Midnight Never Comes

by Barbara Roden (Editor), Christopher Roden

In 1961, ghost story writer H.R. Wakefield stated bluntly, I believe ghost story writing to be a dying art . . .' This pessimistic statement has been echoed down through the decades since the Second World War, an event which, for many, seems to signify the end of the Golden Age of ghost stories. Are those people correct who claim that the modern world, with its all-too-real technological horrors, is no place for the ghost story, with its seemingly gentler terrors? Or is there still room today for tales that frighten without recourse to gruesome special effects', designed simply to appeal to a more and more jaded audience? Midnight Never Comes', the first anthology of all-new stories from Ash-Tree Press, clearly shows that the art of the ghost story is very much alive and well, and ready to enter the next century. Gathered together here are seventeen stories by contemporary writers in the genre, designed to prove that the traditional supernatural tale is far from a dying art. In a variety of styles and settings, the authors explore that dark world which, in these stories, exists beside and often intrudes upon our own, with results that range from the terrifying to the humorous. This is a collection of supernatural tales which will delight long-time enthusiasts of the genre, and at the same time show that there is something new under the sun, and that reports of the ghost story's demise are very much premature. An Ash-Tree Press Limited Edition.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published August 22, 1997

Reviews

[Canavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

✭✭✭

“The Latin Master”, Stephen Volk ✭✭✭½
“Mary King’s Close”, Colon Mackay ✭✭✭
“St. Asphodel and St. Jonquil”, Michael Chislett ✭✭✭½
“‘Father’ O’Flynn and the Fressingfold Friezes”, Tina Rath ✭✭✭
“The Snug”, Terry Lamsley ✭✭✭✭½
“The Sheelagh-na-gig”, Rosemary Pardoe ✭✭✭
“Bury My Heart at Southerham (East Sussex)”, John Whitbourn ✭✭
“The Scent of Oranges”, Jonathan Aycliffe ✭✭✭
“Outside the Gates”, Marni Griffin ✭✭✭
“The Galilean”, David G. Rowlands ✭✭✭
“The Mouth of the Medusa”, Ron Weighell ✭✭✭½
“The Chinese Scholar”, G. W. Howarth ✭✭½
“The Mason’s Leech”, Steve Burt (1994) ✭✭
“Journey Through a Wall”, Rhys Hughes ✭✭✭½
“Swallowing a Dirty Seed”, Simon Clark ✭✭✭
“To Capture a Perfect Wave”, Jesse F. Knight ✭✭✭
“The Marsh Warden”, Steve Duffy ✭✭✭✭

All entries published 1997 unless otherwise noted.

[Marni · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic anthology of contemporary supernatural fiction edited by the incomparable Rodens