When earlier in the year, I scheduled this interview with my author chum Helen Hollick, it was going to be on the topic of ghosts, following the publication of her latest non-fiction book, Ghost Encounters: The Lingering Spirits in North Devon. Since then, she’s published another book, the ten-author anthology Fate, and is just about to launch A Mischief of Murder, the latest installment in her Jan Christopher cosy mystery series. Her productivity and her passion for what she writes are limitless – even when little things like her daughter’s wedding and her hip replacement crop up along the way!
Debbie: Helen, although you’ve included elements of the supernatural in your Jesamiah Acorne series of piratical adventures. Ghost Encounters: The Lingering Spirits in North Devon is a new departure for you, Have you always believed in ghosts?
Helen: I’ve never not believed, but I became more, let’s say ‘curious’, towards the end of the 1900s.
I was exploring the battle site at Battle, Sussex, walking down the hill in the rain when I suddenly felt the hairs on my neck stand up and an enormous sense of ‘presence’ behind me. I just knew that if I turned round I’d see King Harold’s shield wall of soldiers in front of the present Abbey.
I didn’t have enough courage to look though, so I’ll never know… but soon after I decided to write my novel, Harold The King and we went back to the site as a family several years running for the annal re–enactment days in October. Every time, my daughter ‘saw’ things that others couldn’t. It dawned on me that she could see the dead.
When we moved to our eighteenth-century Devon farmhouse, her gift became even more obvious, for she could clearly see and speak to our former ‘residents’, and others around the village and local area. I regard her ability as something quite natural and not at all scary. In fact most ‘ghosts’ are perfectly friendly – much of the ‘uncanny’ stuff on TV is over-dramatised nonsense.
Debbie: You’ve focused on a relatively small geographical area in this book. What is it about the area that makes it particularly rich with ghosts?
Helen: It’s purely a matter of logistics: North Devon is where I and my family live, so it made sense to write about ‘our’ ghosts! I wanted to write about our ‘extended family’, and the ghosts that can be encountered (if you’re that way gifted) in our village pub.
Originally, I was commissioned by a well-known non-fiction publisher to write the book as part of their Ghosts of England series. Despite sending them a detailed synopsis and several draft chapters, they rejected the finished book because it was ‘too personal’. They wanted me to cut out all Kathy’s encounters – which would have changed the point of the entire book. So I cancelled the contract and self-published it myself.
Debbie: You co-authored this book with your daughter Kathy. What role did she play in its research and writing?
Helen: Kathy is severely dyslexic, so reading and writing is not easy for her, (although thank goodness for technology and a laptop!) I did the actual writing, and Kathy did all the ‘supernatural’ work, relating to me who and what she encountered, and where. Between us we added a few third-party anecdotes gleaned from people willing to share their experiences. It’s surprising how many people are reluctant to share their encounters, though.
For instance, while in Barnstaple car park one afternoon, Kathy pointed up at the Norman motte-and-bailey ‘castle’ and informed me: “There are three Normans aiming crossbows at us.”
Another time she shouted at the driver of our car to “Mind that man!”
“What man?”
“The man in high-vis yellows walking down the middle of the road… there … that man!”
A car coming the other way didn’t swerve either. Not that it mattered, High-vis Man had already vanished.
Kathy regularly chats to our house residents – and they all came along to Kathy’s recent wedding!
Debbie: What is your response to sceptics who don’t believe in ghosts and seek to explain everything scientifically?
Helen: Fair enough to not believe, but not being able to prove something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Several years ago no-one could prove Black Holes existed – scientists cannot prove String Theory or Dark Matter.
When talking to a genuine medium, however, it’s hard not to believe. A genuine medium, by the way, is aware of ghosts/spirits (whatever term you prefer) at any time of day or night, and only needs to say “hello”, not “Is there anyone there?” As I said earlier, much of the uncanny stuff broadcast on TV is intentionally designed to scare and entertain. (Why do people like horror and scary things? I don’t!)
