City of Ghosts - The Canterbury Ghost Story Festival

Celebrating 320 years of the 'Modern Ghost Story' which started in Canterbury with a day of ghostly talks and performances!
About this Event

👻 CITY OF GHOSTS: A GHOST STORY FESTIVAL 👻
📍 St Gregory’s, Canterbury Christ Church University
📅 Saturday 3 October

Join us in Canterbury for a day exploring more than 300 years of ghost stories, from The Apparition of Mrs Veal and the birth of the modern ghost story to M. R. James, Dickens, folklore and the supernatural worlds of modern cinema.

Among our first announced talks, events and guests:

👻 THE EVOLUTION OF THE MODERN GHOST STORY

We begin in Canterbury in 1706 with The Apparition of Mrs Veal, widely recognised as the first modern English ghost story.

Marking its 320th anniversary, academics including Cecilia Sayad will explore Mrs Veal and the evolution of the modern ghost story that followed, tracing how our fascination with ghosts developed across more than three centuries of supernatural storytelling.

📜 THE HAUNTED ARCHIVE

A special exploration of M. R. James’s “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad”, including a rare opportunity to see the original manuscript itself, held in The King’s School archive.

The panel will delve into the manuscript, the story behind its creation and the enduring influence of one of the greatest ghost stories ever written.

🎭 DAN BAINES: CURSED OBJECTS

Prop maker and illusion maker Dan Baines, whose work for stage and screen includes projects for Guillermo del Toro, will delve into the strange world of cursed objects, exploring the art of creating objects with histories, stories and unsettling lives of their own.

📚 DICKENS & JAMES

An exploration into Charles Dickens and M. R. James, two Kentish writers with a deep dive into James and the craft of the writer regarded by many as the master of the English ghost story.

🕯️ ROBERT LLOYD PARRY: M. R. JAMES LIVE

Acclaimed storyteller Robert Lloyd Parry will bring City of Ghosts to an atmospheric close with two M. R. James ghost stories performed live.

And this is just the beginning.

👻 More festival announcements are coming soon.

🎟️ A limited number of Early Bird tickets will be available.

From a ghost story published in Canterbury in 1706 to the supernatural worlds of today, City of Ghosts celebrates more than three centuries of telling stories about things that refuse to stay dead.

City of Ghosts is a new festival celebrating Canterbury’s remarkable place in the history of supernatural fiction.

Taking place on Saturday 3 October, the festival marks the 320th anniversary of The Apparition of Mrs Veal, widely recognised as the first modern English ghost story. Set in Canterbury and first published in 1706, the story has left a lasting legacy, helping to establish a tradition of supernatural storytelling that stretches from the early ghost story and Gothic fiction through to contemporary literature and Hollywood cinema.

Order your own collectable edition of 'The Apparition of Mrs Veal' recreated as part of this event with illustrations by acclaimed artist Brian Coldrick (Behind You.)

Bringing together writers, historians, academics, folklorists, filmmakers and ghost story enthusiasts, City of Ghosts will explore the origins and evolution of the genre, examining why ghost stories continue to fascinate, frighten and inspire us more than three centuries later.

A key focus of the festival will be a panel discussion on The Haunted Archive, an examination of the original manuscript of M. R. James’s celebrated ghost story “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad”. The project has been curated and written by academics Dr Mark Jones and Paul Chapman, offering a rare opportunity to explore the creation and history of one of the most influential stories in supernatural literature.

Adding to this unique event, the original M. R. James manuscript itself will be presented from The King’s School archive by Head Archivist Peter Henderson, giving audiences the opportunity to encounter an extraordinary piece of ghost story history.

The festival will also feature contributions from leading academics, folklorists and film professionals, including prop makers who have worked on films by Guillermo del Toro, providing a fascinating insight into how supernatural worlds are created for the screen.

The day will conclude in suitably atmospheric fashion with two ghost stories performed by acclaimed storyteller Robert Lloyd Parry, renowned for bringing the chilling tales of M. R. James vividly to life.

From a ghost story published in Canterbury in 1706 to the supernatural worlds of contemporary cinema, City of Ghosts will celebrate more than three centuries of telling stories about the things that refuse to stay dead.

The Haunted Archive:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crumpledlinenpress/the-haunted-archive-a-ghost-story-manuscript-of-mr-james