I’m Ray Newman, a writer, editor and content designer based in Bristol.
My crime novel The Grave Digger’s Boy was published in 2019 and my short ghost stories are collected in Municipal Gothic and Intervals of Darkness.
I post on my blog my fairly regularly. Recent posts are below or you can check out the whole back catalogue.
Recent posts
Favourite new-to-me books and films in 2025
Novels about juvenile delinquents, short films about consumerism, and a weird classic I got round to far too late are among my cultural highlights from the past year. I like these little bits of end-of-year housekeeping – looking back, sorting and filing, debating with past Ray the stupid ratings he gave months ago. I often…
Another collection of vintage ghost stories for Christmas
If you’ve seen all of the BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas, and want more of the same, I’ve got good news for you. Last year I put together a list of films, short films and TV episodes that seemed to me to capture something of the vibe of the Lawrence Gordon Clark era of BBC…
Reading, thinking, doing December 2025
I’ve been reading about New York during prohibition, thinking about Stanley Kubrick, and writing in the Edwardian mode. This blog is what I do instead of starting yet another Substack newsletter. You can subscribe to this blog (enter an email address, get updates when I post) using the widget at the bottom of the screen.…
Precast Reinforced Concrete Heart 