Ginger Nuts of Horror was honoured to asked to conduct a pair of video interviews with two legends of the horror genre at last years Fantasy Con by the good folks at PS Publishing.
When you think of horror, and especially horror fiction in the UK, if the names Ramsey Campbell and Stephen Volk don't spring to mind, then there may be something wrong with your horror reading habits. With a pair of long and distinguished careers spanning decades worth of spine chilling tales Campbell and Volk have been an inspiration and influence for so many horror writers who have followed in their footsteps. Stephen Volk is a highly accomplished screenwriter and author, whose film, television and prose work have all garnered awards and critical acclaim. The Dark Masters trilogy of tales is a masterclass in character, setting, and storytelling; a staggering achievement in both ambition and execution. Stephen is also a dream interview subject. I’ve been fortunate enough to interview him for this site on several different occasions, covering both his TV and prose work. He is an unfailing delight each time; thoughtful, engaged, generous with both his time and insight, and eager, as within his work, to dig deep and get into the guts of things. It was a thrill and honour to get to talk with Stephen face to face at FCon last year, on the occasion of the publication of the gorgeous PS Publishing hardback of The Dark Masters Trilogy. Enjoy. Stephen Volk is probably best known as the BAFTA-winning writer of the notorious (some say legendary) BBCTV "Halloween hoax" Ghostwatch, which spooked the nation, hit the headlines, caused questions to be raised in Parliament, and was recently voted one of the top British horror films of all time. He was also creator and lead writer of ITV's award-winning paranormal drama series Afterlife starring Lesley Sharp and Andrew Lincoln. Most recently he adapted Phil Rickman's supernatural crime novel Midwinter of the Spirit as a 3-part miniseries for ITV starring Anna Maxwell Martin and David Thelfall, and co-scripted the 2011 feature film The Awakening, a period ghost story starring Rebecca Hall, Dominic West and Imelda Staunton. His first collection of short stories, Dark Corners, was published in 2006, from which his story 31/10 (a sequel to Ghostwatch) was short-listed for both a British Fantasy Award and a Bram Stoker Award. Since then his fiction has been selected for Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Best British Mysteries, and Best New Horror - with two stories appearing in the inaugural edition of Salt's Best British Horror 2014. His second collection, Monsters in the Heart (Gray Friar Press) was published in 2013, and his third, The Parts We Play, in 2016 - with an accompanying exclusive volume called Supporting Roles. His novella Vardoger was short-listed for both a Shirley Jackson Award and a British Fantasy Award. However, arguably his most acclaimed fiction so far is the novella Whitstable - featuring the late horror star Peter Cushing, published by Spectral Press in 2013 (the actor's centenary year). This saw a "follow-up" in 2015 in the form of Leytonstone, a novella based on the boyhood of Alfred Hitchcock. The third tale in The Dark Masters Trilogy (published as a complete volume in 2018 by PS Publishing) is Netherwood - featuring both the novelist Dennis Wheatley and the occultist Aleister Crowley as central characters. Ginger Nuts of Horror's Kit Power, jumped at the chance to interview one of his heroes... Grab yourself a coffee, sit back and relax and enjoy this fascinating interview with the Dark Master himself Stephen Volk. click here to watch our interview with Ramsey Campbellthe dark masters trilogy by STEPHEN volk
Whitstable 1971
Peter Cushing, grief-stricken over the loss of his wife and soul-mate, is walking along a beach near his home. A little boy approaches him, taking him to be the famous vampire-hunter Van Helsing from the Hammer films, begs for his expert help . . . Leytonstone 1906 Young Alfred Hitchcock is taken by his father to visit the local police station. There he suddenly finds himself, inexplicably, locked up for a crime he knows nothing about the catalyst for a series of events that will scar, and create, the world's leading Master of Terror . . . Netherwood 1947 Best-selling black magic novelist Dennis Wheatley finds himself summoned mysteriously to the aid of Aleister Crowley mystic, reprobate, The Great Beast 666, and dubbed by the press The Wickedest Man in the World to help combat a force of genuine evil . . . 
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