Two Spooky Tales by Max Porter and Kamila Shamsie

Eight authors, including Max Porter, Kamila Shamsie, Mark Haddon, and Jeanette Winterson, were given the freedom to choose their English Heritage site. Inspired by the sites, which range from medieval castles to a Cold War nuclear bunker, they channelled their darker imaginings into the stories in Eight Ghosts: The English Heritage Book of New Ghost Stories. This Halloween, we're glad to bring you two of these creepy tales, by Max Porter and Kamila Shamsie.

“Mrs Charbury at Eltham” by Max Porter

“‘Who is the man in a brown cloak standing at the foot of my bed every night?’ my sister asked, aged six or seven.

I said ‘A ghost’ and Mother said ‘Bad dreams’ and Papa said ‘Absolute nonsense. Nobody cares for your made-up terrors.’” Read more

“Foreboding” by Kamila Shamsie

“‘I don’t believe in ghosts,’ Khalid said, his first day on the job as a security guard at Kenilworth Castle.

‘Neither do I,’ said the gardener, who had stopped at the staff kitchen for a cup of tea. ‘But when something funny happens that you can’t explain, just remember the ghosts here aren’t malicious.” Read more

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From Eight Ghosts: The English Heritage Book of New Ghost Stories. Used with permission of September Publishing. Copyright © 2018 by Max Porter. Copyright © 2018 by Kamila Shamsie.