Ghosts

The Cursed Manuscripts

by Iain Rob Wright

The latest viral sensation has arrived. All the kids are doing it. It's called 'Summoning the Dead.' It's just a silly Latin sacriment someone found online. They call it 'Nomon's Ritual.' It can't be real, right?

After a spate of grizzly teen deaths occur, all seemingly connected to a new online trend, bizarro reporter and perpetual man-child Shane Mogg employs the help of his only friend and fellow journalist, Ed, to help him investigate just what in the 'hell' is going on.

Rumours suggest the dead are returning, brought back by careless words. Ripped from Hell or pulled from Heaven, they are angry. The dead are always angry.

If you love the tense, investigative horror of the Ring or enjoy the otherwordly scares of the Conjuring Universe, then Iain Rob Wright's Ghosts is for you!

Genres: Horror, Ghosts, Paranormal, Fantasy

282 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2023

About the author

One of Horror's most respected authors, Iain Rob Wright is the writer of more than forty books, many of them bestsellers. A previous Kindle All-Star and a mainstay in the horror charts, he is a prolific producer of unique and original stories. From his apocalyptic saga The Gates to his claustrophobic revenge thriller ASBO, Iain writes across a broad spectrum of sub genres, creating both beloved series and standalone titles.

With work available in several languages and in audio, Iain Rob Wright is one of the fastest rising stars in horror, but when not writing he is a dedicated family man. Father to Jack and Molly, and husband to Sally, he is often seen sharing his family memories with his fans on Facebook.

To get 6 of his books for free (no strings), just visit: www.iainrobwright.com

Reviews

[John Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spooky, gory but a bit messed up!

This story began really well and featured a cynical journalist working for an off the wall magazine, specialising in stories the mainstream media wouldn't touch with a barge pole. One day he came across a strange story about young teenagers performing an online ancient ritual to raise the dead. Unfortunately, the dead did not want to be reanimated and took out their frustrations on the youngsters. This story began well, with a slow build up of tension and an escalating fear factor. Quite suddenly the tale mushroomed into a narrative of cataclysmic violence and horror. From a promising ghost story it was transformed into a full blown horror fest, much to my disappointment.

[Scott Neumann · Rating 4 out of 5]

These just keep getting better and better, and for the first time the Cursed Manuscripts are actually mentioned, which finally answers my question about these books. So for a fun fast read I highly recommend this, and all of the other books in this series.

[Perax · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Liz H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was really fun! Would love to read some further stories with Shane and Ed

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading Stuff 'n' Things

I am a big fan of Mr Wright's work and have enjoyed many of his books which I indulge in every now and again as it takes me back to my teenage years when I read horror books almost exclusively; I don't read as many now but I do like to keep my toe dipped in and Mr Wright's books usually hit the spot quite nicely but Ghosts didn't grip me quite as much as previous books have.

The premise of the story is a familiar one - an internet craze that goes viral but therein the similarity ends as strange and horrifying things happen to those teens who recite the words. There are the usual graphic descriptions and gory details that one would expect and whilst the first and last thirds of the book were great, the middle was a little lack lustre and seemed to waffle on a bit.

Overall, a quick and easy read that whilst wasn't quite as engrossing as some of Iain's other books, it did hold my interest to the end and my thanks must go to Iain for accepting me into his "street team" and for providing me with an advance copy in return for comments and an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

[Dollie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shane is a reporter for a London underground website, Splatt! They print stories of the weird and eerie kind. When teenagers start dying due to a new internet trend, Shane and photographer, Ed, start investigating. Someone posted a video of themself chanting a ritual that brings back ghosts of loved ones. The problem is that the ghosts are very angry they were called back and kill whoever called them back. Shane runs into all kinds of strange situations, but he has a friend, Gina, who knows a lot more about what’s happening and, along with Shane’s niece, Evie, they fight back against the ghosts. It was an okay story. I didn’t find it very frightening.

[Dale Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. It had a bit of everything- good characters, was quite emotional at times, and of course, creepy and gory. Throw in a bit of social commentary about the TikTok generation and you have a winner right here!

I liked the nod to another book in the "Cursed Manuscripts" series and the implications it may have for future stories.

Definitely one to check out!

[Tracy Halls · Rating 5 out of 5]

epic

I somehow missed this one when it came out but found it after reading Flesh Bargain.
The Cursed manuscripts series is brilliant and certainly keeps you on the edge of your seat with every book.
This one is no exception to that. Well written, excellent characters and keeps you turning the pages.

[Megan Jarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars! There are such fun little horror books. I fly through them. I enjoyed the characters and the spookiness of it. Definitely very intriguing and I love teenagers doing a social media paranormal trend! I did find I didn’t totally love the direction that the ending went in but I still had fun.

[Baiba Loves Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic! Perfectly scary, all the emotions kind of a book. A beautiful blend between Stephen King and Silvia Moreno-Garcia!
If you’re listening to the audiobook, do me a favor and do it with headphones, trust me 😉
I found the narrator too funny at first but it was perfect!

[Sally Lockwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never listened to any horror audio books until I start it listening to the cursed manuscripts. I found the first few a bit bizarre, but have now really enjoyed listening to them. I can’t wait to listen to the rest of these books. I really recommend them.

[Bob McCadden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bravo on the whole series! This book on its own was a really great read. It sort of combined a few things from other tropes to make a really unique story about ghosts. Throughout the book I kept wanting to find out more and the narrator as well as the other characters were very likable so it was easy to become invested in them. Give it a try it’s fantastic

[Jacqueline Scifres · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite of the cursed manuscripts.

[Daniel Nobles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Wright is an amazing author who knows what he’s doing. An amazing story that will keep the pages turning.

[DH_reads_horror · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two journalists investigate a new social media craze, whereby people recite a latin verse called Nomon's ritual. This verse summons ghosts, however, whether pulled from heaven or ripped from hell, the dead are always angry and are compelled to kill the person who summoned them.

Iain Rob Wright's recent books are killer. I thought Zombie and Maniac Menagerie were both great, but Ghosts is excellent. The ghosts are threatening and well thought out and the book ties in very nicely with another book in The Cursed Manuscripts series. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received a free copy of Ghosts from the author in return for an honest review.

[Frank Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read. Simply had me wanting more! Can’t wait to read the rest of the dreaded manuscripts !!!

[Mylene · Rating 3 out of 5]

“They’re coming for you, Barbara!”

I adore Iain as an author. I read everything he publishes but I just could not get into this one for some reason. For me, the cursed manuscripts, have been hit or miss. This one just felt preachy and I was not enamoured with the characters. However, do not let this review put you off from reading Iain’s stories because the great majority are excellent.

[Helen Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF for me. I was so excited to read this after absolutely loving maniac menagerie, but I felt that this book had parts that were either juvenile or just plain silly in my opinion.

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey there book lovers! It is your old pal, Ninetoes, coming to you from Ninetoes Loves Books Headquarters. Today, I have for you my review of Iain Rob Wright’s Ghosts. I have coffee in my system, and my thinking cap on, so let’s get to it!

I am six books into this series, and (spoiler alert!) this is the best one so far. If you have not started the series yet, start here! Trust me on this one, the ending of this book actually sets up the rest of the series.

Shane Mogg is a reporter for a failing “I had a UFO baby” type of magazine called SPLATT. He is a borderline alcoholic, who has no friends to speak of, and a bad habit of letting those around him down. He gives his niece a ride to school and is consistently late in doing so. He is contacted by email telling him of a possible story to chase down. There is an online trend where kids are reciting an archaic Latin spell that brings the dead back, and the consequences are deadly. Shane enlists the services of fellow reporter Ed to help him investigate, and after he recites the spell himself he soon becomes a believer in ghosts when his deceased two-year-old daughter attacks him. The stakes are even higher when Shane finds out his niece posted a video of her reciting the chant. It is now up to Shane, Ed, and a former nun to end the craziness before it takes over the world.

