In a London pub a friend told me about one of his relatives, someone with a real ghost story to tell. I was sceptical, but I agreed to meet them and to listen. It was the beginning of a strange journey.

We think of ghost stories as being entertainment. Something to enjoy around the camp fire or with the lights turned low. But the story I was told was not to be taken lightly. Here was someone who’d experienced something inexplicable and terrifying. His life had been changed by it.

With some convincing, they agreed to allow me to put their story down on paper. This was a chance for them to tell their story as it happened, without fear of judgement.

This meeting left an indelible mark. Were there others with a tale to tell? Others with stories they were afraid to discuss? I made some preliminary searches and posts on the internet, and accounts soon started to arrive. I was absolutely startled at what I discovered.

I’ve now spent 12 years travelling and collecting Britain’s lost ghost stories. It hasn’t been easy; I’ve been targeted by pranksters. I’ve met people with serious problems entirely unrelated to the supernatural. But when I’ve heard stories, ones told to me with seriousness and conviction, I’ve set out to investigate them. I’ve checked facts, dates, news accounts – I’ve done everything I could to try and establish the facts of each case.

The stories in each collection of New Ghost Stories are those that have stood up to the most scrutiny. Where truth lies, I leave to your judgement. I’m not out to prove anything. My mind remains open; I am both believer and sceptic.

All I’ll say is that each story presents an account that is extraordinary. Whether or not they represent real encounters with the supernatural, or delusions borne of incredible stress or madness, I leave for you to decide. True or false, they certainly make for fascinating, uncomfortable and usually terriyfing reading.

David Paul Nixon