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Tales From Badgers Crossing
“'Welcome to Badgers Crossing'
So says the sign on the road into town. If you’re in a car, you might not have time to make out the smaller text beneath it as you trundle past:
BE CAREFULL HOW YOU GO IN OUR TOWN”
In a quiet corner of the British countryside, somewhere between the windy west coast and rugged hills to the east, you will find Badgers Crossing. An uncanny, sometimes sinister town, often dubbed The Most Haunted Town in Britain. Have you ever been there?
Paul Childs’ debut collection of horrifying tales was inspired by horror comics and ghost stories of his 1980s youth, Childs has grown the fictional town of Badgers Crossing since a chance glimpse of a road sign on the main road out of his hometown.
With a foreword by the terrific Rev Peter Laws.
So says the sign on the road into town. If you’re in a car, you might not have time to make out the smaller text beneath it as you trundle past:
BE CAREFULL HOW YOU GO IN OUR TOWN”
In a quiet corner of the British countryside, somewhere between the windy west coast and rugged hills to the east, you will find Badgers Crossing. An uncanny, sometimes sinister town, often dubbed The Most Haunted Town in Britain. Have you ever been there?
Paul Childs’ debut collection of horrifying tales was inspired by horror comics and ghost stories of his 1980s youth, Childs has grown the fictional town of Badgers Crossing since a chance glimpse of a road sign on the main road out of his hometown.
With a foreword by the terrific Rev Peter Laws.
Published May 20, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 27, 2022
This is a short story collection which insists that you leave your cynicism at the door.
The stories are loosely interrelated and hint at a broader tapestry. The one thing they all have in common is a connection with the titular town of Badgers Crossing, dubbed “the most haunted town in England”.
Childs has a remarkably easy-to-read writing style, with a very light touch. He’s developed an incredibly welcoming narrative voice that invites you in and pulls you through the stories effortlessly. That’s not something which is easy to achieve by any stretch of the imagination.
The collection offers a kind of “chocolate box” selection of stories sprinkled across the decades, ranging from folk horror, the darker side of hazy childhood nostalgia, sci-fi, and technology gone wrong, meaning you’ll never know what you are going to get next.
I preferred the creepier and more folk horror tinged tales, but there will be readers who will delight in the broad array on offer here.
I find the hook of “the most haunted town in England” to be so delicious that I wish I had come away with a better feel for the fictional town. Some of the tales take place many miles from the town itself and I would have loved to have spent the lion’s share of my time between the covers exploring Badgers Crossing and its history more deeply.
This is a matter of personal taste, though, and doesn’t detract from a score which reflects a confident, very well written and eclectic collection of stories.
The stories are loosely interrelated and hint at a broader tapestry. The one thing they all have in common is a connection with the titular town of Badgers Crossing, dubbed “the most haunted town in England”.
Childs has a remarkably easy-to-read writing style, with a very light touch. He’s developed an incredibly welcoming narrative voice that invites you in and pulls you through the stories effortlessly. That’s not something which is easy to achieve by any stretch of the imagination.
The collection offers a kind of “chocolate box” selection of stories sprinkled across the decades, ranging from folk horror, the darker side of hazy childhood nostalgia, sci-fi, and technology gone wrong, meaning you’ll never know what you are going to get next.
I preferred the creepier and more folk horror tinged tales, but there will be readers who will delight in the broad array on offer here.
I find the hook of “the most haunted town in England” to be so delicious that I wish I had come away with a better feel for the fictional town. Some of the tales take place many miles from the town itself and I would have loved to have spent the lion’s share of my time between the covers exploring Badgers Crossing and its history more deeply.
This is a matter of personal taste, though, and doesn’t detract from a score which reflects a confident, very well written and eclectic collection of stories.
July 25, 2022
I really enjoyed this short story collection from Paul Childs.
They are written in a very readable and flowing style. All centred around a fictional town, and they all have some horror elements.
I am a huge fan of short story collections and this one did not disappoint. A few of them stood out to me and I continue to think about them after finishing this book, those include Sunday Shoes, Cloakroom Duty, The Grey Path, and Grey Mary. They were pure gold, and I felt like a kid again reading them.
I struggled somewhat to get into Phenomenal and A Game Of Two Halves because of the format, but they centred around interesting concepts and I'm sure some readers will love them.
The stories were all very well edited and presented, and the variety in format between some of the stories kept it feeling fresh and modern.
There is a lot to love here and I think most readers will find some stories they enjoy. I encourage you to support small presses and new authors and give this a try.
They are written in a very readable and flowing style. All centred around a fictional town, and they all have some horror elements.
