Cape Wrath – new edition

The island: Craeghatir, a lonely rock off Cape Wrath, mainland Britain’s most northerly point; a place wreathed in mystery, superstition and a primitive fear of the unknown.

The intruders: an elite university team, hoping to make their names by unearthing the first major archaeological find of the 21st Century.

Their fate: uncertain.

For Craeghatir – wild but beautiful, almost serene in the midst of crashing waves, roaring whirlpools and thunderous gales – has a truly evil reputation. And it isn’t undeserved.

An ancient energy lies dormant in the rocks of Craeghatir. Even buried deep, its uncanny influence has reached out over the centuries to cause terror and madness. But now people have come here with picks and shovels. They intend to dig, to discover … and an unstoppable force is set to be unleashed!

This special edition includes the bonus short story ‘The Hellion’.

‘Consistently inventive. Consistently excellent’ – Simon Clark

216 pp. B-format paperback novella.
ISBN: 978-1-84583-903-1
Published 25 March 2015

Cover of the original edition, published 31 October 2002, and now out of print:

ISBN 1-903889-60-X

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Former police officer and journalist Paul Finch is widely published in the British and North American anthology and independent press markets; he is the recipient of numerous ‘honourable mentions’ in Ellen Datlow’s annual ‘Year’s Best’ anthology, and his own collection, After Shocks, was recommended for both British Fantasy Society and Horror Writers Association awards. His forte is horror and dark fantasy, but he has also contributed extensively to the detective, thriller and sci-fi genres, has written TV scripts for the long-running British crime series The Bill, and for several popular cartoon shows; in addition, he has now sold a full-blown horror movie script to Talisman Films. He lives in Lancashire, England, with his wife Cathy, and his children Eleanor and Harry.

Of Cape Wrath, he says: ‘It sprang purely from my love of British history, in particular the darker, wilder periods before the developments of science and reason. There are certain places in the more remote parts of the British Isles where it is easy to imagine yourself back in those far-off, lawless days, and Cape Wrath – which, for anyone who doesn’t know, is a real location – is certainly one of them.

‘Of course, ancient and medieval history is not just about murder and destruction, but in our cosseted world of the 21st Century it’s nearly impossible to imagine just how brutal and frightening everyday life must have been in that lost era. Cape Wrathis a horror story with a contemporary setting, but if anyone who reads it is reminded, even for a second, that the ground they tread daily is the same ground once trodden by warlike barbarous hordes, then I’ll consider it a job well done.’