Librarian Tim Recommends: The House of Lost Souls by C.M. Cottam

Paul Seaton is a broken man. He lost his girlfriend, his job and for a while his sanity after his obsession with a beautiful and enigmatic 1920's flapper photographer leads him to investigate the notoriously haunted Fischer House on the Isle of Wight. Years later, after four students enter the house on a lark, one is dead by suicide and the three others hover near insanity. Joining forces with the brother of one of the stricken students, Paul returns to Fisher House to end the horror once and for all. This is a deeply atmospheric ghost story, evoking rain drenched British landscapes and to my delight many musical references. This was a really captivating tale that is thoughtful and patient in revealing its secrets. The problem with most modern horror stories is they get so hung up on bloodletting and gore that they forget the most profound horror is of the psychological kind. Cottam to his credit never forgets this and tells a deeply spooky ghost story.

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