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Spirits of the Dead
Here are eleven superlative stories, three of which are previously unpublished ... tales featuring dark and demonic occult encounters, pagan terrors and Jamesian chills.
SPIRITS OF THE DEAD is possibly the last collection from the pen of the late and much missed Ron Weighell to feature some of the author’s unpublished stories. “Older than Christmas” is a feast of pagan goings-on and, this story, as well as “The Tale Once Told” seem to have a distinct hint of the Jamesian. Ron had been working on and off on “On Murder Considered as One of the Black Arts” for many years and it is, maybe, one of his darker and most terrifyingly disturbing stories (no spoilers here but don’t read just before bed).
Seven of the eight previously published stories collected appeared in anthologies from Egaeus Press, Swan River Press, Undertow Publications, Zagava Press and Sarob Press. “The Mark of Andreas Germer” appeared as Quire xiii, a handmade chapbook from The Last Press.
So, kick off your shoes, settle down before (preferably) a roaring log fire, with a warming tipple to hand … and gently immerse yourself in this wonderfully dark and shadowy tome.
The stories: “The Malleus Bone” “Older than Christmas*” “The Palace of Force and Fire” “Spirits of the Dead” “The Invisible Worm” “The Mark of Andreas Germer” “The Tale Once Told*” “Under the Frenzy of the Fourteenth Moon” “Drebbel, Zander and Zervan” “The Chapel of Infernal Devotion” and “On Murder Considered as One of the Black Arts*”. With an extensive introduction by Mark Valentine.
*Previously unpublished and original to this collection.
SPIRITS OF THE DEAD is possibly the last collection from the pen of the late and much missed Ron Weighell to feature some of the author’s unpublished stories. “Older than Christmas” is a feast of pagan goings-on and, this story, as well as “The Tale Once Told” seem to have a distinct hint of the Jamesian. Ron had been working on and off on “On Murder Considered as One of the Black Arts” for many years and it is, maybe, one of his darker and most terrifyingly disturbing stories (no spoilers here but don’t read just before bed).
Seven of the eight previously published stories collected appeared in anthologies from Egaeus Press, Swan River Press, Undertow Publications, Zagava Press and Sarob Press. “The Mark of Andreas Germer” appeared as Quire xiii, a handmade chapbook from The Last Press.
So, kick off your shoes, settle down before (preferably) a roaring log fire, with a warming tipple to hand … and gently immerse yourself in this wonderfully dark and shadowy tome.
The stories: “The Malleus Bone” “Older than Christmas*” “The Palace of Force and Fire” “Spirits of the Dead” “The Invisible Worm” “The Mark of Andreas Germer” “The Tale Once Told*” “Under the Frenzy of the Fourteenth Moon” “Drebbel, Zander and Zervan” “The Chapel of Infernal Devotion” and “On Murder Considered as One of the Black Arts*”. With an extensive introduction by Mark Valentine.
*Previously unpublished and original to this collection.
- GenresFiction
177 pages, Hardcover
Published April 1, 2024
54 people want to read
About the author
Ron Weighell
37 books12 followersRon Weighell (1950 - 2020) was a British writer of fiction in the supernatural, fantasy and horror genre, whose work was published in the United Kingdom, the U.S.A., Canada, Germany, Ireland, Romania, Finland, Belgium and Mexico.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 15, 2025
Not great, not terrible, an okay collection with some nice peaks. As is the case with everything I've read by Weighell, his stories have nice ideas and interesting prose, but are weighted down by an unnecessary plethora of occult facts and terminology which feel more like the writer trying to show us his wealth of knowledge, and less like functional narrative parts.
The stories that stood out for me were:
- The Malleus Bone: A man starts hearing a puritanical (to say the least) voice in his head after being wounded by an old needle. Its second half is probably the book's highlight, with its dark witchcraft.
- Older than Christmas: A young priest is visited on Christmas Eve by a strange family. Nice wintry atmosphere.
- Drebbel, Zander and Zervan: Concerning a bookstore stocking some rare treasures.
- The Chapel of Infernal Devotion: A man traces the work of an obscure artist to a secluded mansion. Nice fey-adjacent novella.
- On murder considered as one of the black arts: A young man obsessed with religion starts performing his own take on the mass and the transubstantiation.
The stories that stood out for me were:
- The Malleus Bone: A man starts hearing a puritanical (to say the least) voice in his head after being wounded by an old needle. Its second half is probably the book's highlight, with its dark witchcraft.
- Older than Christmas: A young priest is visited on Christmas Eve by a strange family. Nice wintry atmosphere.
- Drebbel, Zander and Zervan: Concerning a bookstore stocking some rare treasures.
- The Chapel of Infernal Devotion: A man traces the work of an obscure artist to a secluded mansion. Nice fey-adjacent novella.
- On murder considered as one of the black arts: A young man obsessed with religion starts performing his own take on the mass and the transubstantiation.
Displaying 1 of 1 review