Ghosts of Chanterlands
By Catherine Cavendish
- Ghosts of Chanterlands
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Author: Catherine Cavendish
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Publisher: Flame Tree Press
- ISBN: 9781787589919
- Published: August 2026
- Pages: 272
- Format reviewed: Paperback
- Review date: 08/09/2026
- Language: English
I used to love a good ghost story on television, for all their manifestations of the undead, they could be gentle. The cosy murder mystery of the supernatural world, but these days are over. Now it seems that they are all jump scares and body horror, Casper is no longer as friendly as he once was. Ghosts of Chanterlands by Catherine Cavendish has its share of death and spooky moments, but in essence takes a timeless approach to the genre welcoming us back to a more Victorian ghost feel.
With the war ongoing London is no longer a safe location for a child to live, even in the leafy suburbs. Fourteen-year-old Pamela is sent by her mother to live with her eccentric aunts in their country pile, Chanterlands. It once housed their brother, but he died as a child. Pamela begins to suspect that Will still haunts the corridors and that he is not happy she is using his room. Will may not be the only ghost on the estate as the land’s chequered past seems to permeate the walls and the opposing families are not happy.
I read a lot of genre fiction, including horror, and it can get a little much at times, especially the darker modern body horror. Chanterlands harks back to a time when ghosts were scary, but not necessarily deadly. For large parts of the novel Pamela and her aunts are haunted but not necessarily threatened. Indeed, the flighty Aunt Jilly seems to know all about the ghosts and gets along with them. She introduces Pamela to the fairy garden in the woods, with a lake that houses a family of otters.
As the book progresses, the story does get darker. Characters are not safe and some may find themselves on the wrong side of the vale, but it is never gross. Instead, there is an intelligent mystery here. Pamela is tasked with clearing out the attic where she finds clues to her family’s history. She is already aware that theirs is a blended family, her Aunt Bunny, the direct heir, Aunt Jilly and her mother being stepsisters to Bunny. The history of the house feeds into the mystery and the ghost story.
As well a good mystery, Cavendish writes an authentic history novel. It feels like a book set during the war years. The characters span the generational shift of the time; the austere Bunny, flighty Jilly, and Pamela representing an innocent, but notable sense of the future. Indeed, although the majority of the book sets place during the war, we do return once or twice again to see what happened in the years after and these moments are also reflected well through Pamela’s eyes.
Chanterlands has all you would want from a ghost story. Not only supernatural moments and scares, but the important added elements such as a mystery that explains the reason for the ghosts and their actions. This is no meaningless ramble setting out to scare with body horror, but a considered tale that uses the history of the house to tell the story. It feels like Pamela is only part of the house’s story, we are witnessing a few months of a much larger picture. Having this rich past informs the ghost story and makes for a better read.
Written on 8th September 2026 by Sam Tyler .
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