Nightmares from the Graveyard

By John Clewarth

Young Danny and his friend, Jake, love everyting about Halloween - and are regular 'Trick or Treaters'. On their way home after a particularly good Halloween night, full of candy and chocolate, they simply had to stop off and visit Blacklow Cemetery. The huge, circular mausoleum, with its imposing high wall and the strange old tree at its centre was the focus of a bet.

Would Danny have the courage to scale the wall and climb up on top, to look down at the mysterious interior of this communal grave? You bet! And what's more, he would win ten pounds from his best friend, Jake, for taking the dare!

But when Danny loses his balance and falls inside, suddenly it's not so much fun any more.

As Jake runs for help, and Danny's spinning senses start to clear, he realises he is not alone inside the circular tomb. He has a companion, the strange and shadowy Mr Fraxinus; a man who seems to enjoy Halloween just as much as Danny and Jake. A man who likes to pass the time telling stories of a distinctly spooky nature...

And with each story told, Danny's sense of very real terror begins to increase.

A collection of linked short and scary stories, from master macabre-story teller, John Clewarth - author of The People's Book Prize 2013 finalist, Firestorm Rising, and the newly released, Demons in the Dark.

Be sure to read these tales with the lights on - and keep telling yourself: 'They're only stories.... They're only stories...'

Now. Are you brave enough to step inside Blacklow Cemetery, on Halloween?
Go on, I dare you...

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Clewarth
• Release date: Jun 9, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301710171

John Clewarth

John was born in 1962, in a Yorkshire mining village called Featherstone. He was lucky enough to be brought up in a very happy home, and doubly lucky to have grown up around the time of the Hammer horror films and television shows such as The Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense and Tales of the Unexpected. As he got a little older, as a treat, he was allowed to stay up on a Friday night and watch the spine-tingling series: Appointment With Fear. Couple all this with the great Pan Books of Horror and the plethora of ‘true’ ghost stories that featured in around his local area, and it is perhaps no surprise that John began writing dark, spooky stories.John has a great career in teaching and loves his job. The youngsters he teaches are excellent sources of inspiration and he finds it useful when writing dialogue and forming characters, to draw upon some of the things he sees and hears at school! John is a natural story-teller and greatly enjoys shaping ideas into tales and fully-developed novels. He writes mainly, but not exclusively, for children and young adults, but has had over 50 short stories published in the independent press under the pseudonym, John Saxton; including a collection of adult horror stories, entitled ‘Bloodshot’.His first novel, ‘Firestorm Rising’, is a chilling tale, inspired by a visit to a gothic graveyard one dark, rainy day. It is aimed at the 9 to 12 age range, but would certainly appeal to older readers too - it was a finalist in The People's Book Prize 2013. His second novel, ‘Demons in the Dark’, is a horror story, broadly aimed at the 10-14 age range, but with an eye on the young adult market. John believes that horror should be scary but fun, and loves to lace his stories with humour. For further details and sneaky previews of these, along with John’s future projects, please visit his website: www.johnclewarth.comJohn lives near the ancient town of Pontefract with his wife and two sons and – because of his teaching job and busy family life - he writes mainly after dark. He is currently at work on the sequel to ‘Firestorm Rising’, which will be ready for release later in the year.Nightmares from the Graveyard is a free gift, as a thank you to all his readers.

Book preview

Nightmares from the Graveyard

by

John Clewarth

Smashwords Edition

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Copyright ©John Clewarth 2013

All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted,

in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the author.

All characters and events in this publication are purely fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

JohnClewarth.com

All rights reserved

Written in English (UK)

Smashwords Edition

Nightmares from the Graveyard

Chapter 1 – Circle of Ash

Blacklow Cemetery shimmered in the evening mist of October; Halloween, the night when restless spirits, witches, ghosts and all manner of unearthly things roam abroad. Jake and Danny had been out trick-or-treating and were laden with bags full of sweets and chocolate. They should have been home by now, but for the bet…

‘Still think I’m gonna back out, huh?’ Danny’s tone was full of bravado that barely hid his trepidation.

‘Up to you,’ Jake smirked, ‘But if you don’t do it, you owe me ten quid!’ He rubbed his hands together gleefully, certain in his mind that this would be the easiest cash he’d ever make.

Danny looked out over the vast expanse of headstones, broken plaster angels, tombs and crosses; the land of the dead. It was the blurred silhouette at the top of the hill that chilled his blood most of all. Blacklow had the largest graveyard for miles around and its crowning glory was the Circle of Ash. There in the crest of the highest mound, nestled a circular construction made up of conjoined mausoleums; a kind of terraced housing for the dead of the wealthier families of Blacklow.

‘You’ll give me a leg-up, yeah?’ queried Danny.

‘Sure. I’ll boost you up the wall, then you gotta jump down into the middle and climb the old tree.’ The ‘old tree’ was an ancient Ash that spread, ghost-like, in the centre of the ring of mausoleums.

‘Then when I get to the top of the tree, I hang