Now, to be totally honest, I am a sucker for a good ghost story. If you add a spin that has the ghosts coming back making sense, I love it even more. The spin in this one is the use of a social media craze that I can actually see happening. Let’s face it, we went through a phase of kids eating laundry detergent because they saw someone else do it, and in a world of clicks, likes, and subscribes, I can see a bunch of kids reciting Latin (no matter how badly) and calling up the dead. Do you honestly think kids are going to do some due diligence to find out what they are saying? Hell no. If the cool kids are doing it, then it has to be good, and everyone wants to be cool, right? Even the reason for the ghosts attacking makes sense, and that is the part that got me more than the actual attacks themselves.

The pace of this book is turbocharged fast. It can easily be finished in one night. The writing is sharp, and the characters engaging. The gore factor keeps with the book…it is not buckets of blood and guts, but it is not requiring a band-aid either. The premise is plausible and in the end, you too will believe in ghosts! As much as it is a ghost story, at the heart it is also a tale of redemption. Not all heroes are saints, and not all villains are sinners.

I give this one 5 very enthusiastic bookmarks out of 5!

[Pickle Girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in Cursed Manuscripts



Ghosts, part of Iain Rob Wright’s The Cursed Manuscripts series, hooked me fast. I even stopped to look back at the entire series I had missed  since Witch. Quite a few it turns out.

At the heart of Ghosts is an ancient ritual, something far older than the monk and nun who's sins unleash it again almost sixty years later.

Enter Shane Mogg and Ed Hobbs, reporters for Splat!!, a magazine that thrives on the kind of wild stories you’d never see on a checkout stand. One strange email from someone calling themselves Jester pulls them into a mess that’s creepy, chaotic, and sometimes darkly funny in that way only a confident horror writer can pull off. The fallout feels eerily familiar, echoing the way viral legends and dangerous challenges can sweep through teens in the real world.

I won’t spoil the ride, but the story blends fear, humor, and humanity in a way that keeps the pages turning. It’s eerie, fast, and surprisingly grounded, and it leaves you remembering that even in the middle of the madness, there are still good people trying to do the right thing.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 6th and newest instalment in The Cursed Manuscripts, I somehow missed Bad Luck, book 4, so I’ll read that next, but the books stand alone within a greater universe, and in any case I accidentally read the 5th book first because I didn’t know it was part of a series. It’s nice when you can pick up a book and know before you even start reading it that it’s going to be good, but that’s very much the case for me with this series. It moved at a good pace, the plot was great, Clipswitch being TikTok essentially and great use of this social media to show how it could be of danger to teens or young adults who just want to imitate the latest trends. It was certainly a good medium to spread his message. As in the other books I felt like he made quite an unbelievable scenario seem quite credible, (naturally there were a few times I had to suspend my disbelief). Also I shed a few tears at points of this book. Child loss is mentioned, and whilst not central to the theme, it did touch my heart. I would recommend all horror fans gave this series a go. It’s on Kindle Unlimited too!

[Terry and dog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lordy, lordy this was a good book. Lots of tension and creepy vibes. It's hard to fathom how many kids do the internet challenges that they find, but they do. Chanting Latin passages seems tame compared snorting condoms through your nose, or eating Tide pods (don't do those by the way), but it turns out the Latin phrases are pretty darn dangerous. The characters are well written, I especially liked Gina, maybe because she's older and wise and cool, I am as old as the sun (although not as religious as Gina), and I got her. I had a hard time putting this down and read it all in one sitting. Mostly sitting, I read on the exercise bike and when I was in bed. Couldn't put it down. One of my favourites from the manuscript series.
...and anyone asking, the books can be read in any order, they are all different stories with different characters.

