Neil Spring

Neil Spring (born 8 June 1981) is a Welsh novelist of supernatural horror, known for his bestselling book,[1] The Ghost Hunters.

He holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) from Somerville College, Oxford University, where he wrote a thesis on the significance of paranormal events.[2]

The Ghost Hunters (2013)

Spring's debut work was The Ghost Hunters, published by Quercus in 2013. The novel is based on the life of the controversial British ghost hunter, Harry Price, a psychic investigator from the inter-war years, who made Borley Rectory in Essex briefly famous as “the most haunted house in England.”[3]

The cover of the book tells the tale "The year is 1926 and Sarah Grey has landed herself an unlikely new job - personal assistant to Harry Price, London's most infamous ghost hunter. Equal parts brilliant and charming, neurotic and manipulative, Harry has devoted his life to exposing the truth behind England's many 'false hauntings', and never has he left a case unsolved, nor a fraud unexposed.

"So when Harry and Sarah are invited to Borley Rectory - a house so haunted that objects frequently fly through the air unbidden, and locals avoid the grounds for fear of facing the spectral nun that walks there - they're sure that this case will be just like any other. But when night falls and still no artifice can be found, the ghost hunters are forced to confront an uncomfortable possibility: the ghost of Borley Rectory may be real. And, if so, they're about to make its most intimate acquaintance."[4]

Spring says the book took three years to research and write.[5] and topped the Amazon Hot New Releases Bestseller List of Horror Thrillers six months before publication.[6]

The Ghost Hunters received positive reviews from critics. The Sunday Times Culture Magazine described it as "serpentine and surprising in its plotting." The Daily Mail described it as a "deft, spooky psychological drama based on a true story."[7] The Metro described the novel as "a substantial fictional sweetmeat with a kernel of truth."[8]

TV development

The book is currently being developed by Bentley Productions - part of All3Media, which produces Midsomer Murders - for adaptation into a television drama series.[9]

In 2014, Quercus announced that they had acquired The Watchers, the second novel by Neil Spring. Based on true events, The Watchers is a "spooky, historical thriller" set during the Cold War in a remote coastal village whose residents live in the shadow of an ancient secret. Quercus will publish The Watchers in October 2015.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Perry, Alex. "The Next Big Thing". Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  2. ↑ Quercus http://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/author/Neil_Spring. Retrieved 20 April 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ Bloomsbury Festival http://bloomsburyfestival.org.uk/ai1ec_event/neil-spring-presents-the-ghost-hunters/?instance_id. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/178087975X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=178087975X&linkCode=as2&tag=twittertgh-21. Retrieved 21 April 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ Perry, Alex. Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/alex-perry/the-next-big-thing-interv_b_4171563.html. Retrieved 20 April 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ Pam Reader http://pamreader.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/interview-with-neil-spring-whose-debut.html. Retrieved 20 April 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ Mail Online http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-2474943/GHOST-STORIES.html. Retrieved 20 April 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ Metro http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/31/fearie-tales-ghosthunters-and-marina-the-best-in-spooky-fiction-4167608/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/localnews/11568752.Broad_Haven_inspired_thriller_to_be_published/. Retrieved 20 April 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ↑ The Bookseller http://www.thebookseller.com/news/quercus-buys-second-neil-spring. Retrieved 20 April 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)