Showing results by author "H.E. Bulstrode" in All Categories

This volume contains all 22 of the fictional ghost stories previously published by H.E. Bulstrode between 2016 and 2022, although it omits his occult fiction. Drawing heavily upon British folklore, legend and history, these stories tap into a deep and shadowy past which seeps, sometimes erupts, into the present, whether that ‘present’ should be eleventh-century England, or today. These are ghost stories with a twist written in the ‘classic’ vein, which is to say that they contain not so much gore as a sense of the uncanny, often steeped in antiquarianism. Others possess a distinctly...

This omnibus brings together seven of H.E. Bulstrode’s ghost stories originally published between 2016 and 2018. These are: The Ghost of Scarside Beck A newly-wed Cumbrian vicar and his wife experience a night like none they could ever have foreseen. He may have answered his calling, but who, or what, is calling her? Old Crotchet The year is 1920, and it's Twelfth Night by the old reckoning. Festivities are about to commence at Hinton St Cuthbert Manor when something sinister stirs from its protracted dormancy, awakened, it would seem, by the arrival of two young guests. The old ways, ...

What is it that links a Tudor nobleman, an Edwardian shooting party, and a post-war schoolmaster in a sleepy Wharfedale village? More than forty years have elapsed since an idyllic summer’s day, when a Yorkshire beauty spot became the scene of a strange, and chilling, tragedy. Few remain who know the truth of what occurred and who was involved, but George Haddon, for whom this mystery has become an obsession, would appear to be close to finding out. Until, that is, one day he vanishes. The whole affair, it would seem, is steeped in brimstone.

A Ghostly Excursion into the Victorian Gothic. A Tale of Obsession, Terror, and Vengeance. Welcome to Wiltshire in the autumn of 1843. Monsieur Benoit Lavarnier, toast of the Parisian art world and a man of cultured accomplishments, finds himself commissioned to paint a portrait of renowned beauty, Lady Helena Brocklington. He arrives at Shrimmingwood Hall not only with the accoutrements of his trade, but also, so it would seem, something sinister lurking in his train. Also available in the Kindle collection A Ghost Story Omnibus: Collected Ghost Stories 2016-2018, and in the Amazon ...

It’s strange what you can miss if you don’t care to look. You really should, you know; you ought to keep your wits about you, lest someone step forth from the shadows and give you a fright. I speak from experience, believe me. One bitterly cold December morning, snobbish theatre critic Lionel Smallwood and his wife Frances find themselves enjoying the wares of the Victorian Christmas market in the Dorset town of Grimstone Peverell. Chilled to the marrow, they retire to the town’s minster where they are accosted by a pious and enthusiastic guide. Eager to acquaint them with every ...

A supernatural tale with a blithe spirit and a humorous twist. The year is 1920, and it's Twelfth Night by the old reckoning. Festivities are about to commence at Hinton St Cuthbert Manor when something sinister stirs from its protracted dormancy, awakened, it would seem, by the arrival of two young guests. The old ways, they find, should not be treated lightly. Also available in the Kindle collection A Ghost Story Omnibus: Collected Ghost Stories 2016-2018, and in the Amazon paperback Anthology: Wry Out West.

A disturbing tale of the supernatural in which the world of Romano-Celtic Britain collides with the forces of 19th-century progress. ‘Nothing good did ever come out the Dunchester Cut, nor the land thereabouts. Them as lives up at the big house might’ve thought otherwise once, but not no more. Not after what did happen.’ Welcome to rural Wiltshire in the spring of 1846. Was it the molecatcher or the navvies who brought it back? Neither would claim it as their own, and neither would wish to. Who would? Whatever it should be, it would seem that it finds its pleasure in the riot of the ...

Murder, mystery and magic: a satirical journey into the occult. Meet Gwydion Turner, an inept, portentous, psychedelic demon raiser; a wannabe Crowley in crushed velvet. From Haight-Ashbury to Glastonbury, this eccentric figure has been known by many, but understood by few; just who, or what, is he? Is he a fraudster, or a sage? One night in September 1985, his partial disclosure of the nature of his occult obsession reveals him to be far from the harmless buffoon that most people take him for. There is, it seems, a whiff of death about the man. Also available in the Kindle collection An ...

A satirical ghost story featuring Beatrice Clemens, Dorset's telescopic philanthropist. The road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but Beatrice Clemens is determined to make this adage more 'relevant' to today's society by blithely driving an eight-lane superhighway straight through the heart of rural England. Just as she stands upon the brink of receiving the acclamation that she believes her work deserves, something, or someone, is glimpsed amidst the hedgerows and within the banks of an ancient earthwork; a shadowy, furtive figure - the embodiment of old Dorset? Whoever it may ...

There’s nothing very sinister about a pair of old boots, or so you’d think. Like you, I wasn’t formerly in the custom of associating them with bread, or ovens come to that. But sometimes you just happen upon something, and then . . . A chance discovery made one Easter break at a Breton gîte tucked away in the countryside was what started it all. And for the young family in question, their lives would never be quite the same again. What at first appeared to be both mundane and innocuous, proved to be anything but. In the vicinity of the village of Plougvillac, the past, it would seem,...

