Blackthorn Hill

Category:
Title:: Blackthorn Hill
Author:: Mark Howard
Genre:: Horror
Format:: 181 pages, Paperback
ISBN:: 978-1-9168790-8-9
Published:: September 2022
Language: : English
Price:: 8.99

In 1880, three thirteen year-old friends venture out of their village to catch a glimpse of the inhabitants of an isolated convent and encounter a demon, which returns thirty-five years later to reveal a terrifying legacy.

On a warm September night in 1867 three women give birth to healthy sons in the village of Medcott. As the boys grow so does their friendship.

On the day they turn thirteen, the boys venture out of their village in the hope of catching a glimpse of the inhabitants of an isolated convent high on Blackthorn Hill. They follow what they believe to be a nun, but as they approach the small dark figure an inexplicable force prevents them seeing its face. It then delivers a cryptic message before vanishing into thin air.

Overwhelmed by fear they swear never to tell a soul. Thirty-five years later and far beyond the reach of Medcott the dark figure returns, and one by one they discover a terrifying legacy that connects them all to Blackthorn Hill.

About the Author: Mark Howard grew up in the small West Sussex village of Cocking in the 1970s. As a child, he was a daydreamer with a vivid imagination, a superstitious mother, fears of what lay within the darkness and a passion to tell stories. He spent thirty years working in photography and visual media. His mother’s fearful beliefs still see him salute a lone magpie to ward off a sinister omen. He is married to Yvie and has two grown up children and now lives in Littlehampton. Blackthorn Hill is his debut novel.