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Synopsis

Tales of Terror from the Black Ship by Chris Priestley

At the Old Inn, which clings precariously to a cliff top above a storm-lashed ocean, two sick children are left alone while their father fetches the doctor. Then a visitor comes begging for shelter, and so begins a long night of storytelling, in which young Ethan and Cathy, who have an unnatural appetite for stories of a macabre persuasion, sit out the last throes of the storm in the company of a sailor with more than enough grisly tales to satisfy them. But something about this sailor puts Ethan on edge, and he becomes increasingly agitated for his father's return. Only when the storm blows itself out can Ethan relax - but not for long, for the new dawn opens the children's eyes to a truth more shocking, more distressing than anything they heard the night before.

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Reviews

'The note of tension and suspense throughout the stories is brilliantly maintained and their ability to deliver one unexpected twist after another will delight even the most prescient of readers'
Books for Keeps
'Tales of Terror from the Black Ship is Chris Priestley's second collection of macabre tales and once again he demonstrates that he is the master of the form ... These grisly, gothic tales deserve to be read aloud and are perfect for Halloween'
The Scotsman
'Priestley is adept at creating a suitably creepy atmosphere, and his lightness of touch as a writer keeps the pages turning long into the night'
The List

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About The Author

Chris Priestley has been a cartoonist and illustrator for many years, working mainly for magazines and newspapers.  He currently has a weekly strip cartoon called 'Payne's Grey' in the New Statesman.

Ever since he was a teenager Chris has loved unsettling and creepy stories, with fond memories of buying comics like 'Strange Tales' and 'House of Mystery', watching classic BBC TV adaptations of M R James ghost stories every Christmas and reading assorted weirdness by everyone from Edgar Allen Poe to Ray Bradbury.  He hopes Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror will haunt his readers in the way those writers have haunted him.

This brilliantly received series of ghost stories, Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror, Tales of Terror from the Black Ship and Tales of Terror from the Tunnel's Mouth, were reissued by Bloomsbury in March 2011 including a brand new story. 

Meanwhile The Dead of Winter, published by Bloomsbury in October 2010 and in paperback in October 2011, is a nail-biting story of hauntings and terror, nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2012.

Mister Creecher, published by Bloomsbury in October 2011 and in paperback in March 2012, is a gripping gothic novel about friendship, trust and betrayal.

 

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