Archaeological historian Amara Thornton of the University of London, and Classical archaeologist Katy Soar from the University of Winchester have curated a selection of twelve outstanding short stories encompassing horror, ghosts, hauntings, and possession, all from archaeological excavation.

From a Neolithic rite to Egyptian religion to Roman remains to medieval masonry to some uncanny ceramic tiles in a perfectly ordinary American sun lounge, the relics in these stories are, frankly, horrible.

Stories include: The Ape, by E F Benson, Roman Remains, by Algernon Blackwood, Ho! The Merry Masons, by John Buchan, Through the Veil, by Arthur Conan Doyle, View From A Hill, M R James, Curse of the Stillborn, by Margery Lawrence, Whitewash, by Rose Macaulay, The Shining Pyramid, by Arthur Machen, Cracks of Time, by Dorothy Quick, The Cure, by Eleanor Scott