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Circles of Stone: Weird Tales of Pagan Sites and Ancient Rites
In the wood the grey stone rose from the grass, and she cried out and ran back in panicked terror.
‘What a silly little girl,’ the nurse had said. ‘It’s only the... stone.’
Standing stones, stone circles, tumps, barrows and ancient clearings still remain across the British Isles, and though their specific significance may be obscured by the passing of time, their strange allure and mysterious energy persist in our collective consciousness.
Assembled here in tribute to these relics of a lost age are accounts of terrifying spirits haunting Stonehenge itself, stories of awful fates for those who impose modernity on the sacred sites and grim tales in which unwitting trespassers into the eternal rites of pagan worship find themselves part of an enduring legacy of blood. To represent the breadth of the sub-genre, authors include Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood and Rosalie Muspratt alongside lesser-known writers from the periodicals and journals of the British Library collections.
‘What a silly little girl,’ the nurse had said. ‘It’s only the... stone.’
Standing stones, stone circles, tumps, barrows and ancient clearings still remain across the British Isles, and though their specific significance may be obscured by the passing of time, their strange allure and mysterious energy persist in our collective consciousness.
Assembled here in tribute to these relics of a lost age are accounts of terrifying spirits haunting Stonehenge itself, stories of awful fates for those who impose modernity on the sacred sites and grim tales in which unwitting trespassers into the eternal rites of pagan worship find themselves part of an enduring legacy of blood. To represent the breadth of the sub-genre, authors include Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood and Rosalie Muspratt alongside lesser-known writers from the periodicals and journals of the British Library collections.
238 pages, Paperback
First published December 7, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
October 12, 2024
4.5 stars
“There was no sleep for him that night; he fancied he had seen the stone – which, as you know, was a couple of fields away – as large as life, as if it were on watch outside his window. “
“as new religion ousts the old it tenants the latter’s temples,”
This particular incarnation of the Tales of the Weird series focuses on standing stones, stone circles, dolmens and burial sites. The editor, Katy Soar is an archaeologist (this does help I think) and her introduction is good. There are fifteen stories in all (ranging from 1893 to 2018). There are stories from Sarban, E F Benson, Jasper John, H R Wakefield, Algernon Blackwood, Stuart Strauss, Frederick Cowles, Arthur Machen, Mary Williams, J H Pearce, A L Rowse, Nigel Kneale (Of Quatermass fame), L T C Rolt, Lisa Tuttle and Elsa Wallace.
These are generally good with assorted druids, ritual sacrifice, vengeful stones, some sentient rocks and plenty more. Stonehenge, although referenced in a few only stars in one of them. Blackwood’s contribution, The Tarn of Sacrifice, is pretty good: written in 1921 it concerns a survivor of The Somme, walking in The Lake District and reflects on the dead and disabled and the protagonist’s loss of faith and looking back on a much older faith. The more modern stories are also very good. One is even concerns motor racing. A circuit is extended and now goes through an ancient stone circle: this doesn’t go well. The power of the land and the past resonate throughout.
“There was no sleep for him that night; he fancied he had seen the stone – which, as you know, was a couple of fields away – as large as life, as if it were on watch outside his window. “
“as new religion ousts the old it tenants the latter’s temples,”
This particular incarnation of the Tales of the Weird series focuses on standing stones, stone circles, dolmens and burial sites. The editor, Katy Soar is an archaeologist (this does help I think) and her introduction is good. There are fifteen stories in all (ranging from 1893 to 2018). There are stories from Sarban, E F Benson, Jasper John, H R Wakefield, Algernon Blackwood, Stuart Strauss, Frederick Cowles, Arthur Machen, Mary Williams, J H Pearce, A L Rowse, Nigel Kneale (Of Quatermass fame), L T C Rolt, Lisa Tuttle and Elsa Wallace.
These are generally good with assorted druids, ritual sacrifice, vengeful stones, some sentient rocks and plenty more. Stonehenge, although referenced in a few only stars in one of them. Blackwood’s contribution, The Tarn of Sacrifice, is pretty good: written in 1921 it concerns a survivor of The Somme, walking in The Lake District and reflects on the dead and disabled and the protagonist’s loss of faith and looking back on a much older faith. The more modern stories are also very good. One is even concerns motor racing. A circuit is extended and now goes through an ancient stone circle: this doesn’t go well. The power of the land and the past resonate throughout.
December 10, 2024
One of the best entries in the series. Despite every story revolving around standing stones and the like each of them was varied and revealed some new interpretation regarding the mysteries surrounding these monuments.
Read
June 4, 2025Normally I find that I prefer the chronologically earlier stories in these BL anthologies. Here the earlier ones have a tendency to be a bit samey. the later ones are all bangers, largely because they start diverging from the 'stone circle/evil rustics' premise a bit.
June 30, 2024
One of the best British Library Tales of the Weird Books I’ve read. Having the editor (Katy Soar) be an actual archaeologist who works on the cultural reception of archaeology is a real slam dunk. Their introductions (both to the book as a whole and to the individual stories) are great, and they’ve made a really interesting selection of stories, including a few really good more modern ones. Scattered thoughts to follow below, but to not bury the lede, would definitely recommend this collection.
A lot of the first few stories focus on the antiquarian obsession with supposed human sacrifice at stone circles and other megaliths. Benson and Blackwood’s stories are unsurprisingly pretty excellent. Benson’s The Temple would make for a great 1970s Ghost Story for Christmas, and the revelation of the stone altar forming part of the cottage floor prefigures a lot of Nigel Kneale (more on him later) type The Stone Tape sort of things. Blackwood’s The Tarn of Sacrifice has some great psychological post-WW1 stuff in it. Wakefield’s The First Sheaf was a more unexpected highlight: very The Wicker Man-coded, I might try and seek out more of their stuff in future. Was less keen on The Spirit of Stonehenge and The Shadow on the Moor: they cover similar ground to the others, but much less subtly or interestingly.
Don’t have as much to say about the stories from the middle of the book, which were all pretty solid if not exceptional. Cowles’ Lisheen was very M. R. James-y, though possibly a little too antiquarian to be properly creepy. Pearce’s The Man Who Could Talk With The Birds was a nice little humorous breather in what had otherwise been quite a grim (complimentary!) collection, and a powerfully dumb (also complimentary!) story to boot. Didn’t get on too well with Machen’s The Ceremony, a lot of his stuff I’ve read in collections like this has left me a little cold (heresy I know), should probably give some of his big stuff a read.
For my money the best of the stories however are those at the end of the collection, where we start to go beyond the usual tropes of human sacrifice and dopey archaeologists. Nigel Kneale’s Minuke is, for me, the absolute highlight of the book, eliciting numerous internal “Sickos ha ha yes” moments from me. Who doesn’t want a ghost story narrated by a slightly dodgy estate agent? Will definitely have to seek out Kneale’s short story collection Tomato Cain. Tuttle’s Where The Stones Grow brings some decidedly Weird energy to the table in a really novel take on megalithic horror (no spoilers), and Rowse’s The Stone That Liked Company might be one of the creepiest stories in the collection. Rolt’s New Corner also really successfully blends the old and new in building a racecourse over a stone circle with predictably grim Michael Mann’s Ferrari (2023) style results.
Even setting aside the fact this volume targets me with almost surgical precision (cultural reception of archaeology! Megaliths! Nigel Kneale!), I can’t think of a much better entry point for the British Library Tales of the Weird series. There’s a great range of stories, the highlights are really strong, and even the duds are only mediocre rather than outright bad.
A lot of the first few stories focus on the antiquarian obsession with supposed human sacrifice at stone circles and other megaliths. Benson and Blackwood’s stories are unsurprisingly pretty excellent. Benson’s The Temple would make for a great 1970s Ghost Story for Christmas, and the revelation of the stone altar forming part of the cottage floor prefigures a lot of Nigel Kneale (more on him later) type The Stone Tape sort of things. Blackwood’s The Tarn of Sacrifice has some great psychological post-WW1 stuff in it. Wakefield’s The First Sheaf was a more unexpected highlight: very The Wicker Man-coded, I might try and seek out more of their stuff in future. Was less keen on The Spirit of Stonehenge and The Shadow on the Moor: they cover similar ground to the others, but much less subtly or interestingly.
Don’t have as much to say about the stories from the middle of the book, which were all pretty solid if not exceptional. Cowles’ Lisheen was very M. R. James-y, though possibly a little too antiquarian to be properly creepy. Pearce’s The Man Who Could Talk With The Birds was a nice little humorous breather in what had otherwise been quite a grim (complimentary!) collection, and a powerfully dumb (also complimentary!) story to boot. Didn’t get on too well with Machen’s The Ceremony, a lot of his stuff I’ve read in collections like this has left me a little cold (heresy I know), should probably give some of his big stuff a read.
For my money the best of the stories however are those at the end of the collection, where we start to go beyond the usual tropes of human sacrifice and dopey archaeologists. Nigel Kneale’s Minuke is, for me, the absolute highlight of the book, eliciting numerous internal “Sickos ha ha yes” moments from me. Who doesn’t want a ghost story narrated by a slightly dodgy estate agent? Will definitely have to seek out Kneale’s short story collection Tomato Cain. Tuttle’s Where The Stones Grow brings some decidedly Weird energy to the table in a really novel take on megalithic horror (no spoilers), and Rowse’s The Stone That Liked Company might be one of the creepiest stories in the collection. Rolt’s New Corner also really successfully blends the old and new in building a racecourse over a stone circle with predictably grim Michael Mann’s Ferrari (2023) style results.
Even setting aside the fact this volume targets me with almost surgical precision (cultural reception of archaeology! Megaliths! Nigel Kneale!), I can’t think of a much better entry point for the British Library Tales of the Weird series. There’s a great range of stories, the highlights are really strong, and even the duds are only mediocre rather than outright bad.
November 24, 2025
Disappointed that nothing in this collection really stood out for me. I did enjoy each story in their own way, but I did find that this book got a little repetitive. A lot of the stories were pretty similar to each other and I think a few could've been cut out from this collection. Overall it was an enjoyable read to close out autumn.
December 17, 2023
Not a bad story among them, they're all good.
June 27, 2025
3.5⭐️
This was a hard one to rate. Some of these short stories are incredibly brief, so short it is difficult to rate them adequately. Other stories are not that great but are early examples of proto- folk horror that are more interesting in that aspect than the actual story. There's a few that are particularly diverting - The Suppell Stone by Elsa Wallace, Where the Stones Grow by Lisa Tuttle, The Dark Land by Mary Williams and Minuke by Nigel Kneal (who gave us the Quatermass series).
