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
1: The Interchange – Thin Places in Hard Concrete, story by story
The first story in my new collection, Thin Places in Hard Concrete, is called ‘The Interchange’ and is about a road that should not be there. This story is already out there in audio form thanks to a collaboration with Giles Booth, creator of the podcast Listen With Other. It’s read by me and Giles…
Reading, watching, thinking March 2026: Witches, ghosts, cheesemakers
In the first quarter of 2026 I’ve been reading about witchcraft and folk horror, watching a lot of J-Horror, and trying to make more music, faster. First, a quick reminder of the point of these posts: I very nearly set up a newsletter, then decided against it, because the world doesn’t need more Substacks. (And,…
How J-Horror brought ghost stories back from the dead
A run of Japanese films released around the millennium, and bracketed together as ‘J-Horror’, gave new life to the ghost story. In 2026, they’re still exciting. They’re particularly effective because they bring the ghost story up to date with post-war urban settings and a focus on modern technology. They also play with our expectations of…
Precast Reinforced Concrete Heart 