Halifax Ghost Story Festival November 17-18, 2012

Another hugely successful Ghost Story Festival was held again this year at Dean Clough, Halifax.

The festival kicked off on Saturday morning with a lively and insightful discussion about the Ghost Story after M. R. James. Panelists included Joel Lane, Ramsey Campbell, Reggie Oliver and Ray Russell.

Ramsey Campbell, Ray Russell, Joel Lane and Reggie Oliver

 
This was followed after lunch by Dr Jonathan Miller being interviewed by Tony Earnshaw, particularly about his 1968 adaptation for television of M. R. James' Whistle and I'll Come to You, which was shown on a big screeen immediately afterwards. I don't know whether it was a result of the interview or the film being projected onto a big screen, but I have never before enjoyed this adaptation so much. After having originally watched this on TV when it was first broadcast, it was an amazing experience to watch it again in the company of its producer and director!

Tony Earnshaw interviews Dr Jonathan Miller

Following this we moved downstairs into the Viaduct Cafe where Reggie Oliver read one of his stories from Mrs Midnight and Other Stories, A Piece of Elsewhere, where his abilities as an actor were amply displayed by his use of regional accents for his characters. Chris Priestley followed with a lively reading of his story The Demon Bench End. Both were superbly narrated and greatly appreciated by the packed audience. 

Reggie Oliver reads A Piece of Elsewhere

Chris Priestly reads The Demon Bench End

Following a break the evening restarted with psychic entertainer, Max Raven, who carried out some remarkable mentalist feats, during which I think he probably involved the entire audience at one time or another. 

Max Raven

Sunday opened with an informative and lengthy interview with producer/director Lawrence Gordon Clark by Tony Earnshaw. Lawrence Gordon Clark was, of course, responsible for creating the marvelous Ghost Stories for Christmas in the 1970s. This was followed by big screen viewings of M. R. James' The Stalls of Barchester (1971) and The Signal Man by Charles Dickens (1976). 

Lawrence Gordon Clark being interviewed by Tony Earnshaw

A couple of short independent films, Vespers and The Wailing Well, wound up the festival, which finished around 5 o'clock in the afternoon.

Lin and I enjoyed this festival tremendously, and it was a great opportunity to meet up and talk with old friends (though there was not really time with such a packed schedule to meet everyone). It was also a great opportunity to buy some really interesting books from the bookshop on site, which was mainly stocked with Tartarus Press and PS Publishing. Already having a large pile of books still to be read, I restricted myself to a copy of Mark Morris's Long Shadows, Nightmare Light, while Lin bought a Tartarus Press collection of William Fryer Harvey's The Double Eye.

The good news is that it seems virtually certain another festival will be held next year. I look forward to it!

Special thanks should go to Dani Grijak and her team for organising this event and for her enthusiasm for it.

Halifax Ghost Story Festival November 17th-18th 2012

It looks as if there will be another Halifax Ghost Story Festival this year, the third in succession, which is great news after just how good the earlier ones were.

Not much news yet about actual events at the Festival, but I shall try to keep anyone looking here posted on developments. Alternatively, you can check out with this facebook link: Halifax Ghost Story Festival.

The Halifax Ghost Story Festival, Dean Clough, Halifax 12th November 2011

Lin and I had a great time at this year's Halifax Ghost Story Festival. We decided to go to Halifax the day before and stayed overnight Friday and Saturday at the splendid White Swan Hotel, near Halifax Town Hall. What an amazingly friendly hotel this is, a large, old, brilliantly well maintained building, with some of the largest bedrooms I've ever stayed in. Recommended!

The Festival started at 1.30 p.m. on Saturday with a reading of Arthur Machen's The Ritual by Reggie Oliver (who kindly signed my copy of his recent Tartarus Press collection, Mrs Midnight).

 This was followed by a panel made up of Ray Russell, Mark Valentine, Gwilym Games and Reggie Oliver discussing Machen's stories. Thoroughly entertaining. It is always great to hear people discussiing a subject they know a great deal about and love.

Rounding off the Machen side of things, we were then shown a short film based on Machen's story The Happy Children. The director, Mark Goodall answered questions from the audience afterwards for several minutes.

The second panel of the afternoon was chaired by the ever entertaining John Probert, discussing how the boundaries of the ghost story could be expanded. Other members of the panel included Chris Maloney, Nicholas Royle and Mark Valentine. This was an excellent discussion and it was only a shame that it had to end when it did having run out of time. Although I'm not usually a great fan of panels this was exceptionally interesting.

The afternoon's events were rounded off by three films, two professional and one amateur. The professional films were an adaptation of Elizabeth Jane Howard's story Three Miles Up (directed by Lesley Manning) and Robert Aickman's The Hospice (directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard).The amateur film was a short feature called The Hairy Hand (directed by Ashley Thorpe).

There was a break of about an hour and a half after this, during which most of the afternoon's guests left. Lin and I stayed on to have a specially made Ghost Story Festival meal at the Dean Clough cafe, which included some delicious Pumpkin soup, vegetarian Indian food and parkin. We spent most of the time talking with fellow BFS members Caroline Callaghan and Di Lewis.

