Ten writers rose to the challenge of weaving their imaginations around our built heritage creating some enthralling short stories.
Ten new tales inspired by the secrets, history and mysteries of British heritage properties have been published.
The collection of short stories, called Come into the House, includes tales woven around such historical imaginings as the spark at the baker’s house in Pudding Lane which grows into the Great Fire of London; an eaves dropped conversation between an old woman and Dracula sitting on a bench opposite Bram Stoker’s home in Dublin; a woman mesmerised by the trompe l’oeil; and visitors being are shown around a stately home, where one person disagrees with the stories spun by the tour guide.
The works are the short-listed entries from a competition, run by Corazon Books in partnership with the Historic Houses Association, to write a short story either inspired by or set in a historic house.
The winner Kathryn Burke says of her story Sunday in the Park with the Vampire: “I live in Dublin and often sit in the tranquil park which faces Bram Stoker’s childhood home. The contrast between the formal elegance of the houses in the Crescent, where Stoker lived, and the wild creature which would one day be conjured by Bram’s imagination, intrigued me.”
The two runners up were Jan Halstead of Milton Keynes and Stephen Edwards of Ramsbottom.
Jan Halstead said: “I’ve always visited historic houses … it’s all about walking in your jeans and trainers where others have wafted in silk and velvet. It’s a privilege. I love it.”
Stephen Edwards says: “I was inspired by the Historic Houses Association property Bramall Hall, and by my love of classic Victorian/Edwardian mysteries. There can be no richer source of inspiration than British historic houses. What could be more enthralling – history that you can see and touch.”
Come into the House is published by Corazon Books available as a paperback and ebook exclusively from Amazon.
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