Guildhall Press 'Parade of Phantoms- Derry Ghostlore' by Peter McCartney

Derry has long had a rich tradition of storytelling. For many years, fireside accounts of the mysterious and the macabre were commonplace in households throughout the city, enthralling and entertaining young and old alike.

Based on the actual experiences and reminiscences of people from different parts of the city, these ‘spirited’ tales take the reader on a terrifying tour of the spectral spectrum – from creaking haunted houses and bloodcurdling noises in the dead of night, to wailing banshees and a parade of other ghostly encounters.

Parade of Phantoms: Derry Ghostlore by Peter McCartney is one of Derry’s most sought-after ghostly collections. Updated, revised and illustrated throughout with ghoulish graphics and eerie imagery, these local tales of terror were resurrected by popular demand, exactly 20 years after they first rose from the page to terrify and entertain the local population of the city and its environs. This edition combines contemporary and traditional stories of malevolent spirits and classic horrible happenings including: Half-hanged McNaghten, The Headless Coachman, The Whispering Man, The Demon Bride, Old Foyle’s Legacy, The Blacksmith and the Devil, Banshee Tales, Nightmare on Nelson Street and the Insidious Intruder.

The mature reader may well reminisce on the thrill of hushed family gatherings listening to softly spoken spine-chilling tales. The younger reader may well experience a frisson of surprise at the nature and extent of the malevolent manifestations and sinister shenanigans occurring in this city – but then again, maybe not! The more discerning reader may well even identify a few uncanny similarities between eerie instances portrayed in some of these stories and eerie instances portrayed in some classic horror films – all the more remarkable given that these tales predate the movie counterparts!

Where there is no imagination, there is no horror. Arthur Conan Doyle

Category:                   Local interest

Sub-category:            Ghostlore

Readership:               General

First published:         October 1991

Revised edition:        October 2011

ISBN:                         9781 906271 40 4

Pages:                         112

Imagery:                    Mono photos/graphics throughout

Binding:                     Paperback

Dimensions:               20 x 19 x 1 cm                       

Weight:                      315gms/0lb 11oz                   

Sale Price:                  £8.95