The ghost story, its hooded form designed to terrify and perplex, is also strongly identified with cosy winter nights by the fireside. This collection of supernatural sightings in England is a less comforting prospect. Always fond of testing the weakest points in the porous membrane between worlds, Ackroyd presents a deadpan stream of disembodied data gathered largely from journals and letters. Some stories are less than persuasive  a phantom dachshund leads its owner to a vivisectionist's house before vanishing  but there are genuinely uncanny moments: nocturnal kisses, rustlings and shriekings, an old man who comes to say goodnight to two children, looking like Father Christmas "only dressed in burnt paper". Although the antique testimonies provide the traditional thrill associated with eerie manor houses, the most disturbing stories come from recent times: disappearing hitchhikers, council-house poltergeists and unquiet bungalows. However, Ackroyd's ability to turn his research sweepings and newspaper clippings into a solid book is the most convincing manifestation here.