The Apparition Phase

Will Maclean

William Heinemann 2020

Hb, 406pp, £14.99, ISBN 9781785152375

We all know that Fortean Times is inspirational – and it’s inspired three very different novels. First, directly influenced by Bob Fischer’s article “The Haunted Generation” ( FT354:30-37), Will Maclean’s The Apparition Phase is an extraordinarily powerful account of growing up in the Seventies. Teenage twins Tim and Abi love all things weird; the attic where they spend much of their time is filled with books on ghosts and other paranormal phenomena. But when they fake a photo of a ghost to scare a fellow pupil, have they created (or released) a real and malevolent supernatural power? No spoilers to the plot; just to say that Tim and Abi’s enthusiasm for the weird is wonderfully infectious, and the séance scenes later in the book are truly hairs-on-theback-of-the-neck stuff. But most of all, Maclean has captured the feel of the Seventies impeccably. This book is a must for anyone touched by hauntology.