I am a huge fan of short story collections and this one did not disappoint. A few of them stood out to me and I continue to think about them after finishing this book, those include Sunday Shoes, Cloakroom Duty, The Grey Path, and Grey Mary. They were pure gold, and I felt like a kid again reading them.
I struggled somewhat to get into Phenomenal and A Game Of Two Halves because of the format, but they centred around interesting concepts and I'm sure some readers will love them.
The stories were all very well edited and presented, and the variety in format between some of the stories kept it feeling fresh and modern.
There is a lot to love here and I think most readers will find some stories they enjoy. I encourage you to support small presses and new authors and give this a try.
May 20, 2022
I am biased, what with being the author and all - so please do leave an honest review of your own!
July 31, 2025
Congratulations on your first book Paul. A wonderful collection of spooky stories. “Cloakroom Duty” was my fave. Took me back to a simpler time.
June 11, 2022
Tales From Badger's Crossing promises 11 stories from the most haunted town in Britain. This collection from Greenteeth Press is very nicely put together.
Here's a little about the stories.
Sunday Shoes - Footloose meets folklore. A strong opening story. The character, Sean was well developed. The folklore in the community is used well, and a touch of the Lord of the Dance in there too.
Gorgon1978 - really cool concept. It played out well. There was a warning of something sinister to
come from this. Perhaps I would have liked to see it play out a little further.
The Conductor - a homage to the 1970s/1980s safety films that terrified so many of us as kids. Was naming a child 'Charley' a deliberate homage? I hope so.
Phenomenal - Part script, part story. It's clear this was fun to write the over-the-top traditional super-hero elements... and then there's some dark stuff in there. I was really enjoying it, but wasn't sure how it could be brought to a satisfactory end. It was.
Goodbye to Love - An office party, an accidental spillage, an employee finally reaching out to speak to the girl of his dreams, and a story that turns out to be not quite what you expect.
Cloakroom Duty - Paul and Helen have the dullest job in the school for the day - Cloakroom Duty. But why won't that red parker stay on its peg... This one catches its era really well and the interactions between the young characters feel very authentic. The mystery unravels with a gentle and pleasant conclusion.
The Grey Path - This is a sweet tale, and one that contains a story within its story. It has a number of different elements. It starts with Debbie and her dad, Tim looking for badgers in the wood. They meet Bert, and he tells a story. We jump back in time to a young Tim with his friend Claire and their experience in the wood, before we return to Debbie and Tim in the present. There's a sense of threat at the end, and again the ending suits the style and the collection as a whole.
A Game of Two Halves - perhaps the most out-there story that has more than a little sci-fi to it. I can't say anything without giving anything away. It uses a structure where it reports on a football match going on at the same time as the events in the first half of the text which is effective.
Vulpine - This one was great. See that man with the amazing costume at the convention..? Yeah, what if that's not a costume? I like the way this ties in with an earlier tale.
Still Boxed - One of the shortest stories in the collection. An effective circular narrative, and a warning to collectors everywhere.
Grey Mary - A nice way to finish the collection with this tale featuring a troubled young man starting a new life in a new home, and a trip to Wales sees his experience the strange tradition of Mari Lywd.
Each story is well written and they're all enjoyable. They have a heart to them. It's clear these stories mean something to the author, and pull from different nostalgic moments. Rather than being horrific tales, they more subtle, with a creepiness lurking in the background.
Perhaps some of them take place a little too far from the Badgers Crossing premise. I was expecting more folk tales rather than those that drift towards the technological. That's a minor gripe about an endearing collection of stories from a talented writer .
Here's a little about the stories.
Sunday Shoes - Footloose meets folklore. A strong opening story. The character, Sean was well developed. The folklore in the community is used well, and a touch of the Lord of the Dance in there too.
Gorgon1978 - really cool concept. It played out well. There was a warning of something sinister to
come from this. Perhaps I would have liked to see it play out a little further.
The Conductor - a homage to the 1970s/1980s safety films that terrified so many of us as kids. Was naming a child 'Charley' a deliberate homage? I hope so.
Phenomenal - Part script, part story. It's clear this was fun to write the over-the-top traditional super-hero elements... and then there's some dark stuff in there. I was really enjoying it, but wasn't sure how it could be brought to a satisfactory end. It was.
Goodbye to Love - An office party, an accidental spillage, an employee finally reaching out to speak to the girl of his dreams, and a story that turns out to be not quite what you expect.
Cloakroom Duty - Paul and Helen have the dullest job in the school for the day - Cloakroom Duty. But why won't that red parker stay on its peg... This one catches its era really well and the interactions between the young characters feel very authentic. The mystery unravels with a gentle and pleasant conclusion.
