Tales Of Terror From The Tunnel’s Mouth by Chris Priestley

Tales Of Terror From The Tunnel’s Mouth by Chris Priestley, illustrated by David Roberts

(Bloomsbury, 2010, PB £6.99, out now)

This is the third in this excellent series of spooky yarns. The first was great (Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror), the second was even better (Tales of Terror From The Black Ship) but this latest outdoes them both in terms of sheer horrific thrills and slickness of storytelling. Priestley is at the top of his game here and he is master of the chilling scare. The trick with the Tales of Terror books is that they are not simply a collection of scary tales (but work superbly as that anyway) in that they are linked and interwoven by an overall narrative that, ultimately, is far more frightening – especially as you reach the end. This is horror in the vein of Edgar Allen Poe and as such is thrilling and engrossing. Strictly speaking Priestley’s books are marketed for the ‘Young Adult’ audience but that should not put you off in the slightest. His class of chills transcends market type. And the atmosphere is suitably enhanced by David Roberts’ illustrations. Taking his cue from Edward Gorey, there is a macabre glee in his work here, following on from his exemplary work in the previous two Terror books. Priestley and Roberts combine to winning effect.

There are not many ‘must-read’ books in this world, but you can count the works of Chris Priestley amongst them.

Andy Jamieson, Editor