ENGLISH Heritage has published a collection of new ghost stories by award-winning authors this October.

Eight of the country’s foremost novelists and short story writers have written new ghost stories, each inspired by – and set within the walls of – one of English Heritage’s historic properties.

Eight Ghosts: The English Heritage Book of New Ghost Stories, which features sites including Carlisle Castle and Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall, will mark the first time that English Heritage has commissioned new works of fiction. Proceeds from Eight Ghosts will go towards the conservation of English Heritage sites across the country.

Mark visited the Bunker earlier this year for inspiration for his ghostly tale and will return on October 27 for a special event at the Bunker.

Mark said: “The York Cold War Bunker is a genuinely disturbing place, both physically and historically. It was built for an eventuality which would have destroyed large parts of Europe and America and destroyed civil society. Writing a story set in the bunker was a challenge. During a nuclear war, ghosts would be a long way down ones list of worries. And, in my experience, if a story is easy to write it rarely turns out well.”

Bronwen Riley, Head of Content at English Heritage, said: “The castles and stately homes of England have long inspired ghostly myths and legends, after all, white ladies, cursed souls and headless apparitions all need somewhere fitting to haunt. We wanted to challenge today’s writers to use these buildings and come up with a new twist on the English ghost story. Our writers have risen to this challenge magnificently.

“Many of the sites in our care have provided the setting for great poetry and prose including a number of ghost stories.

“But this is the first time that English Heritage has commissioned creative writing and this collection has partly been inspired by our new role as a charity and our desire to look at these wonderful old buildings in new ways. And by buying Eight Ghosts, the reader can help ensure that these sites will continue to inspire story tellers and ghost hunters for generations to come.”

Eight Ghosts will also include an essay on the tradition of the English ghost story by Andrew Martin and a gazetter of those English Heritage sites with ghostly associations. It will be published by September publishing.

For more information go to www.english-heritage.org.uk