The Apparition Phase
Shortlisted for the 2021 McKitterick Prize
Published on 29. October 2020
Book
Hardback
416 pages
978-1-78515-237-5 (ISBN)
Description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE MCKITTERICK PRIZE 2021
'A delight for both the expert and the uninitiated, this creepy tale is a carapace of cosy nostalgia wrapped round a solid thread of dread ... A page turner that keeps you in dreaded suspense of what you are about to be shown ... A claustrophobic and entertaining read that left me breathless ... Horror for the connoisseur.' ALICE LOWE
'Hallucinatory brilliance ... The Apparition Phase may be the perfect novel for our phantom present.' GUARDIAN
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Tim and Abi have always been different from their peers. Precociously bright, they spend their evenings in their parents' attic discussing the macabre and unexplained, zealously re-reading books on folklore, hauntings and the supernatural. In particular, they are obsessed with photographs of ghostly apparitions and the mix of terror and delight they provoke in their otherwise boring and safe childhoods.
But when Tim and Abi decide to fake a photo of a ghost to frighten an unpopular school friend, they set in motion a deadly and terrifying chain of events that neither of them could have predicted, and are forced to confront the possibility that what began as a callous prank might well have taken on a malevolent life of its own.
An unsettling literary ghost story set between a claustrophobic British suburban town and a menacing Suffolk manor, THE APPARITION PHASE is an unnerving novel, which, like all the best ghost stories, pushes us repeatedly over the line between rational explanation and inexplicable fear. It asks us to consider what might be lurking in the shadows, and questions what is real and what is simply a trick of the mind - and whether there's really a difference between the two.
___________________________________
'[T]his outstanding debut is ideal for fans of Andrew Michael Hurley.' METRO
'A delight for both the expert and the uninitiated, this creepy tale is a carapace of cosy nostalgia wrapped round a solid thread of dread ... A page turner that keeps you in dreaded suspense of what you are about to be shown ... A claustrophobic and entertaining read that left me breathless ... Horror for the connoisseur.' ALICE LOWE
'Hallucinatory brilliance ... The Apparition Phase may be the perfect novel for our phantom present.' GUARDIAN
___________________________________
Tim and Abi have always been different from their peers. Precociously bright, they spend their evenings in their parents' attic discussing the macabre and unexplained, zealously re-reading books on folklore, hauntings and the supernatural. In particular, they are obsessed with photographs of ghostly apparitions and the mix of terror and delight they provoke in their otherwise boring and safe childhoods.
But when Tim and Abi decide to fake a photo of a ghost to frighten an unpopular school friend, they set in motion a deadly and terrifying chain of events that neither of them could have predicted, and are forced to confront the possibility that what began as a callous prank might well have taken on a malevolent life of its own.
An unsettling literary ghost story set between a claustrophobic British suburban town and a menacing Suffolk manor, THE APPARITION PHASE is an unnerving novel, which, like all the best ghost stories, pushes us repeatedly over the line between rational explanation and inexplicable fear. It asks us to consider what might be lurking in the shadows, and questions what is real and what is simply a trick of the mind - and whether there's really a difference between the two.
___________________________________
'[T]his outstanding debut is ideal for fans of Andrew Michael Hurley.' METRO
Reviews / Votes
Outstanding debut ... ideal for fans of Andrew Michael Hurley * Metro * There are chills galore in this enjoyable 70s-set debut about disturbed teenagers and malevolent spirits ... Anyone who remembers the 70s will thrill to Maclean's depiction of the period... The ending of the novel is particularly impressive, with Maclean bringing together both his novelistic and scriptwriting skills to full effect... Maclean brings together this strain of wild rural gothic with some slick TV plotting and a depiction of 70s British suburban life to produce a novel that amounts to considerably more than the sum of its parts, with moments of hallucinatory brilliance ... [a] very successfully scary book about twins and chaos and loss - may be the perfect novel for our phantom present. * Guardian * A gripping commentary on the English obsession with class and how they deal with grief- and a nostalgic delight for those who devoured the popular paperback ghost stories of the 1970s and 80s. * Irish Independent * A truly unsettling literary ghost story where the shadows encroach and dread lurks around every corner. -- Lucie McKnight Hardy, author of WATER SHALL REFUSE THEM Will Maclean's The Apparition Phase is an extraordinarily powerful account of growing up in the Seventies ... Tim and Abi's enthusiasm for the weird is wonderfully infectious, and the seance scenes later in the book are truly hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck stuff. But most of all, Maclean has captured the feel of the Seventies impeccably. This book is a must for anyone touched by hauntology. * Fortean Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cornerstone
Dimensions
Height: 223 mm
Width: 144 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
523 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78515-237-5 (9781785152375)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Originally from the Wirral, Will Maclean has been fascinated by ghost stories since he was a child, and has been writing them almost as long as he can remember. He's written for television professionally since 2006, during which time he's worked as a scriptwriter for people as varied as Alexander Armstrong, Miranda Hart, Al Murray and Tracey Ullman. As well as comedy, he's also written extensively for children's television, where he's been an integral part of writing teams that have picked up two BAFTAs and an International Emmy. He lives in London with his wife and young daughter.