Whistling Past the Churchyard

Whistling Past the Churchyard: Strange Tales from a Superstitious Welshman is a delightfully spooky collection of original Welsh stories told in the tradition of the ghost stories of Edith Wharton and W. Somerset Maugham. The Welsh are known for their lavish imaginations, fascination with the supernatural, and obsession with death. In these stories we meet a panoply of characters, including a traveling scholar who encounters the spirit of the long-dead poet he is researching; a frustrated professor who attempts to curse his rival and falls victim to his own vengeful plan; and many others who come upon otherworldly occurrences and spiritual phenomena. We are transported to the raging shores of Cardigan Bay, where an eccentric old man and his ferocious black dog patrol the beach to keep the menacing sea in check; to a country estate where enormous ancient rowan trees control a man's destiny: and to dark, damp forests, rain-soaked gravesites, and other eerie settings. In Whistling Past the Churchyard, Jon Manchip White richly depicts these odd Welsh characters and artfully renders the rugged beauty of the Welsh landscape that serves as the backdrop for these sometimes amusing, sometimes terrifying, but always mystifying tales.