In this talk, H.E. Bulstrode serves as your guide to a number of ecclesiastical locations that have fed into his ghostly and supernatural fiction, examining the folklore and artefacts, as well as the curious histories, attached to a number of our English parish churches.

H.E. Bulstrode grew up in the West Country, a region in which folklore and myth loom large; a strange place, but perhaps no stranger than the one in which we all find ourselves today. From his first job, as a window cleaner, his most abiding memory is one of horror: of raising his cloth to polish an ancient leaded pane, only to witness it fall to the floor, and shatter. Thereafter, he moved away to study a BSc in Sociology at Plymouth, then an MA in International Politics followed by a PhD in Post-Soviet Politics at The University of Leeds. Thus did he find himself blessed with a plethora of titles, but precious little by way of riches, earning less than his father, a casual labourer cum quarryman.

Jaded with the world of academia, and inspired by the tradition of ‘A Ghost Story for Christmas’, he turned his hand to the writing of supernatural fiction, often of a humorous bent. He has also published two books on the more curious aspects of England’s past in those out-of-the-way corners that seldom receive attention, often touching upon the many stories, and characters, associated with our parish churches. After three decades of living in the city, including a spell in Moscow, he has returned to the country, where he shares a decaying cottage with his wife, black mould, and too many nameless invertebrates to mention.