The 13th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories

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I wonder why we all – and I do mean all – are so interested in ghosts? Maybe it is a subconscious need to have some confirmation that there is an afterlife; that we continue to exist, in no matter what form, once this brief earthly journey comes to an end. Undoubtedly there would be certain advantages in being a ghost. One could – given freedom of movement – sit in on Cabinet meetings, take a free trip round the world and scare the living daylights out of anyone one did not like.

But of course ghosts rarely do have freedom of movement. Like Murdock Glourie in The Ghost Goes West the disembodied spirit is usually doomed to walk a predestined haunting path, over a period that can stretch into many centuries.

Such was the fate of the ghost in The Case of the Long-Dead Lord by Denis Wheatley. I, for many years, have bowed my head in respectful admiration of Mr Wheatley’s brilliant imagination and devoutly wished I could imitate his mind-engrossing style. Those of you who have read Strange Conflict must have tried – at least once – to practise continuity and recapture memories of your adventures on the astral plane during sleeping hours. Once I was partially successful. Having read the book for the umpteenth time, I retired to bed, determined to find out if there was anything in the theory or not. Suddenly I found myself staring down at my own sleeping body. I was so frightened, I instantly woke up drenched in perspiration, my heart thumping like an overworked steam-engine. All right – it may have been no more than a vivid dream, but it certainly seemed to be very real.

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