[Suzanne Lopes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good morning Goodreads, I gave the book 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I finished reading this book a few days ago but I’ve been working A LOT!! 😩 Anyway, out of all the books in the The Cursed Manuscripts series this one is by far the best. I still have 2 more books 📕 to read in this series. I had read in somebody’s else’s review that this one is like a full circle from the first book and they are absolutely right. It was a little bit disturbing 😳 I have to say but it was good. I’m not one for spoilers but the main character Shane who is a journalist for a whacky magazine called “Splatte” was investigated a teen sensation where they are summoning the dead 😵 and things start getting really messy. The author of this book/series keeps it exciting. You know guys I have to say that before I was strictly reading true crime books maybe here and there I was venturing in other books but this time around I ventured into other areas of reading. It’s like taking a vacation but never leaving the seat that you are in when reading. Anyway, back to what I was saying, I enjoyed the book and now I’m reading the book after this one called “Flesh Bargain” hoping it is as good as this one. To be continued…

[amanda garnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book by Iain Rob Wright. Read in a couple of days as I couldn't put it down. Loving The Cursed Manuscripts collection. What I really like about Iain's books are they're so down to earth and the characters so relatable. I'm a long time horror genre fan after being introduced to the Pan books of horror before I was even 10 and progressed to Whitley Streiber and James Herbert when everyone else I knew were reading Judy Blume. Iain takes.me back to those proper stories. The stories themselves, although horror, aren't just full of detailed gratuitous violence or gore. He actually manages to portray the scenes without the need for the detail. There are plenty of books out there with the gore, Iain manages to bring relatable scenarios and people to the forefront.

[Matthew Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Iain and I love his writing style. This has to be one of my least favorite books of his and I’ve read so many of his books. It started off really well and I loved the ending of the book. The middle (like 80 percent of the book) was just so unnecessary in my opinion. All the God talk, every bit of it, was poop. POOP I SAY! I’m here for the creepy stories revolving around the cursed manuscripts. I get that Iain likes to talk about God, but man. Saying this, I’m still enjoying the series as a whole. The story that is part of the manuscripts in this book WAS pretty interesting. Like I said, loved the ending. Hoping soon, we get some good conspiracy/one percenter/secrecy society type of stuff with these manuscripts. 2 stars, but the ending gave it an extra for me.

[Frances Vivienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A GREAT READ.

Not my usual read but i like IRW, he certainly can write great horror.
I lost myself in Ghosts, it really was a wicked ride into the darkness of hell, and a subject worth touching on. With Social media and young children there is always danger and young children can fall into the trap of unknown evil.
Ghosts is a horror story where you find evil as never before where death comes to young children who dares say a few words, not in English, through social media for winning points and likes, then death steps in... or follows you around.
Highly recommended read.
Frances.

[Emily Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ghosts Everywhere

Shane just wants to write his articles and keep his niece safe. He seems to be having trouble with both. When rumors of teens doing a strange chant happens he ignores it. After a strange call, he finds it is much worse. People are seeing ghosts, and they are not nice. People are dying. Where are the ghosts coming from? Does the chant work? The ghosts are everywhere. Can Shane and his friends stop it in time? Pulse pounding, action paced chiller. Great characters.

[Chris Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story about an ancient ritual that's been made popular by trending on social media. The ritual brings the dead back to life but not quite as they were in life. These resurrected souls go on a murderous rampage against their loved ones. This is quintessential Iain Rob Wright, the type of story that made me fall in love with the authors writing. There are some deep dark themes and some scenes of gory horror but that's what this writer does best. It's an entertaining horror tale full of suspense and fun moments. I loved it and I'm sure all horror fans will feel the same.

[AJRXII · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC copy thanks Iain. As per a solid piece of writing from one of my favourite authors. I started it a few days or so after I got it thinking I had some time to read it and fit it in my time and low and behold it got released. So I took my time.

Kids doing the latest internet fad (I hate them myself) which inevitably in Iain's way turns into a total disaster of blood and gore. I like that The Cursed Manuscripts finally get mentioned in this book but I will leave that surprise for you to learn about. Needless to say it's a solid 4 for me. Absolutely brilliant as always.

[Ryan Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've been sucker punched by a book series and this is exactly what this series has done! Could not get enough of it. Devoured it over a few days and this book in particular had me hooked from the get go. Can’t wait to read the rest! If you're looking for a series like the American Horror Story series but British this is it! Everything from the overlapping and interconnecting plots, the goosebump giving horror, to the three dimensional characters will have you graving more and more. 10/10!!