Sweat, Tears and Digital Ink

Personal blog of freelance writer MGMason

Tag Archives: ghost stories

Book Review: Ghosts and Other Supernatural Guests by P.J. Hodge

Leave a Comment Posted by on October 30, 2013

Halloween is upon us (almost)! What better than a few scary stories to whet the appetite for whatever you might be getting up to in the next couple of days? And what better than supporting a fellow WordPress blogger and budding writer? I’ve been a follower and keen reader of Freaky Folk Tales so when P.J. Hodge announced the release of his first ebook based on his blog, I eagerly offered to review it for him. Read more of this post

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Hide – Episode Review & Analysis

5 Comments Posted by on April 21, 2013

digitalspy.co.uk

Ah, Ah, Ah… Spoilers

It is a dark and stormy night (a cliche already, hmmm). A young woman and Dougray Scott are setting up some equipment in a large and forbidding house. Thankfully no sign of Yvette Fielding or Derek Acorah just yet and this couple turn out to be far less annoying. Anyway… her ethereal style marks her immediately as a psychic and his glasses mark him as the generic “scientist”. He fiddles around with some equipment. Oooh, it is the 1970s. In the likeness of Most Haunted they try to communicate with “the spirit that occupies this place”. There’s some interference and we see a ghostly image proceeding down the corridor.

A ghostly knock at the door, Crooked House style… but it is The Doctor and Clara who introduce themselves as The Ghostbusters. Read more of this post

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Stage Review: The Woman in Black

1 Comment Posted by on January 17, 2013

The Woman in Black – currently on national tour

It was nine thirty on Christmas Eve…

Forgive my amateur attempt at theatre review but I saw the stage version of The Woman in Black over the weekend and I feel the need to add my thoughts about the play.
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300 words of… Angel’s Mass

Leave a Comment Posted by on December 1, 2012

Greetings on the first day of Advent! Ghost stories at Christmas have become a bit of a tradition in British media. It probably all started with Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and over the years both television and radio have got in on the act. What better day than this to post a sample from my own effort in this tradition?

This is a ghost story set at Christmas Eve in the 14th century. The place is Tintern Abbey, the monastery on which my undergraduate dissertation was written. Right through that winter I started this story (2006-7) the abbey was practically all I could think of so it was inevitable that I would write a short story set there. My effort was a spooky tale about a young monk who receives an unwelcome guest. Enjoy! Read more of this post

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The Secret of Crickley Hall to air at Halloween

Leave a Comment Posted by on November 17, 2012

Reblogged from Sweat, Tears and Digital Ink:

Read more… 108 more words

Reblogged as BBC decided to shelve the initial date of Halloween. It now starts Sunday 18th... tomorrow night! I'll offer my thoughts in the coming days.
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The Secret of Crickley Hall to air at Halloween

1 Comment Posted by on October 14, 2012


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James Herbert goodness

Leave a Comment Posted by on July 30, 2012

Ash cover
credit: jamesherbert.com

James Herbert fans, this second half of 2012 is yours. Not only do we have a new book with a familiar character but also a TV adaptation due to hit our screens.

Firstly, the 30th August sees the return of his character David Ash in a book called, ummmm Ash. His two previous appearances were in The Ghosts of Sleath and Haunted. In this new novel, Ash is investigating an old abandoned house in the Scottish highlands in which a man was found crucified. The locals won’t talk about the place and while Ash is there he experiences some strange events. Read more of this post

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Book Review: On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers

2 Comments Posted by on May 23, 2012

This is is the more famous of Powers’ work; the only other book of his I have read to date is The Anubis Gates. It isn’t difficult to see why this book inspired the Pirates of the Caribbean films (and of course the fourth film was based directly on this book) and the long-running Monkey Island series of video games. There are elements of both franchises here. Though the main character is not Guybrush Threepwood, I feel that there are similarities between the two characters so I had a lot of fun imagining him saying “I’m Jack Shandy, mighty pirate!” Read more of this post

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Expanding my reading scope through Kindle

Leave a Comment Posted by on February 18, 2012

One of the great advantages of having an ebook reader is the volume of stuff that you can download free. That is always a good selling point in itself but out of copyright work can be obtained in masses without having to part with hard-earned cash.

Today, while flicking through an old edition of SFX magazine, I saw a name that meant nothing to me: Ambrose Bierce. Intrigued by the quick summary in the “Penny Dreadful” horror column, I switched on my Kindle and went straight to the marketplace to download a collection (Present at a Hanging and other ghost stories) for free. Read more of this post

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Site of the Week: Dickens’ Ghost Stories

Leave a Comment Posted by on December 19, 2011

If you know of any useful websites or perhaps run one yourself, feel free to recommend it. If I find your site suitable for my weekly feature then I will do my utmost to accommodate it. In return I might merely ask that you link to my blog. But please (and I mean this in the politest possible terms) do not ask me to advertise your commercial service.

Nothing too profound or useful for this festive edition. Charles Dickens was known for writing a number of ghost stories, the most famous of which is obviously A Christmas Carol. But this wasn’t the only ghost story he wrote, nor indeed was it the only Christmas story he wrote.

Ghost stories at Christmas has been a bit of a tradition that has fizzled out a bit in recent years. The only tv dramas I can think of in recent years is Mark Gatiss’ Crooked House and last year’s BBC2 drama Whistle and I’ll Come to you.

Some Dickensian reading for this week then. Enjoy and have a wonderful Christmas!

As next week is Boxing Day, there won’t be a Site of the Week. I’ll probably skip 2nd January as well. See you in 2012!

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