The Grey Path - This is a sweet tale, and one that contains a story within its story. It has a number of different elements. It starts with Debbie and her dad, Tim looking for badgers in the wood. They meet Bert, and he tells a story. We jump back in time to a young Tim with his friend Claire and their experience in the wood, before we return to Debbie and Tim in the present. There's a sense of threat at the end, and again the ending suits the style and the collection as a whole.
A Game of Two Halves - perhaps the most out-there story that has more than a little sci-fi to it. I can't say anything without giving anything away. It uses a structure where it reports on a football match going on at the same time as the events in the first half of the text which is effective.
Vulpine - This one was great. See that man with the amazing costume at the convention..? Yeah, what if that's not a costume? I like the way this ties in with an earlier tale.
Still Boxed - One of the shortest stories in the collection. An effective circular narrative, and a warning to collectors everywhere.
Grey Mary - A nice way to finish the collection with this tale featuring a troubled young man starting a new life in a new home, and a trip to Wales sees his experience the strange tradition of Mari Lywd.
Each story is well written and they're all enjoyable. They have a heart to them. It's clear these stories mean something to the author, and pull from different nostalgic moments. Rather than being horrific tales, they more subtle, with a creepiness lurking in the background.
Perhaps some of them take place a little too far from the Badgers Crossing premise. I was expecting more folk tales rather than those that drift towards the technological. That's a minor gripe about an endearing collection of stories from a talented writer .
July 2, 2022
Highly recommended collection of stories. There's a bit of everything in here which I loved.
Underlying creepiness, particularly with nods to those terrifying public safety adverts, which appealed to my horror heart, plenty of opportunities to walk down 80s memory lane, and references that spoke to my inner and outer geek.
Each story stands alone in its own right but I enjoyed the subtle interweaving of characters from previous stories making this feel like a cohesive collection.
Take a trip to Badgers Crossing, you won't forget it!
Underlying creepiness, particularly with nods to those terrifying public safety adverts, which appealed to my horror heart, plenty of opportunities to walk down 80s memory lane, and references that spoke to my inner and outer geek.
Each story stands alone in its own right but I enjoyed the subtle interweaving of characters from previous stories making this feel like a cohesive collection.
Take a trip to Badgers Crossing, you won't forget it!
July 5, 2022
A twisty, turny, sometimes funny, always spooky collection of tales from a clearly accomplished author at the height of his powers. A fun, easy read, filled with imagination and wonder. Those old enough to remember the 80s will love it the most!
October 2, 2022
Badgers Crossing is a collection of stories magically linked through characters and the fictional town of the same name. Paul has done a masterful job of weaving nostalgia into modernity, comedy into horror, and folklore into places you wouldn’t expect. While some stories were preferable than others to me (as you’ll always find in a collection!), the cross references made it seem more like a novel than individual stories, without seeming forced. Personal favourites were Sunday Shoes, Cloakroom Duty and The Grey Path but that doesn’t mean the other stories are worse or better, just that these stood out the most to my tastes! An absolutely smashing debut and can’t wait to read about any other secrets Badgers Crossing may hold!
September 22, 2022
The world of Badgers Crossing that Paul has built within these tales is vivid, wide and more than a little delightfully odd.
I love fictional towns where winkwinknudgenudge references to other works are sprinkled throughout, like King’s Derry/Castle Rock, and Paul does a great job of this throughout Tales From Badgers Crossing.
My favourite stories were Cloakroom Duty and The Grey Man. With a special mention to Sunday Shoes for having my favourite opening line. But, unusually for short story collections, there wasn’t a single story I didn’t thoroughly enjoy.
Well worth a read if you enjoy short stories on the spooky and the strange.
I love fictional towns where winkwinknudgenudge references to other works are sprinkled throughout, like King’s Derry/Castle Rock, and Paul does a great job of this throughout Tales From Badgers Crossing.
My favourite stories were Cloakroom Duty and The Grey Man. With a special mention to Sunday Shoes for having my favourite opening line. But, unusually for short story collections, there wasn’t a single story I didn’t thoroughly enjoy.
Well worth a read if you enjoy short stories on the spooky and the strange.
November 9, 2025
I enjoyed this,they were all good and I particularly enjoyed the nod to the safety films of the 80’s. I was shown a lot in school and they should still be shown today,the fear of God was put in to me and I’ve never climbed a pylon,played with a firework,crossed a train track or gone off with a stranger! The folk tale based ones were also my favourite,the first story was horrific and I’m still thinking about it.
July 16, 2022
This collection is a lot of fun to read and full of eighties nostalgia. It reminds me a little of the kids/teens horror shows Creeped Out and Eerie, Indiana. My favourite two stories are Still Boxed and Sunday Shoes.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews