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Deadtime Story
The place is Lower Ditton. So peaceful, so silent . . . . But the silence is deceptive. It's the silence of the grave. The silence of a village too terrified to scream. The silence of an army of vengeful spirits who've possessed the bodies of young children...
- GenresHorror
232 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1987
2 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Bingley
22 books12 followersMargaret Bingley was born in Sutton, Surrey more years ago than she cares to remember. She was educated at Sutton High School for Girls GPDST and then at Rickard’s Lodge Secretarial College in Wimbledon. This secretarial college no longer exists, a fact for which she refuses to bear any responsibility.
After that she went to work at the BBC in London, and later moved to work for The Heinemann Group of Publishers at Lower Kingswood in Surrey, where she met her future husband, Alan.
In 1974, Margaret and Alan moved to Grantham in Lincolnshire, due to Alan’s work commitments. Margaret found it difficult to find the kind of work that she enjoyed there, and decided that having a child might be more fun.
In 1976 her son, Alex, was born and she discovered that she was wrong. It had actually been more fun working as a secretary in a tyre making machinery company. Because Alex was an active little chap, with a severe case of sleep aversion for his first four years, Margaret became physically exhausted and mentally brain dead.
After reading a particularly boring book, she decided to try and write one herself and eventually, after many trials and tribulations, her first book THE DEVIL’S CHILD was published. Much of the book was based on those early, halcyon days of motherhood.
She continued writing steadily from 1983 onwards, and in February 2000 she also started writing a weekly column of 400 words for the local paper, The Grantham Journal, entitled ‘The Way I See It’.
The way she saw it was often not the way the readers saw it, but at least it provided people with a talking point and someone to hate when the weather was bad. She stopped writing the column in July 2005 due to her husband’s ill health.
Over the years, as Margaret has progressed from manual typewriter to electric typewriter to computer, Alan has retired to become a kept man and Alex has been to drama school, where he gained a B.A.(Hons) in acting. He then spent four years as an actor/waiter before deciding to take a Masters Degree in Voice at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Having gained his Masters, he is now a freelance voice and speech coach. He currently teaches voice at The Drama Centre, The Central School of Speech and Drama, the E15 Drama School and on the Italia Conti B.A.(Hons) acting course. He also teaches private and corporate clients and very kindly gives his mother free vocal assistance before she’s due to give any of her talks. He is also extremely good at giving her relaxation hints. On balance, she feels that having a child turned out to be a wise decision.
Apart from her work, Margaret enjoys reading, opera, dry white wine, Foyle’s War (or anything else with Michael Kitchen in it!) and gardening.
She does not like reality TV shows, ‘alternative’ comedians or Political Correctness.
Margaret also publishes erotica novels under the pseudonyms Fredrica Alleyn and Marina Anderson.
After that she went to work at the BBC in London, and later moved to work for The Heinemann Group of Publishers at Lower Kingswood in Surrey, where she met her future husband, Alan.
In 1974, Margaret and Alan moved to Grantham in Lincolnshire, due to Alan’s work commitments. Margaret found it difficult to find the kind of work that she enjoyed there, and decided that having a child might be more fun.
In 1976 her son, Alex, was born and she discovered that she was wrong. It had actually been more fun working as a secretary in a tyre making machinery company. Because Alex was an active little chap, with a severe case of sleep aversion for his first four years, Margaret became physically exhausted and mentally brain dead.
After reading a particularly boring book, she decided to try and write one herself and eventually, after many trials and tribulations, her first book THE DEVIL’S CHILD was published. Much of the book was based on those early, halcyon days of motherhood.
She continued writing steadily from 1983 onwards, and in February 2000 she also started writing a weekly column of 400 words for the local paper, The Grantham Journal, entitled ‘The Way I See It’.
The way she saw it was often not the way the readers saw it, but at least it provided people with a talking point and someone to hate when the weather was bad. She stopped writing the column in July 2005 due to her husband’s ill health.
Over the years, as Margaret has progressed from manual typewriter to electric typewriter to computer, Alan has retired to become a kept man and Alex has been to drama school, where he gained a B.A.(Hons) in acting. He then spent four years as an actor/waiter before deciding to take a Masters Degree in Voice at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Having gained his Masters, he is now a freelance voice and speech coach. He currently teaches voice at The Drama Centre, The Central School of Speech and Drama, the E15 Drama School and on the Italia Conti B.A.(Hons) acting course. He also teaches private and corporate clients and very kindly gives his mother free vocal assistance before she’s due to give any of her talks. He is also extremely good at giving her relaxation hints. On balance, she feels that having a child turned out to be a wise decision.
Apart from her work, Margaret enjoys reading, opera, dry white wine, Foyle’s War (or anything else with Michael Kitchen in it!) and gardening.
She does not like reality TV shows, ‘alternative’ comedians or Political Correctness.
Margaret also publishes erotica novels under the pseudonyms Fredrica Alleyn and Marina Anderson.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 25, 2023
The title lured me in and I wasn't disappointed. Numerous murders happen in Lower Ditton, a small English village. Who did it and why? Traces lead back to a burning refuge for women with many dead. What is the role of the children here? What about Carlo and Colin? Will Amy be able to flee this place of horror? If you really want to meet up with some really evil children possessed (here you get some of the most evil I met for quite a while) you definitely should pick up this 80s classic. In an intriguing and compelling way the author comes up with quite an eerie tale here. Some scenes are extremely scary and those kids gave me the creeps. Enjoyed it thoroughly for what it was. Great pulp horror fiction. Highly recommended!
March 5, 2016
This book sucks as hard as the creepy kid on the cover. I knew that major typo on page five was a bad sign. Silliness I can deal with, but dull is unforgivable. Nothing to see here.
August 4, 2023
that was shit
September 21, 2016
I was expecting a standard 'creepy children' horror story, but this is also a story about child abuse and domestic violence (and social reactions to it). The writing is effective but very to the point; no real creative flourishes. It still managed to grip me until the end. It's worth a read if you find it somewhere, but I wouldn't consider it a book worth hunting for.
June 23, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this literary piece and had the pleasure of working on it with Crossroads Press. A must read! Other books I highly recommend that I have read are After Alice and Village of Satan.
May 14, 2019
I honestly cannot remember this story much any more, BUT this was a book I bought back when I was a teen from our local used book stores. I remember devouring the book and here 20+ years later it’s still on my shelf. Must have been good enough at the time!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews