BOOK NOOK: The Witching Hour

 " 'A general reading, then,' said Noelle, beginning the shuffle with more vigour than she meant, 'will reveal to you an insight into your past, present and future. It shall serve to help you understand the aspects of your life as it stands, and reveal to you the consequences of your intentions or actions. Will this suffice?' "

from A Midnight Visitor by Susan Stokes-Chapman

The Witching Hour: Ghostly Tales for the Darkest Nights is the third seasonal anthology of ghost stories to be published by Little, Brown Book Group, following on from The Haunting Season (2022) and The Winter Spirits (2023).  These collections have become firm favourites of mine for the dark season and this new edition is no exception. It features many of the same authors, including Bridget Collins, Natasha Pulley, Jess Kidd and Kiran Millwood Hargrave, to name a few, so you can be sure of the masterful storytelling contained within the beautiful covers of the book.

As the title suggests, the thirteen spooky tales in this particular anthology are all built upon the central theme of the midnight hour, when anything can happen and strange spirits come out to play. Each tale is complete in itself and together they create an atmospheric and macabre reading experience. The tone is traditional, akin to that of M R James, although the authors are all modern masters of the Gothic genre. 

In this anthology you will find a haunted dolls' house, a vengeful curse, teenage friends who refuse to be parted by death, a couple of modern ghost hunters and much more. Some of my particular favourites are The Signal Bells by Natasha Pulley which has a spooky fey slant (I would have accepted the invitation too!), The Midnight Visitor by Susan Stokes-Chapman in which a tarot reading goes awry, Feast by Kiran Milwood Hargrave where a midnight feast at a girl's boarding school has deadly consequences, and Macaw by Catriona Ward because it is narrated by an all-seeing parrot! I also very much enjoyed The Terror By Night by Bridget Collins for its dark academia vibes, and Dr Thrales Notebook by Michelle Paver which is set in snowy Norway and has macabre Frankensteinian elements to it. 

All in all, this is another fantastic anthology of ghost stories, just perfect for the dark winter nights.  The publication of these anthologies is something that lots of bookworms look forward to each autumn, and this new edition definitely lives up to the hype created by the first two volumes in the series.  I also like that the tales within The Witching Hour are all based around the same midnight theme, yet the stories are completely individual and unique. It is a companion volume that is certainly worth adding to the collection and the three books look stunning sitting together on a spooky bookshelf.  So dim the lights, burn a candle, curl up with this latest ghostly offering and wait for the clock to strike... Enjoy The Witching Hour!

Happy Hauntings!

Marie x

AD: This book was published by Little, Brown Book group on 16th October 2025 and it is available in hardcover, digital and audio formats.