Seances and “knock once for yes” etc is a remnant from the Victorian age of pseudo-science – and might be fun, but is only clever trickery.
Debbie: I’ve never seen any ghosts, although I know people who have. But I do have a vivid memory of having to literally run out of the army museum in Paris many years ago, because I was suddenly overwhelmed by the display of hundreds, possibly thousands, of swords and guns, and the thought of how many deaths there were responsible for. Would you say that might have been caused by lingering spirits, or simply by my vivid imagination and extreme sensitivity to violence? Whatever the reason, I know I’ll visit Pompeii or Herculaneum, much as I’d love to, as I’d be too distressed by thoughts of so unfortunate victims of Vesuvius now uncovered by archaeologists.
Helen: I’ve never seen a ghost either – but as I mentioned above at Battle Abbey I’ve felt something supernaturally awesome. I think many of us do when entering certain sites – old churches for instance. That feeling of something…? I’d say your reaction is sensitive empathy – genuinely aware of the horror of battle, possibly fed by imagination. It’s what makes us good writers, after all!
But the fear of ghosts has been ‘groomed’ into us, mostly by religions which saw anything unexplainable as the devil’s work or presence. Yet those who were later seen as saints seem to have been believed about spiritual presences or voices. Let’s face it, the most famous ‘ghost’ is the Holy Spirit!
Halloween and the persistence of spooks and nasty hauntings has perpetuated our common fear. But most of the spirits which linger among us are perfectly benign, and are probably as unaware of us as most of us are of them. Graveyards, by the way, have very few ghosts, because these residents really do ‘rest in peace’. Some newly passed-over spirits might be hostile because they are confused and bewildered, uncertain what has happened and are in a state of shock. A genuine medium, (and I include Kathy here) can sensitively, quietly and calmly move them on to where they should be.
Are there ghosts at Pompeii and Herculaneum? Possibly, probably, but I doubt any of them are hostile or intent on malicious haunting. Any who are still there are very probably as intrigued by us, as we are of them, so there is nothing to be frightened of.
Debbie: Apart from your experience at Battle, has there been any other inciting incident that prompted you to believe in ghosts?
Helen: One puzzling thing has stayed with me… not exactly a ghost, but a very vivid dream, which I describe in Ghost Encounters. I dreamt of a Great Western steam engine coming too fast into a station. The locomotive was much bigger than myself, so I had the impression that I was a child. I could clearly hear all the alarming sounds and saw the loco’s name and number. I woke up and wrote both down, then later on Googled for it – to discover this was a genuine Great Western locomotive Torrington 34031. Now, I like steam trains, but the only ones I actually know are Mallard and the Flying Scotsman. Was this a dream, a past life memory… or what?
Debbie: Wow! That’s pretty uncanny. So, how should people behave when first encountering the kind of vision you describe in your book?
Helen: If you do meet a ghost, take a deep breath, keep calm, smile and say hello. And remember that ghosts are not like the stars or false teeth, they don’t only come out at night! And they dislike cold, dark, damp cellars as much as we do!
Debbie: You whet readers’ appetites for ghost fiction with two short stories included as a bonus feature at the back of Ghost Encounters, but it seems that wasn’t enough to satisfy your interest in the supernatural, because you’ve gone on to create a new multi-author anthology, Fate: Tales of History, Mystery, and Magic. Among its ten stories by different authors, your contribution is another ghost story, and there are supernatural elements in other stories too. Can you please tell us a little more about your vision for this anthology, and how it has turned out?
Helen: I wrote “In The Shadow Of Ghosts” after I’d published Ghost Encounters, but had no idea what to do with my story, which is based around some English Civil War ghosts that linger in our village pub. (I wrote the story because I wondered how and why they were there in the first place!) “I know,” I thought, “what about doing another anthology?” Most of my writer friends pen historical novels, mysteries or fantasy, so the general theme was an easy one to come up with: history, mystery and magic.
Although I say so myself, I think this anthology is an absolute cracker!