A tale of occult horror, deception, and intrigue in 17th-century England. Witness the work of a practitioner of the occult arts, a willing deceiver and interpreter of dreams, schooled in awe by a house of God rendered a charnel house by a fiery, dancing orb of light. Self-tutored in greed, and self-assured in his deceptions, Robert Tooley would have many think him able to stay the unquiet dead, but as his demands grow greater, so the villagers’ doubts grow deeper; there will come an end to it all, and not a pretty one. Based upon a little-known and strange case that unfolded in Widecombe-...

A Humorous Twenties Ghost Story. George Simpkins is in a state, and it’s not just because of the gin. His wife remains missing, his son a curious and callous enigma, and, most worryingly of all, his spouse’s erstwhile schoolmate, the witheringly waspish Cynthia, has plans afoot for his future. Welcome to the world of Hinton St Cuthbert, where London society collides with half-cracked Somerset locals steeped in cider and superstition, as well as a far from welcoming spirit. A follow-up story to Old Crotchet that opened the West Country Tales series, this dark-humoured ghost story will ...

Five ghost stories and occult tales from the English West Country with a whiff of brimstone and a distinct dash of dry humour. Old Crotchet The year is 1920, and it's Twelfth Night by the old reckoning. Festivities are about to commence at Hinton St Cuthbert Manor when something sinister stirs from its protracted dormancy, awakened, it would seem, by the arrival of two young guests. The old ways, they find, should not be treated lightly. Gwydion’s Dawn Murder, mystery and magic: a satirical journey into the occult. Meet Gwydion Turner, an inept, portentous, psychedelic demon raiser; a ...

Four ghost stories from England’s historic shires present a heady brew of the Gothic, folk horror, historical fiction and satire. The Ghost of Scarside Beck A newly-wed Cumbrian vicar and his wife experience a night like none they could ever have foreseen. He may have answered his calling, but who, or what, is calling her? At Fall of Night A ghostly excursion into the Victorian Gothic; a tale of obsession, terror, and vengeance. Welcome to Wiltshire in the autumn of 1843. Monsieur Benoit Lavarnier, toast of the Parisian art world and a man of cultured accomplishments, finds himself ...

A New Collection of True Ghost Stories from England and Elsewhere. Where might you find a ghost? In many a place, if these stories are to be believed: from historic properties to the humblest of homes; churches, bridges, pubs and roads, not to mention a fish and chip shop. And then how to explain a vanishing car, a hat, or a hotel? Mysteries aplenty, whereas solutions are few. Each of the stories in this collection was freely volunteered for inclusion by members of the ‘Personal Ghost Stories’ Facebook group, with the events which they relate stated to have involved the contributor ...

This omnibus brings together H.E. Bulstrode’s occult mystery novel Upon Barden Moor, as well as two occult novellas – Gwydion’s Dawn and The Cleft Owl – and the short story 3:05 am, all of which were originally published between 2016 and 2018. Upon Barden Moor Tweed, feathers and blood mix with Westminster skulduggery and the disappearance of a village schoolmaster in this tale of grouse-shooting Edwardian aristocrats with a taste for occult dabbling on the Yorkshire moors. Some forty or so years later, George Haddon leaves an enigmatic note, and as the mystery unfolds the reader is...

Nine ghost stories spanning the ages from the ninth century to the present day. Epitaph An academic with antiquarian inclinations is about to learn that posthumous reputations can, at times, be rather jealously guarded. The Fighting Cheribatsu As the Second World War rages, the urbane and somewhat wistful Sir Henry Fennick recollects the visit of Mr and Mrs Motazuku some quarter of a century earlier. Life at Lower Chertwell had appeared so full of promise. Such a brief visit, yet so profound. Poor little Bertie. Equal Shares An apparently generous bequest proves to possess some rather ...

A collection of six new ghost stories woven from the fabric of England’s dark dreaming. The Orangery Wooed by a Georgian gentleman of taste, a young bride-to-be finds that all is not as it appears at her fiancé’s elegant Gaddesbury estate. There is a whiff of corruption at its heart which, for all his acid wit and fashionable acquaintance, grows ever stronger, until . . . Her Master’s Call Temesforde. Such a peaceful Shropshire parish. And yet, what a pity about the vicar. What did he know? How could he have known? The Reverend Ruth More knows nothing of it when she arrives to start ...

Have you ever happened upon Scarside Beck? I thought not. After all, it’s a tranquil little place that even the locals are prone to overlook. And yet, some years ago something strange happened here, something quite terrible, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who’s willing to speak of it now. They’ve their reasons for keeping quiet, and, if you knew what they were, well . . . who’d want to remember that? It was a nasty business, what happened to the Reverend Thorpe and his wife. Some things are best forgotten. This is their story. A ghostly novelette, also available in the ...

An unsettling mystery with an uncanny twist. It has often been said that too much television isn’t good for you. There are, however, some things you simply have to watch, even though the consequences may be neither pleasant, nor quite what you had anticipated. Likely to appeal to fans of Tales of the Unexpected. Also available in the Kindle collection An Occult Omnibus: Collected Occult Tales 2016-2018, and in the Amazon paperback Anthology: Wry Out West.