This Spectured Isle: A Journey Through Haunted England

The walls of Clifford's Tower bleed. Thomas, Earl of Lancaster stalks Dunstanburgh Castle carrying the mangled head which Edward II's bungling executioner took eleven strokes to sever. The Rollright Stones possess a strange force that can fling you to the ground and confuse the mind. The brooding towers of Reculver echo with the cries of a baby sacrificed by the Romans. Whether you are a believer in ghosts or not a visit to an historic site is bound to be enhanced by the stories that cling to it. And this journey through England focuses on the 'other side' of the picture. Guidebooks will tell you about the architecture, the history, the people who lived and worked and died in these historic places. But here you will find the legends and the mysteries, the tales of the unexplained, the shivery unknown, and the fascinating stories that bring the place to life and clothe the ruins. The stories are a journey, starting at Tintagel on the north Cornish coast, and ending in the far north-east, at Lindisfarne Priory on Holy Island. They are a journey in time too, from the unknowable mysteriousness of the prehistoric through to the ghosts of the Second World War. All kinds of sites are here, including Neolithic tombs, Roman forts, Norman castles, medieval abbeys, Tudor mansions and World War II airfields. Draw back the veil and meet the ghosts of England's haunted heritage. Simon Marsden is an internationally acclaimed photographer specialising in the fantastic and supernatural. He has written several books including The Twilight Hour; The Haunted Realm and Journal of a Ghosthunter.