All in all, a good collection of sinister standing stone stories....now where is my Children of the Stones dvd...🪨🪨🪨
This was a hard one to rate. Some of these short stories are incredibly brief, so short it is difficult to rate them adequately. Other stories are not that great but are early examples of proto- folk horror that are more interesting in that aspect than the actual story. There's a few that are particularly diverting - The Suppell Stone by Elsa Wallace, Where the Stones Grow by Lisa Tuttle, The Dark Land by Mary Williams and Minuke by Nigel Kneal (who gave us the Quatermass series).
All in all, a good collection of sinister standing stone stories....now where is my Children of the Stones dvd...🪨🪨🪨
July 6, 2024
favourite stories: the tarn of sacrifice by algernon blackwood, the shadow on the moor by stuart strauss, lisheen by frederick cowles, the dark land by mary williams, where the stones grow by lisa tuttle
December 29, 2025
A curious collection of stories about stone circles and pagan burial/sacrificial sites.
The Temple by E F Benson was very good and I had recently read in a collection of his short stories. The rest were a bit hit and miss and started to get a bit "samey" by the end. There's only so many times someone can be drawn to a stone circle under the light of the moon for some mega fuckery then to occur!
Cornwall featured heavily for obvious reasons and the evocation of landscape and setting in most of the stories was well done.
I can't say that there were any stand out tales that I would return to if I'm honest so off this book goes for donation to my community book exchange.
3 star average fare
The Temple by E F Benson was very good and I had recently read in a collection of his short stories. The rest were a bit hit and miss and started to get a bit "samey" by the end. There's only so many times someone can be drawn to a stone circle under the light of the moon for some mega fuckery then to occur!
Cornwall featured heavily for obvious reasons and the evocation of landscape and setting in most of the stories was well done.
I can't say that there were any stand out tales that I would return to if I'm honest so off this book goes for donation to my community book exchange.
3 star average fare
March 15, 2024
Brilliantly chilling, all excellent selections! I'll certainly be buying more from this series.
January 24, 2025
Circles of Stone is an interesting look into the horror-focused stories revolving ancient stone circles (albeit few).
My favourite thing about this was that the short stories particularly focused on English culture and history, in particular Cornwall. This, and the fact many of these stories were written set in 19th Century villages really make this interesting.
Though differing in quality, I really liked some of the early short stories. They felt very Lovecraftian but with an English twist. It’s a shame writers don’t focus on things like this anymore.
I’ll definitely be picking up more of these short story collections.
My favourite thing about this was that the short stories particularly focused on English culture and history, in particular Cornwall. This, and the fact many of these stories were written set in 19th Century villages really make this interesting.
Though differing in quality, I really liked some of the early short stories. They felt very Lovecraftian but with an English twist. It’s a shame writers don’t focus on things like this anymore.
I’ll definitely be picking up more of these short story collections.
December 26, 2023
This collection has a very strong theme and is based on a popular theme in British literature - which is why it is a shame some of the stories are just not that interesting. I do, however, commend the effort to deliver variety.
Favourite stories: "The Temple" by E.F. Benson, "The First Sheaf" by H.R. Wakefield, "The Tarn of Sacrifice" by Algernon Blackwood, "Lisheen" by Frederick Cowles, "The Dark Land" by Mary Williams (which reminds me of a real story that happened in Wales about 15 years after the story was originally published), "The Stone that Liked Company" by A.L. Rowse, "The Suppell Stone" by Elsa Wallace
Favourite stories: "The Temple" by E.F. Benson, "The First Sheaf" by H.R. Wakefield, "The Tarn of Sacrifice" by Algernon Blackwood, "Lisheen" by Frederick Cowles, "The Dark Land" by Mary Williams (which reminds me of a real story that happened in Wales about 15 years after the story was originally published), "The Stone that Liked Company" by A.L. Rowse, "The Suppell Stone" by Elsa Wallace
November 26, 2025
A very strong collection from the British Library Tales of the Weird series, which can sometimes be a bit patchy. I especially enjoyed the ones which transposed the powers of the stones to somewhere incongruous, like Texas, or a 1930s motor racing circuit. And of course the one by E.F. Benson - I love E.F. Benson.
January 10, 2025
My first book of 2025! I love this Weird series from the British Library and this is another book with a strong theme. Although I enjoyed most of the stories, I didn’t find them *that* memorable. That being said, I read these while looking after my 10 week old baby - sometimes one story would take me two days to get through, sometimes I had to read the same sentence twice, oops. My favourite stories were “The Shadow on the Moor” by Stuart Strauss and “Where the Stones Grow” by Lisa Tuttle.
February 13, 2025
It's a pretty decent collection of stories, although at times repetitive. What was most interesting to me was to see how the main focus of the stories changed from the stone circles being the setting of the hauntings/paranormal events to the physical stones themselves being the source of the horror.
Favorite story: "Minuke" by Nigel Kneale.
Favorite story: "Minuke" by Nigel Kneale.
February 28, 2024
Some of them were quite good, like the tarn of sacrifice and minuke but others left a lot to be desired. Not great but not terrible either.
October 13, 2025
3.5 - There were some really good stories in this compilation but a few of them didn't quite hit the mark for me, although they were entertaining. The latter few were really great however.
December 24, 2025
Circles of Stone: Weird Tales of Pagan Sites and Ancient Rites edited by Katy Soar
A British Library Tales of The Weird Collection
I love these British Library collections and this one is a strong entry in the series. With a theme of Standing Stones, Stone Circles and ancient burial sites in the British isles we get fifteen tales of the supernatural with druids, pagan ceremonies, ghosts and hauntings, and solid rocks that come alive.
