Formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook | Cover design: Zuzanna Kwiecien | ISBN (paperback): 9781916234703 | Pages: 272 | Published: 25 October 2019

About the Book

Scotland has a stunning tradition of oral storytelling, from the firesides of the nation’s legendary storytelling families to the physical and virtual platforms of today’s narrative performers. Scotland is also a place with a strange, longstanding affinity with that most chilling of genres: the Gothic.

Haunted Voices – a bold and ambitious anthology in both text and audio – showcases some of Scotland’s best oral storytellers, from archived stories of past masters to the work of contemporary performers, and their most disturbing tales of terror.

Expect monstrous tongue-eaters, shadowy demons, haunted video tapes, wicked priests, strange shapes in the darkness, a retelling of Poe’s The Raven… and more!

Scotland may be small, but it has many, many voices. So gather round and listen close. This is Haunted Voices: Scotland’s great Gothic chorus.

About the Editor

Rebecca Wojturska is the Managing Director of Haunt Publishing. She has written three dissertations on Gothic literature. In her spare time she loves to read anything dark and spooky, write horror fiction as well as non-fiction about mental illness, play D&D, and crush her enemies at board games. She likes to think she would be the Final Girl (she wouldn’t be).

Contributors

Fiona Barnett, Paul Bristow, P. D. Brown, Anna Cheung, Pauline Cordiner, Chris Edwards, Fran Flett Hollinrake, Gavin Inglis, Daiva Ivanauskaitė, Sheila Kinninmonth, Kirsty Logan, Seoras Macpherson, Ali Maloney, Daru McAleece, Conner McAleese, Jen McGregor, Paul McQuade, Ricky Monahan Brown, Alycia Pirmohamed, Gauri Raje, Jude Reid, Max Scratchmann, sean wai keung, D. A. Watson, Katalina Watt.

Also includes archived tales from: Stanley Robertson, Jeannie Robertson, Jean Rodger, Duncan Williamson and Betsy Whyte.

Each story has an accompanying illustration by Zuzanna Kwiecien.

Find out more about the contributors.

Praise for Haunted Voices

“Haunted Voices is a unique and important project and shines a spotlight on the vein of dark, visceral fiction that runs through Scotland's very flesh. An essential collection for anyone keen to understand Scotland's spellbinding storytelling traditions, and how they manifest today.”
Heather Parry

“Haunted Voices is fascinating and unique. The stories within display a great range of moods, themes and styles, showing that this genre continues to have new things to say. With an accompanying audiobook, these voices will continue to haunt us into the future and help keep a traditional form of storytelling alive.”
Peter Meinertzhagen, Sublime Horror

"These are the kind of stories you’d want to hear on a dark night in front of a fire, huddled up close and ready for haunting. An excellent collection of horror and (sometimes) humour, these gothic gems paint a spectacular picture of Scotland’s spooky storytelling history, as well as highlighting some new impressive talent. The horrors within these pages are not to be missed."
Chiara Bullen, CommonSpace

“Haunted Voices will be an invaluable addition to the Scottish literary canon. Haunt offers the opportunity to engage in one of Scotland’s oldest, most precious but at times inaccessible artforms. A beautiful collection of strange and unsettling stories from Scotland’s past, present and possible futures.”
Jack Lennon, Blood Bath Literary Zine

“Haunted Voices occupies an important Gothic corner in the Scottish storytelling tradition, drawing on Scotland’s rich oral history while being at the forefront of something new. Haunted Voices spans Scotland’s urban and remote landscapes to put its finger firmly on the pulse of a well established (and continuing) oral storytelling culture. The supernatural themes send shivers down the spine and showcase the vitality of the Scottish storytelling tradition. Spellbinding.”
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