Ghostly Tales from Dorset – Fictional Stories and their Factual Bones is a book of 10 short ghost stories based in Dorset.
The book is written in two parts:
Part I is the fictional stories
Part II is short essays on the places in Dorset that inspired the stories.
Part I
- Entitled is told by the ghosts in a graveyard in Portland. About a press gang incident on the island.
- Waterweed is a story about underage soldiers in World War I.
- The Baker is a story set in 1348 about ground zero of the black death.
- Clouds Hill is a story about the theories surrounding the death of Lawrence of Arabia in 1935.
- Stars & Stripes is a tale of guilt set in 1390’s at the seat of the ancestors of George Washington.
- Writing Desk is a creepy story of perspectives and the discomfort of knowing what happens next.
- No Man Left Behind is a story of ghost armies and the men that stand to fight when neither side of a war is ‘their’ side.
- Unexploded is a ghost story about wandering off the safe path.
- Martha, oh Martha is a tale of instant karma set in the present day.
- Death Knell is the story of one way in which an old Dorset legend might have occurred in the 17th Century.
Part II
- St. George’s Church, Portland
- Wool/Bovington
- Knowlton/ Weymouth
- Bovington
- Steeple/ Creech
- Dorchester
- Flowers Barrow/ Wareham
- Tyneham
- Dorchester
- Sturminster Newton
Notes from the author:
This book is the First in a series, Book 2 – Murderous Tales from Dorset will follow the same format and is (optimistically) due out by the end of 2026. All fictional tales are set in Dorset and are a combination of tiny details and old legends that inspire a new fictional story. I have a true passion for writing short stories. I often process the world this way, through a fictional creation. Characters come to me in the middle of the night. As I am writing, I often do not know exactly where the story is going or what the characters will say. I am constantly surprised by the actions of my characters.
If you would like to listen to me reading the story Entitled you can do so here. I hope you enjoy my attempt at old Dorset accents.
You can buy Ghostly Tales from me directly by subscribing to my Substack newsletter here and messaging me directly on that site. I am happy to send to you with free postage. If you prefer, you can buy from Amazon, all my books are listed with them.