Debbie: Thank you so much for inviting me to be one of the anthology’s contributors, Helen. I was so pleased to have this prompt to write a suitable story set in the world of my Sophie Sayers cosy mystery novels, “Saints Alive”, in which young Sina has a close encounter with St Bride, the patron saint of the ancient Cotswold parish church in her village of Wendlebury Barrow.
And speaking of cosy mystery set in the English countryside, you’re now about to launch a new book in your own cosy mystery series, featuring Jan Christopher, inspired by your former career as a librarian on your former home turf of North-East London on the borders of Essex. Young Jan comes to spend a lot of time in North Devon as it’s home to her fiancée, a young detective, and together they solve murder mysteries both in the London Borough and in Devon. This new novel is based around an event dear to my heart: the annual village fruit and vegetable show! Can you please tell us a little more about it?
We have an annual show here in Chittlehamholt and I thoroughly enjoy entering various items – flowers mostly, as I’m not a very good veg grower. But I did win with my damson gin the other year, and have been successful with the creative exhibit class. One year I won with ‘an exhibit based on a film’ – I did “Pirates of the Caribbean” (naturally!). Another year I won with ‘based on a book title’ my entry was “Cider With Rosie.” And in 2023 I came 1st with an exhibit depicting the coronation.
This year (2025) the theme is “A Jane Austen Novel”. Except I can’t tell you what my entry will be as it’s still secret!
I decided to use the village show idea as my next Jan Christopher mystery because there’d been quite a bit of teasing about the hanging baskets entries between my husband and one of our village friends, and, of course, someone had mentioned about all the shenanigans that go on behind the scenes with attempts at cheating – or making mischief. I had great fun writing this sixth episode!
A Mischief of Murder is available for pre-order here and will be launched on Tuesday 16th July.
Debbie: Where I live in the Cotswolds, our Hawkesbury Show is the longest continually running one in the country and the highlight of the community’s year, so I’ll especially enjoy A Mischief of Murder! Finally, Helen, when you’ve had such a busy year so far, I hardly dare ask this question – but what will you write next?!
Helen: I’ve already started Jan Christopher Episode 7, A Matter of Murder. This one takes place in Hertfordshire at a place called Dobbs Weir, a tributary of the River Lee, and involves a sailing dinghy, a gypsy caravan, a swan or two … oh, and a mystery to solve. It’ll be out either later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on how fast I can write it! And then there will be Episode 8 … and another in my “Sea Witch Voyages” series. And perhaps another anthology?
Debbie: Helen, thank you so much for taking time out from your intensive schedule to update us on your three latest books. I don’t know how you do it!
About Helen Hollick
Known for her captivating storytelling and rich attention to historical detail, Helen’s historical fiction, nautical adventure series, cosy mysteries, and short stories, skilfully invite readers to step into worlds where the boundaries between fact and fiction blend together.
Helen started writing as a teenager, but after discovering a passion for history, was initially published in 1993 in the UK with her Arthurian Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy and two Anglo-Saxon novels about the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings, one of which, The Forever Queen (USA title – A Hollow Crown in the UK) became a USA Today bestseller. Her Sea Witch Voyages are nautical-based adventures inspired by the Golden Age of Piracy. She also writes the Jan Christopher cosy mystery series set during the 1970s, and based around her, sometimes hilarious, years of working as a North London library assistant. Her recent release, Ghost Encounters, is a non-fiction book about the ghosts of North Devon – even if you don’t believe in ghosts you might enjoy the snippets of interesting history and the many location photograhs..
Helen and her family moved from London to Devon after a National Lottery win on the opening night of the 2012 London Olympics. She spends her time glowering at the overgrown garden, fending off the geese, chasing the peacocks away from her roses, helping with the horses and wishing the friendly, resident ghosts would occasionally help with the housework…
Website: https://helenhollick.net/
Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helen.hollick
Bluesky: @helenhollick.bsky.social
X/Twitter @HelenHollick https://x.com/HelenHollick
Blog: supporting authors & their books https://ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com/
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