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Cursed: A Ghosts of Thores-Cross Short Story Kindle Edition

by Karen Perkins (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 267 ratings
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#1 Bestseller Horror Short Stories
#1 Bestseller British & Irish Short Stories
#1 Bestseller Short Stories for Young Adults

Jennet's back. No one's safe.
A skeleton is dug up at the crossing of the ways on Hanging Moor, striking dread into the heart of Old Ma Ramsgill - the elderly matriarch of the village of Thruscross. And with good reason. The eighteenth-century witch, Jennet, has been woken.

A spate of killings by a vicious black dog gives credence to her warnings and the community - in particular her family - realise they are in terrible danger.

Drastic measures are needed to contain her, but with the imminent flooding of the valley to create a new reservoir, do they have the ability to stop her and break her curse?
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Previous page
  1. Book 2 of 3
    Ghosts of Thores-Cross
  2. Print length
    49 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    July 15, 2014
  6. File size
    5197 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the Yorkshire Ghost Stories on Amazon: "This is the most well-researched, intense and spookiest book I've ever read" - Author Amy Queau"Ms Perkins makes the art of writing look easy,a sure sign of a talented writer and gifted story-telling. 5 stars." - Author JJ Toner

"Perkins mesmerised with her period dialogue and rich descriptions of life" - AjoobacatsTOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE VOICE
"A beautifully written tale of obsession and possession." - Kathy"One of the best books I've read in a long time." - Loves to Read"The book is most skilfully written in a similar vein to Barbara Erskine" - maureen turner-books by maureen "Well-written with delightfully spooky twists" - K. Grace"I enjoyed the read...one reviewer gave a nod to Bronte... I would give it a nod toward a modern Fall of the House of Usher by Poe" - Eagle"This is one of the best written ghost stories that I have ever read . Karen Perkins really knows how to hold one in suspense and on the edge of their seat." - Avid Reader

"Beautiful flow" - Dodger
"This is one of the best books that I have had the pleasure to read in a long time." - Elaine Richards

"Its North Yorkshire setting comes alive and Karen Perkins imbues it with a sinister quality that certainly spoke to me! Karen Perkins is an author to watch" - Katie B

From the Author

Author Q&A with Karen Perkins:
  
First, the obvious questions for an author writing ghost stories: Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever seen one?
 
Yes, I do - I have seen, heard and felt things for which I can find no other explanation, in fact The Haunting of Thores-Cross was inspired by one such experience, but that is included in the book, so no spoilers!
 
Apart from seeing figures and orbs, and having seen objects move, I have experienced the spirit of a young girl walking through me, then run giggling down the corridor (the ghost, not me - I ran, but was certainly not giggling!). I have known when people have died, and have slowed the car more than once because I 'knew' there was an accident or a traffic jam around the next corner! There is definitely more out there than we yet understand.
 
Your Yorkshire Ghost Stories draw heavily on their settings - what is it about Yorkshire that inspires such tales?
 
The landscape is so diverse - in some places breathtakingly beautiful, and in others bleak and inhospitable, yet still has an innate, raw beauty in spite of harsh moor and barren rock, and in every landscape, life thrives. The people, and their histories, are just as rugged, diverse and complex - you will not find more hospitable folk anywhere in the world, yet you can live in rural Yorkshire for decades and still be considered an incomer. I was born here, and whilst I enjoy travelling, I adore coming home, and find an incredible peace in the call of an owl, or the burbling of a stream - or a storm raging across an open moor.
 
The Haunting of Thores-Cross is a very powerful book, and Jennet a complex character, where did she come from?
 
Thank you - it's also a very personal book. I feel a deep connection to Thruscross (its original Viking name: Thores-Cross), and spent many happy childhood days there, having various adventures on the shores and waters of the reservoir (in fact, the modern character, Emma, shares my childhood and dreams - although I hope that's all!). I wrote the book after a long period of ill-health which resulted in my feeling very isolated - and I had a telephone and a TV, my family and friends had cars and visited often. I took that feeling of isolation and imagined what it would have been like to be isolated, even vilified, within a small, remote community; a community that was essentially someone's whole world. Just what would that do to a person? How would it change them? How would they cope? My answer is Jennet.
 