Steeped in the traditions of Ancient Briton, a misty land of giants, witches, fairies, megaliths, monuments and henges. Legends and myths of the Isles provide good backdrops for the writers to come up with eerie, strange and unsettling events.
This collection has stories from authors both well known like Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, A.L.Rowse, Lisa Tuttle, E.F.Benson and Nigel Kneale along with tales from more obscure or little known writers Sarban, Jasper John, H.R.Wakefield, Stuart Strauss, Frederick Cowles, Mary Williams, J.H.Pearce, L T.C.Rolt and Elsa Wallace.
The quality is high in this book and yes, I'm a little biased because several stories are set in Cornwall.
If you want to try one of the Weird Tales collections and don't know where to start then I recommend this book as a good introduction to the genre.
✨✨✨✨⚡4.5 stars
A British Library Tales of The Weird Collection
I love these British Library collections and this one is a strong entry in the series. With a theme of Standing Stones, Stone Circles and ancient burial sites in the British isles we get fifteen tales of the supernatural with druids, pagan ceremonies, ghosts and hauntings, and solid rocks that come alive.
Steeped in the traditions of Ancient Briton, a misty land of giants, witches, fairies, megaliths, monuments and henges. Legends and myths of the Isles provide good backdrops for the writers to come up with eerie, strange and unsettling events.
This collection has stories from authors both well known like Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, A.L.Rowse, Lisa Tuttle, E.F.Benson and Nigel Kneale along with tales from more obscure or little known writers Sarban, Jasper John, H.R.Wakefield, Stuart Strauss, Frederick Cowles, Mary Williams, J.H.Pearce, L T.C.Rolt and Elsa Wallace.
The quality is high in this book and yes, I'm a little biased because several stories are set in Cornwall.
If you want to try one of the Weird Tales collections and don't know where to start then I recommend this book as a good introduction to the genre.
✨✨✨✨⚡4.5 stars
February 12, 2024
Review to come via British Fantasy Society website.
November 21, 2025
really enjoyed this. given there's a common theme there's always good to be repetition but there was a decent amount of variety. and some of them were genuinely creepy and good fun
January 14, 2024
The Short Story is, of course, a genre in itself, and it's one I blow hot and cold on. On the one hand, I like the fact that I can read an entire story in a short time, and it doesn't require the same mental, and emotional commitment as the long form. On the other, I find them a bit clunky, and often quite unsatisfying.
I went through this collection in a couple of days, which is a measure of my enjoyment. That said, I found no real stand-out tales, and in fact there was at least one that would have done better to be left in obscurity. Nonetheless, they were largely enjoyable reads.
However, full disclosure: whether it's age, or some other factor, I have struggled for some years to find books (and films or TV) that give me the kind of chilling thrill one looks for in ghost stories, so it is highly likely that I am the problem! If you are more susceptible then this is probably a good collection of spine tinglers.
What I found most enthralling about this book is how it reflects the change in attitudes towards Paganism, Druidism, and the societies and cultures that gave us standing stones and stone circles. Even as recently as forty years ago, the entrenched Christian view 0f them as inherently evil is the foundation of every story within these covers. So much so that the publishers have printed a disclaimer in the front of the book.
It's all very 'Wicker Man'...
But don't let that put you off. If nothing else, it's nice to be reminded how far we have come.
I went through this collection in a couple of days, which is a measure of my enjoyment. That said, I found no real stand-out tales, and in fact there was at least one that would have done better to be left in obscurity. Nonetheless, they were largely enjoyable reads.
However, full disclosure: whether it's age, or some other factor, I have struggled for some years to find books (and films or TV) that give me the kind of chilling thrill one looks for in ghost stories, so it is highly likely that I am the problem! If you are more susceptible then this is probably a good collection of spine tinglers.
What I found most enthralling about this book is how it reflects the change in attitudes towards Paganism, Druidism, and the societies and cultures that gave us standing stones and stone circles. Even as recently as forty years ago, the entrenched Christian view 0f them as inherently evil is the foundation of every story within these covers. So much so that the publishers have printed a disclaimer in the front of the book.
It's all very 'Wicker Man'...
But don't let that put you off. If nothing else, it's nice to be reminded how far we have come.
February 9, 2024
3.5 stars!
Standing stones and stone circles have always been an interesting subject for me. They elude to and invoke a primal, mystical horror that is ripe for storytelling. There is a nice mixture of stories here that have these ancient stones play numerous roles: markers of esoteric ritual, sites of Druidic sacrifice, gateways to blasphemous cities, and even sentient beings with malevolent intent. My favorite tales were those that leaned away from the typical shock horror of human sacrifice as I found that they have a repetitive taste to them. For me, the strongest stories in this collection had these formidable stones not necessarily as the focus of the horror but rather the dark portent of even darker forces, lurking and waiting. Overall, this was more of a mixed bag. However, I still enjoyed my time. The subject of these stones still fascinates me and these tales offer up a nice glimpses in to the imagination that these monoliths have held over us.
Favorite Stories
The First Sheaf by H.R. Wakefield
The Tarn of Sacrifice by Algernon Blackwood
Lisheen by Frederick Cowles
The Ceremony by Arthur Machen
Honorable Mention: The Suppell Stone by Elsa Wallace
"Perhaps these ancient stones hold down something far more ancient, something far stranger than the men who placed them understood. Some queer feet have danced here, I feel."