The final event of the evening was a showing at eight o'clock of a full length feature film, Ashley Thorpe's An Urban Ghost Story.

Altogether a very successful event, shorter than last year's, but neatly compacted with some interesting items.

There's also an excellent review of the Festival on the Tartarus Press blog, including some video footage.

The Halifax Ghost Story Festival - Dean Clough, Saturday 12th November

For full up to date details of the Festival click here.

The Halifax Ghost Story Festival - Dean Clough, Saturday 12th November

It's only a few days now to the Halifax Ghost Story Festival. Lin and I are going. In fact we've booked into a town centre hotel in Halifax for both Friday and Saturday nights and are looking on this as, in part, a bit of a mini-holiday.

Last year's two day event was a great success and we enjoyed it immensely. This year's has a completely different list of activities, concentrating on two great writers in particular, Arthur Machen and Robert Aickman. The list of activities is:

1.30am-2.00pm:
Reggie Oliver reads "Ritual", a short story by Arthur Machen

2.00pm - 2.30pm:
Panel discussing Arthur Machen, chaired by his most recent biographer, Mark Valentine, and including Gwilym Games and Reggie Oliver.

2.30pm - 2.50pm:
Dr Mark Goodall introduces "The Happy Children" (exquisite black and white Machen short film)

Break for drinks and snacks

3.15pm - 4.00pm:
Panel discussion: Pushing the boundaries of the ghost story, with Nick Royle, John Llewellyn Probert and Chris Maloney.

4.00pm - 4.50pm:
Ray Russell introduces screening of "Three Miles Up" (adaptation of Elizabeth Jane Howard story) running time: 50 minutes

5.00pm - 5:50pm
Rare screening of "The Hospice" by Robert Aickman (TV adaptation starring Jack Shepherd) running time: 45 minutes

5.50pm - 6.10 pm
General discussion about the festival and the programme for next year.

6.10-6.25
Screening of a pacey short film by Ashley Thorpe

Viaduct Theatre opens for "Ghosts in 60 Seconds" (one minute playwriting festival) at 8pm. Ends 9pm
Viaduct Cafe bar open 7pm-11pm 

Alt.-ghost story festival, Halifax, 12th November

There has been a second update on the Ghost Story Festival in Halifax this November on the Tartarus Press Blog:

Tickets £10 for the whole day including the theatre (or £6 for "Ghosts in 60 Seconds" only)
(ordering details to folow shortly)

The provisional programme is as follows (subject to fine-tuning)

1.30am-2.00pm:
Reggie Oliver reads "Ritual", a short story by Arthur Machen

2.00pm - 2.30pm:
Panel discussing Arthur Machen, chaired by his most recent biographer, Mark Valentine, and including Gwilym Games and Reggie Oliver.

2.30pm - 2.50pm:
Dr Mark Goodall introduces "The Happy Children" (exquisite black and white Machen short film)

Break for drinks and snacks

3.15pm - 4.00pm:
Panel discussion: Pushing the boundaries of the ghost story, with Nick Royle, John Llewellyn Probert and Chris Maloney.

4.00pm - 4.50pm:
Ray Russell introduces screening of "Three Miles Up" (adaptation of Elizabeth Jane Howard story) running time: 50 minutes

5.00pm - 5:50pm
Rare screening of "The Hospice" by Robert Aickman (TV adaptation starring Jack Shepherd) running time: 45 minutes

5.50pm - 6.10 pm
General discussion about the festival and the programme for next year.

6.10-6.25
Screening of a pacey short film by Ashley Thorpe

Viaduct Theatre opens for "Ghosts in 60 Seconds" (one minute playwriting festival) at 8pm. Ends 9pm
Viaduct Cafe bar open 7pm-11pm

Additionally, we also hope to launch the publication of a new edition of We Are for the Dark by Robert Aickman and Elizabeth Jane Howard.


Looking forward to this event. Last year's was superb. Lin and I have already booked into a hotel in Halifax for the Friday and Saturday nights so we won't miss anything.

Halifax Ghost Story Festival - 12 November 2011

Anyone who read my write up in either Prism or here about last year's Ghost Story Festival in Halifax may be interested to know there's to be another one this year in November.


Check out details of it on the Tartarus Press blog.

The Halifax Ghost Story Festival - 29th - 31st October 2010

We arrived back home earlier tonight after one of the best weekends we've spent away for ages. The Halifax Ghost Story Festival was a tremendous success and credit must be given to those who organised and took part in it. Tomorrow Lin and I will give a report on it. In the meantime, here are a few photos:

Mark Morris, Conrad Williams, Nicholas Royle and Stephen Volk

Reggie Oliver

Jeremy Dyson reading Robert Aickman's The Inner Room

Dean Clough, site of the festival. This used to be the world's largest carpet manufacturer.

The Ten-headed King from the Annapurna Indian Dance show, After Life

TV director, Lawrence Gordon Clark (right) being interviewed inbetween screening of three of his famous "Ghost Stories for Christmas" produced for the BBC in the 1970s - Lost Hearts, The Treasure of Abbot Thomas and A Warning to the Curious.