A disembodied voice crackles through an empty room; an imposing figure from ancient mythology towers gloriously over mere mortals in a modern Hypermarket; a girl floats out of her material body to become a savage bird of prey — this collection features 10 truly bizarre tales of the supernatural, including Anthony Holcroft’s “The Silkies”, which also appears in The Boy at the Door.

The Silkies

When four-year-old Simon announces he’s discovered a hole full of “buzzies” in the paddock, his father thinks it must be a wasps’ or wild bees' nest, and tries unsuccessfully to destroy it. Later, while investigating further, Simon’s older brother and sister discover evidence of a mysterious object hidden far down in the bottom of the hole — something, it turns out, not quite of this world ...