For readers new to horror which 3 books would you recommend they start with? ‘ The Haunting of Hill House’ by Shirley Jackson ‘ The Vet’s Daughter’ by Barbara Comyns ‘ Behind her Eyes’ by Sarah Pinborough Do you have a favourite horror sub-genre, and why? What I love about horror is its scope, how it finds its way across all genres, over every imaginable time, place and human concern. I immediately understood that ghost stories and horror give you permission to fossick in the darker parts of the psyche, and explore those places in safety. But most of all I recognised a mode of storytelling which gave expression to the fear I felt in the night. The tale reaches its climax as a mother and father cower away from a pounding at the front door- which they know to be their son, risen from the grave… I remember feeling afraid - and suitably thrilled. ‘Little Eve,’ will be published by W&N in April 2018.įirst memory of reading horror The first ghost story I remember reading was The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. The consequences of her choice are immediate and horrific. Iris makes her father a promise: to remain alone all her life. By the time the novel opens in 1910 only Iris and her father are left, alone in the echoing halls of Rawblood. When a Villarca marries, when they love, when they have a child – she comes and death follows. Her origins are a mystery but her purpose is clear.

She is white, skeletal, covered with scars. It tells the story of the Villarca family, who are haunted through the generations, by her. Tell us about your latest book My debut novel Rawblood (W&N) is set on Dartmoor.

Rawblood book