Standing stones and stone circles have always been an interesting subject for me. They elude to and invoke a primal, mystical horror that is ripe for storytelling. There is a nice mixture of stories here that have these ancient stones play numerous roles: markers of esoteric ritual, sites of Druidic sacrifice, gateways to blasphemous cities, and even sentient beings with malevolent intent. My favorite tales were those that leaned away from the typical shock horror of human sacrifice as I found that they have a repetitive taste to them. For me, the strongest stories in this collection had these formidable stones not necessarily as the focus of the horror but rather the dark portent of even darker forces, lurking and waiting. Overall, this was more of a mixed bag. However, I still enjoyed my time. The subject of these stones still fascinates me and these tales offer up a nice glimpses in to the imagination that these monoliths have held over us.
Favorite Stories
The First Sheaf by H.R. Wakefield
The Tarn of Sacrifice by Algernon Blackwood
Lisheen by Frederick Cowles
The Ceremony by Arthur Machen
Honorable Mention: The Suppell Stone by Elsa Wallace
"Perhaps these ancient stones hold down something far more ancient, something far stranger than the men who placed them understood. Some queer feet have danced here, I feel."
June 1, 2024
'I had the impression of having dreamed very vividly of things dark and dim, and of perilous places...'
Strange lights in the woods, unexplained deaths, curious traditions, and mysterious goings-on are all lurking within the pages of this great little collection from The British Library. My personal highlight was definitely 'The Tarn of Sacrifice' by Algernon Blackwood, which describes a most sinister trip to the Lake District, where one young man encounters two residents who are definitely not at all they at first appear to be!
This is a nicely wierdy assembly of short stories, pretty much guaranteed to make you view ancient stone monoliths and circles in a different light. There is definitely a strong recurring theme running through the book, but thankfully, it just about manages to retain an element of surprise to the end. I did, however, feel a bit monolithed-out by the time I got to about page 180, and I am definitely in need of something quite different for a day or two!
'Circles of Stone' may just be your perfect read for later in the year when the evenings draw in, or if you're a coward like me, it's also ideal for a summer afternoon when there is lots of sunshine and birdsong around to keep your imagination in check!
I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for more of these #talesoftheweird books as that was fun!
Strange lights in the woods, unexplained deaths, curious traditions, and mysterious goings-on are all lurking within the pages of this great little collection from The British Library. My personal highlight was definitely 'The Tarn of Sacrifice' by Algernon Blackwood, which describes a most sinister trip to the Lake District, where one young man encounters two residents who are definitely not at all they at first appear to be!
This is a nicely wierdy assembly of short stories, pretty much guaranteed to make you view ancient stone monoliths and circles in a different light. There is definitely a strong recurring theme running through the book, but thankfully, it just about manages to retain an element of surprise to the end. I did, however, feel a bit monolithed-out by the time I got to about page 180, and I am definitely in need of something quite different for a day or two!
'Circles of Stone' may just be your perfect read for later in the year when the evenings draw in, or if you're a coward like me, it's also ideal for a summer afternoon when there is lots of sunshine and birdsong around to keep your imagination in check!
I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for more of these #talesoftheweird books as that was fun!
May 14, 2024
It is a bit of a commonplace to say that collections like this are uneven. But this is no exception. It loses a bit of punch about halfway as the stories are a bit repetitive in motifs, but otherwise, it is a good introduction to the literary influence that euhemerism and pagan survival theories had on British weird literature during the late 19th century and pretty much the entire 20th century.
November 4, 2024
Most of the stories were old and boring. There were only a couple of good ones.
October 6, 2025
This collection rocks (it was fine)
January 17, 2024
Edited by Katy Soar and collected from their archives by the British Library, Circles of Stone: Weird Tales of Pagan Sites and Ancient Rites is a stellar anthology of short stories by both famous names in supernatural fiction, forgotten voices, and relative unknowns. Themed around Britain’s pre-Roman stone monoliths (Stonehenge is name-checked a few times but I don’t think ever used as a story’s centrepiece), most are ghost stories based on folklore about our lives before Christianisation and how even modern folks may feel it in their blood, a savage call drawing them back through time…
Not all of the stories are horror. The first, by diplomat Sarban, is an excerpt from a novella (Ringstones) and gently follows a latter-day picnic among rocks between which faeries once roamed. Later on, Arthur Machen’s brief “The Ceremony” feels more like a prose poem, in its stylised account of a young girl compelled to perform an ancient rite.
I won’t review each of the fifteen stories here, but my favourite is “Lisheen” by Frederick Cowles, the strange and troubling tragedy of a minister in the early 17th century who “lost his immortal soul for the sake of a witch child”. Cowles’ masterstroke is to frame the story as an anomaly of the historical record, unearthed by a latter-day historian, which forces us to glimpse events imperfectly and fill in the blanks with our imaginations.
The best story in literary terms - by which I mean with the strongest development of character and theme - is “The Tarn of Sacrifice” by Algernon Blackwood. It follows a WWI veteran as he goes hiking in the mountains and comes to a primitive house occupied by a man and his adult daughter, rich city people who for mysterious reasons have come to live the peasant life in complete isolation. Although “Lisheen” remains my personal favourite for its drama and creepiness, “Tarn” is an extremely close second. It even has a fairly original ending for a “savage pagans” tale, using the non-Christian faiths as more than a boogeyman.
A lot of these stories are like that in some sense, though. They respect and are knowledgeable about nature religions of old even while using them as horror props. EF Benson’s “The Temple” was surprisingly brilliant. I tend to have mixed feelings about Benson’s ghost stories. He’s an erudite and stylish writer whose prose is always fine, but he sometimes writes his supernatural fiction with a certain flippancy that dulls the scariness. “The Temple”, however, is a top-tier tale that makes the flesh creep, about a couple of scholars staying in a rural house situated near a site of pagan sacrifice.
The only dud in the collection for me was “The Man Who Could Talk to the Birds” by JH Pearce, which is written entirely in a thick Cornish dialect that I found painful to read and impossible to enjoy. It’s blessedly short, though, and does tell an intriguing folktale.
I’ll mention just a couple more. “The Shadow on the Moor” by Stuart Strauss is a fun romp notable in part for the lack of information about Strauss, who wrote a few stories in his day but vanished into the ether thereafter. Lastly for this review, I wanted to cite Lisa Tuttle as the most modern (and still living!) author here, and one of a few fine women writers in this collection. Her “Where the Stones Grow” is a skin-crawling tale about a young American’s memory of when his father was killed while on holiday in England, and how the cause might have clung to the son.
Not all of the stories are horror. The first, by diplomat Sarban, is an excerpt from a novella (Ringstones) and gently follows a latter-day picnic among rocks between which faeries once roamed. Later on, Arthur Machen’s brief “The Ceremony” feels more like a prose poem, in its stylised account of a young girl compelled to perform an ancient rite.
I won’t review each of the fifteen stories here, but my favourite is “Lisheen” by Frederick Cowles, the strange and troubling tragedy of a minister in the early 17th century who “lost his immortal soul for the sake of a witch child”. Cowles’ masterstroke is to frame the story as an anomaly of the historical record, unearthed by a latter-day historian, which forces us to glimpse events imperfectly and fill in the blanks with our imaginations.
The best story in literary terms - by which I mean with the strongest development of character and theme - is “The Tarn of Sacrifice” by Algernon Blackwood. It follows a WWI veteran as he goes hiking in the mountains and comes to a primitive house occupied by a man and his adult daughter, rich city people who for mysterious reasons have come to live the peasant life in complete isolation. Although “Lisheen” remains my personal favourite for its drama and creepiness, “Tarn” is an extremely close second. It even has a fairly original ending for a “savage pagans” tale, using the non-Christian faiths as more than a boogeyman.
A lot of these stories are like that in some sense, though. They respect and are knowledgeable about nature religions of old even while using them as horror props. EF Benson’s “The Temple” was surprisingly brilliant. I tend to have mixed feelings about Benson’s ghost stories. He’s an erudite and stylish writer whose prose is always fine, but he sometimes writes his supernatural fiction with a certain flippancy that dulls the scariness. “The Temple”, however, is a top-tier tale that makes the flesh creep, about a couple of scholars staying in a rural house situated near a site of pagan sacrifice.
The only dud in the collection for me was “The Man Who Could Talk to the Birds” by JH Pearce, which is written entirely in a thick Cornish dialect that I found painful to read and impossible to enjoy. It’s blessedly short, though, and does tell an intriguing folktale.
I’ll mention just a couple more. “The Shadow on the Moor” by Stuart Strauss is a fun romp notable in part for the lack of information about Strauss, who wrote a few stories in his day but vanished into the ether thereafter. Lastly for this review, I wanted to cite Lisa Tuttle as the most modern (and still living!) author here, and one of a few fine women writers in this collection. Her “Where the Stones Grow” is a skin-crawling tale about a young American’s memory of when his father was killed while on holiday in England, and how the cause might have clung to the son.
July 15, 2025
Circles of Stone: Weird Tales of Pagan Sites and Ancient Rites (2023) Katy Soar (Ed.)
British Library Tales of the Weird
A well-chosen anthology with some unfamiliar selections.
INTRODUCTION
[….] With no written records to inform us as to how and why they were initially built, they become a nexus for stories. And as the examples in this collection show, those stories are —more frequently than not—wraith-like.
[….] Many stones are also thought to be able tomove by themselves, to turn round, turn over, or dance. Visiting water also seemsto be a common theme: Maen Ceti, a Neolithic chambered cairn in WestGlamorgan, is said to rise and go to the sea to bathe at Midsummer Eve and All-Hallow’s Eve.
An Extract from Ringstones – SARBAN ***
[….] A church chooses to sit upon a heathen temple.
Perhaps these ancient stones hold down something far more ancient, something far stranger than the men who placed them understood. Some queer feet have danced here, I feel.”
The Temple – E . F . BENSON *****
[….] Frank Ingleton and I had left London early in July with the intention of spending a couple of months at least in Cornwall.
The Spirit of Stonehenge – JASPER JOHN ****
[….] We were sitting in the twilight of a June evening. Outside the rain dripped from the trees, from the roof, from the windows; for there had been a dreadful thunderstorm.
The First Sheaf – H . R . WAKEFIELD *****
Cf. "The Picnickers" (1991) by Brian Lumley
The Tarn of Sacrifice – ALGERNON BLACKWOOD ***
Life's malign repetitions converge in open country.
The Shadow on the Moor – STUART STRAUSS
A writer goes in search of a new subject. Learns better.
[….] He had been stagnating. Before, to him, mystery had meant the East—the Orient —but here at home in the quiet of old England was more mystery—more allure than he had ever known.
Lisheen – FREDERICK COWLES
[….] Often on the dark nights of November, when the candles gleam on the altars of Germallion church and the vested priest chants the Office of the Dead, there comes a sad wailing and a soft tapping on the windows of the sanctuary. The timid ones make the holy sign and dare not raise their eyes from their prayer books. But sometimes one, more daring than the others, looks towards a window in which there is no stained glass and sees, pale against the cold panes, the face o a man who should have been dead long since.
The Ceremony – ARTHUR MACHEN
A brief ornament in jade.
The Dark Land – MARY WILLIAMS
[….] “Hob’s End” they called it, I don’t know why....
The Man Who Could Talk with the Birds – J . H . PEARCE
A "learns better" short story in dialect.
The Stone That Liked Company – A . L . ROWSE ****
Rowse is an unrecognized master of pleasing antiquarian horror.
Minuke – NIGEL KNEALE *****
A richly complicated post-Wakefield framing of the haunted house tale.
New Corner – L . T . C . ROLT **
At the risk of being flippant: "The Seventeenth Hole at Doncaster," but on a car race track.
Where the Stones Grow – LISA TUTTLE ****
From a childhood trauma "near Zennor" to a one night stand in San Antonio, Paul Staunton learns all anyone wants to about continuity in life.
The Suppell Stone – ELSA WALLACE****
[….] Here in this enclosed space I had intimations of hostility. It was so quiet but for Perce’s scrapings. I couldn’t understand his insouciance, this asserting of himself, his indifference, apparently, to the strength of the thing. Was he showing off?
British Library Tales of the Weird
A well-chosen anthology with some unfamiliar selections.
INTRODUCTION
[….] With no written records to inform us as to how and why they were initially built, they become a nexus for stories. And as the examples in this collection show, those stories are —more frequently than not—wraith-like.
[….] Many stones are also thought to be able tomove by themselves, to turn round, turn over, or dance. Visiting water also seemsto be a common theme: Maen Ceti, a Neolithic chambered cairn in WestGlamorgan, is said to rise and go to the sea to bathe at Midsummer Eve and All-Hallow’s Eve.
An Extract from Ringstones – SARBAN ***
[….] A church chooses to sit upon a heathen temple.
Perhaps these ancient stones hold down something far more ancient, something far stranger than the men who placed them understood. Some queer feet have danced here, I feel.”
The Temple – E . F . BENSON *****
[….] Frank Ingleton and I had left London early in July with the intention of spending a couple of months at least in Cornwall.
The Spirit of Stonehenge – JASPER JOHN ****
[….] We were sitting in the twilight of a June evening. Outside the rain dripped from the trees, from the roof, from the windows; for there had been a dreadful thunderstorm.
The First Sheaf – H . R . WAKEFIELD *****
Cf. "The Picnickers" (1991) by Brian Lumley
The Tarn of Sacrifice – ALGERNON BLACKWOOD ***
Life's malign repetitions converge in open country.
The Shadow on the Moor – STUART STRAUSS
A writer goes in search of a new subject. Learns better.
[….] He had been stagnating. Before, to him, mystery had meant the East—the Orient —but here at home in the quiet of old England was more mystery—more allure than he had ever known.
Lisheen – FREDERICK COWLES
[….] Often on the dark nights of November, when the candles gleam on the altars of Germallion church and the vested priest chants the Office of the Dead, there comes a sad wailing and a soft tapping on the windows of the sanctuary. The timid ones make the holy sign and dare not raise their eyes from their prayer books. But sometimes one, more daring than the others, looks towards a window in which there is no stained glass and sees, pale against the cold panes, the face o a man who should have been dead long since.
The Ceremony – ARTHUR MACHEN
A brief ornament in jade.
The Dark Land – MARY WILLIAMS
[….] “Hob’s End” they called it, I don’t know why....
The Man Who Could Talk with the Birds – J . H . PEARCE
A "learns better" short story in dialect.
The Stone That Liked Company – A . L . ROWSE ****
Rowse is an unrecognized master of pleasing antiquarian horror.
Minuke – NIGEL KNEALE *****
A richly complicated post-Wakefield framing of the haunted house tale.
New Corner – L . T . C . ROLT **
At the risk of being flippant: "The Seventeenth Hole at Doncaster," but on a car race track.
Where the Stones Grow – LISA TUTTLE ****
From a childhood trauma "near Zennor" to a one night stand in San Antonio, Paul Staunton learns all anyone wants to about continuity in life.
The Suppell Stone – ELSA WALLACE****
[….] Here in this enclosed space I had intimations of hostility. It was so quiet but for Perce’s scrapings. I couldn’t understand his insouciance, this asserting of himself, his indifference, apparently, to the strength of the thing. Was he showing off?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2024
"Some queer feet have danced here, I feel"
A great collection, very well edited and curated. Loved the historical lens in the introduction. And probably the most varied of these BL collections that I've read - both in terms of the time of writing (some very modern stories included), and the storytelling topics and techniques. Also enjoyed the touches of psychological horror, or the sense of character's questioning what they were seeing and wondering if they were being paranoid.
The very first story (An Extract from Ringstones by Sarban) was amazing and very unique, loved the philosophical tone and the lack of traditional plot. Very interesting theories in that story as well, the idea of places holding power, and subsequent religions taking over the sacred places of the old religions - "the conqueror sits on the vanquished's throne because it is a throne".
There were a few less outstanding but still enjoyable stories in the middle of the collection. Some of these tended towards historically questionable and somewhat cliched ideas of human sacrifice at these stone circles. Some cool moments describing ritual music and the effect this has on people though.
Enjoyed the strangeness and extremeness of 'Minuke'. Very intrigued to read more by Nigel Kneale, whose TV writing seems legendary, and who I didn't realise had written fiction for print as well.
The penultimate story ('Where the Stones Grow' by Lisa Tuttle) was possibly my favourite of the whole book. One of the tales I would consider 'modern' beyond what I typically expect from a BL collection. A very enjoyable read with a fantastic climax that had me figuratively shouting at the page. Also extremely entertaining dialogue between visiting sceptic and local believer. These were some of my favourite quotes from this story (**mild spoilers ahead**):
'"I've never heard a story like that. People don't just turn to stone for no reason". "Of course not... I didn't say it was for no reason"'
'"You mean there's some sort of a curse on it?" "No... It's just a place where stones grow." "But stones don't grow."'
Can't recommend this book enough, will definitely be hoping to read more from some of these authors.
A great collection, very well edited and curated. Loved the historical lens in the introduction. And probably the most varied of these BL collections that I've read - both in terms of the time of writing (some very modern stories included), and the storytelling topics and techniques. Also enjoyed the touches of psychological horror, or the sense of character's questioning what they were seeing and wondering if they were being paranoid.
The very first story (An Extract from Ringstones by Sarban) was amazing and very unique, loved the philosophical tone and the lack of traditional plot. Very interesting theories in that story as well, the idea of places holding power, and subsequent religions taking over the sacred places of the old religions - "the conqueror sits on the vanquished's throne because it is a throne".
There were a few less outstanding but still enjoyable stories in the middle of the collection. Some of these tended towards historically questionable and somewhat cliched ideas of human sacrifice at these stone circles. Some cool moments describing ritual music and the effect this has on people though.
Enjoyed the strangeness and extremeness of 'Minuke'. Very intrigued to read more by Nigel Kneale, whose TV writing seems legendary, and who I didn't realise had written fiction for print as well.
The penultimate story ('Where the Stones Grow' by Lisa Tuttle) was possibly my favourite of the whole book. One of the tales I would consider 'modern' beyond what I typically expect from a BL collection. A very enjoyable read with a fantastic climax that had me figuratively shouting at the page. Also extremely entertaining dialogue between visiting sceptic and local believer. These were some of my favourite quotes from this story (**mild spoilers ahead**):
'"I've never heard a story like that. People don't just turn to stone for no reason". "Of course not... I didn't say it was for no reason"'
'"You mean there's some sort of a curse on it?" "No... It's just a place where stones grow." "But stones don't grow."'
Can't recommend this book enough, will definitely be hoping to read more from some of these authors.
Read
April 13, 2025I read enough of the British Library Tales of the Weird that they're obviously doing something right, but so often they make infuriating basic errors, whether that be overfamiliar inclusions, stories that don't really fit the theme, or intrusive introductions that give too much away and/or attempt to impose a tendentious reading. So it may sound as if I'm damning with faint praise, but I intend it with genuine enthusiasm, when I say that every story here has megalithic content, I'd not read any of them before, and the editor didn't ruin any of them along the way. See? It's not so hard! So why can't every volume be like this?
Hell, for the most part I can't even fault the quality, though I consider that very much the secondary mission objective in a series with an archival brief. Sure, JH Pearce insists on doing the accent, but The Man Who Could Talk With The Birds is brief enough that it doesn't grate too badly. Algernon Blackwood's The Tarn Of Sacrifice cops out at the end, Nigel Kneale's Minuke feels a little rushed compared to the expert build of his later TV work, and LTC Rolt's The New Corner gets a bit caught up in the minutiae of motor racing – but with names like that, obviously you still get more than enough good stuff to make up for it. Even with Machen, Soar resists the temptation to use The White People again, excellent though it is, and instead gives us the more seldom seen (and much shorter) companion piece The Ceremony. Digging deeper, less celebrated names such as Mary Williams, Frederick Cowles and the utterly obscure Stuart Strauss all prove themselves worthy of this exalted company. And the one remaining objection – doesn't it get a bit samey reading multiple consecutive stories of people fool enough to fuck around with ominous ancient monuments? – proves remarkably flimsy. For one thing, the theme admits more variety than you might expect. But also, if there's one thing we've gained in this godawful era it's repeated proof that yes, humans genuinely are that stupid.
Hell, for the most part I can't even fault the quality, though I consider that very much the secondary mission objective in a series with an archival brief. Sure, JH Pearce insists on doing the accent, but The Man Who Could Talk With The Birds is brief enough that it doesn't grate too badly. Algernon Blackwood's The Tarn Of Sacrifice cops out at the end, Nigel Kneale's Minuke feels a little rushed compared to the expert build of his later TV work, and LTC Rolt's The New Corner gets a bit caught up in the minutiae of motor racing – but with names like that, obviously you still get more than enough good stuff to make up for it. Even with Machen, Soar resists the temptation to use The White People again, excellent though it is, and instead gives us the more seldom seen (and much shorter) companion piece The Ceremony. Digging deeper, less celebrated names such as Mary Williams, Frederick Cowles and the utterly obscure Stuart Strauss all prove themselves worthy of this exalted company. And the one remaining objection – doesn't it get a bit samey reading multiple consecutive stories of people fool enough to fuck around with ominous ancient monuments? – proves remarkably flimsy. For one thing, the theme admits more variety than you might expect. But also, if there's one thing we've gained in this godawful era it's repeated proof that yes, humans genuinely are that stupid.
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