Charity set to benefit as Helen auctions off novel
absolutely central to the book.
“Some places described in the book are real ones: James Square in Crieff, for example, and Turleum Hill.
“The scenes in Ghost in which the heroine consults the library in Langlands House, with its old-fashioned leather-bound volumes, are very much inspired by Innerpeffray Library.
“Langlands House itself is fictional, although inspired by the many lost houses of Perthshire.
“I don’t think that there can be many other possible locations that offer the combination of history and remoteness.
“If Langlands House was in a populous part of southern England, it would either have been demolished or it would have been converted into a hotel by now!
“And it’s hard to imagine that it wouldn’t be visited by outsiders.
“I spent a lot of time researching the history of Scottish country houses. Many of them were abandoned in the middle decades of the 20th century, as has happened to Langlands in the book.
“Big country houses built in the early 1800s simply became too expensive to maintain and run.
“As well as visiting the sites of some of them, I also spent a lot of time looking at Canmore, the Historic Environment Scotland database, because it contains many old photographs of country house interiors.
“I’m really fascinated by the process of decay in old buildings.
“In some ways it’s remarkably rapid, especially once a place is unroofed, but I also think it’s amazing how much survives.
“I visited one house which was supposedly demolished in the 1960s, but is still standing, admittedly in a derelict state. That made me think: supposing there was an abandoned house that was still intact, with all the contents inside it – who might be living there, and why would they be hiding? That thought was a big part of the inspiration for Ghost.”
Helen’s heart is firmly in her adopted county, her home since 2011.
She said: “I love living in Perthshire. I’m definitely not a city girl, there are so many interesting old places – ruined castles and tumbledown churches and mossy kirkyards.”
Describing her writing, Helen continued: “I would say that Ghost is both a psychological mystery and a Gothic romance.
“I think spooky stories appeal because they have a pleasantly spine-tingling effect but don’t cross the line into being outright gross.
“I think that’s one of the challenges of writing a ghost story: to make it scary without relying on gore.
“Some people cope with the fear by looking away, and others can’t stop looking. I’m one of the ones who can’t stop looking.”
Bids for Ghost in aid of the Children in Need appeal can be made by logging on to the website www. jumblebee.co.uk