithal to make it happen.

This wasn’t a simple haunting. This was human lives pushed to the limit by a malignant force which exhibited a terrifying sentience. A battle not only for the sanity of Heol Fanog’s bewildered, incresingly distressed residents, but ultimately for their very souls. After reading Testimony, do I believe that Riches experienced a haunting? I still honestly don’t know. The sceptical part of my brain falls firmly into the camp that just because there isn’t a scientific explanation we shouldn’t automatically afford events a supernatural explanation. But there is still also that niggling shadow of doubt. Do I believe that The Riches believe they experienced a haunting? Absolutely. I’ve tried to remain open-minded about supernatural events and it strikes me that in documenting this account Mark Chadbourn does too. The details of Bill, Liz and their shared experiences are presented without embellishment. I never felt that as a reader I was being pushed in any particular direction regarding what I should think or feel about what was going on. I’d be genuinely surprised if anyone finished this and discovered all their questions had been answered. This is the sort of book that is going to leave you thinking. Hellboy is expected to find the Kiss of Winter that will prevent a takeover of the world by these wolves. In this race against time, Hellboy is drawn to Beacon Hill in Boston. The Grant Mansion in Beacon Hill is said to be haunted and the most obvious place to find the truth. As Hellboy is working to uncover the truth, the author also introduces the reader to Brad Lynch. Lynch worked as a journalist, and after witnessing horrible events in Iraq, he was diagnosed with PTSD. It did not help that he did not have a great relationship with his father. The blend of dark fantasy and family dynamics turned this into an outstanding piece.