29/10/2026
As the nights draw in and Halloween is here, what better time to settle down with a book about spooky happenings.
Haunted Teesside
Let’s start with non-fiction, although at this time of year the line between fact and fiction is a thin one. All over the Tees Valley you will come across stories of the supernatural. Many have been gathered into books, including those about Middlesbrough Library.
The library features in Tina Larkin’s Haunted Middlesbrough with stories about unexplained sounds, sights, and cold chills. If you are around the library as it gets dark on 31st October, I expect you will be outside enjoying the Halloween and Diwali celebrations. I you do venture into the library into the library make sure you do not get locked in. A caretaker reported lights being turned on at night when he had left the property completely empty.
Other books on the supernatural include Rebecca Hall's Haunted Teesside, Robert Woodhouse's books: Supernatural Cleveland and District, Haunted Stockton, Paul Screeton's Haunted Hartlepool and East Durham, and Alan Robson's Grisly Trails and Ghostly Tales.
Fiction: Ghosts and Mediums
Mark Hadlett is firmly rooted in Redcar. His books of ghosts and the supernatural feature the seaside town. He has now written three books featuring Medium Edna May (Invisible Medium and Dig), who investigates ghostly happenings from Redcar to Saltburn. A light-hearted look at the world of mediums and a glimpse into the Cleveland Coast during previous eras, taking you back to a time when every seaside town had someone to tell your fortune.
Maggie Kraus is no longer with us but her book The Ghost of Edmund White is set around Skelton and particularly the small historic church next to Skelton Castle. I have always found this an atmospheric site and completely understand how it inspired a novel about ghosts.
Zombies and other horrors
A B Finlayson writes tongue in cheek horror. Although he now lives in Australia his youth living in Teesside and York has inspired his writing. My favourite is Rock Zombie which involves zombies marauding along the Stray and attacking Redcar while the title of each short chapter links to the 90s music scene. Egg sees even stranger music related events hatching in Cowbar and Staithes. When staff at Staithes Museum heard about the book they were intrigued by its links to Staithes folklore. They read it, took it to their hearts, and now sell it in the museum shop.
by reader-in-residence Debbie Rolls