In Knight of Betrayal you write about the assassination of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, in 1170, but tell the story from the perspective of the knights who wielded the swords. What made you focus on them rather than Becket and Henry II?
 
I live close to Knaresborough Castle, but only recently realized that the knights who assassinated Thomas Becket hid out there for at least a year after their deed, and was very surprised how difficult it was to find out more about them. It is something that is largely ignored locally, as well as in the history books. There is very little information about them, apart from a widespread scorn and hatred, and that piqued my interest. Why is so little known about them? Why would four knights travel days by horse and ship in deeply religious medieval Europe, to murder a cleric?
 
I wanted to understand what motivated the knights and how they would have coped as first England, then the whole of Christendom, and ultimately their king and fellow nobles turned against them. As I researched and created a timeline of what is known (or at least accepted) and my characters developed, I found myself changing my mind more than once about what was most likely to have happened all that time ago. In the end, I had to follow my knights as I would fictional characters and let them tell their story within the bounds of the known facts.Knight of Betrayal is the result.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00LV0G502
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ LionheART Publishing House (July 15, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 15, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5197 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 49 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 267 ratings

About the author

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Karen Perkins

Karen Perkins

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Karen's latest release, DIVIDED BY WITCHCRAFT, is the second in a new series of historical fiction short stories examining the frenzy of witch hunting that swept the north of England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries – including the most famous, that of the Pendle Witches in 1612.

Karen Perkins is the author of the Yorkshire Ghost Stories, the Pendle Witch Short Stories and the Valkyrie Series of historical nautical fiction. Her fiction has appeared at the top of bestseller lists on both sides of the Atlantic, including the top 21 in the UK Kindle Store in 2018.

Her first Yorkshire Ghost Story – THE HAUNTING OF THORES-CROSS – won the Silver Medal for European Fiction in the prestigious 2015 Independent Publisher Book Awards in New York, whilst her Valkyrie novel, DEAD RECKONING, was long-listed in the 2011 MSLEXIA novel competition.

Originally a financial advisor, a sailing injury left Karen with a chronic pain condition (although she did take the European ladies title despite the injury!). Writing has given her a new lease of – and purpose to – life, and she is currently working on a sequel to Parliament of Rooks: Haunting Brontë Country, as well as the next Pendle Witch story.

Karen Perkins is a member of the Society of Authors, the Writers' Guild of Great Britain and the Horror Writers Association.

Currently working on:

THE WITCH HUNTER OF PENDLE

and

A QUESTION OF WITCHCRAFT: Ghosts of Haworth, book 2.

Release dates tba.

For more details, please see Karen's website:

www.karenperkinsauthor.com

She can be contacted by email: karenperkinsauthor@gmail.com

and is also on Twitter: @LionheartG

Instagram: @yorkshireghosts

And Facebook:

www.facebook.com/karenperkinsauthor

www.facebook.com/Yorkshireghosts

www.facebook.com/groups/yorkshireghosts

(Author photo credit: John Rice)

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
267 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

JP
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but will need to be ok with the supernatural stuff
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2017
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I enjoyed this book because it wasn't boring! It does jump back and forth from the past to the present, which I liked. The chapters are short, which made it easy to read only a chapter or two before shutting off the lights for bedtime. I believe the author does a very good job at developing the main character of the past and small-town politics. But since there is some paranormal stuff going on, if you suspend your present-day reality beliefs, you can enjoy this story.
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CJ Reid
4.0 out of 5 stars So Wish It Were Longer; Can't Get Enough!
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2017
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Another fascinating look into the world of Thores-Cross and the ghost of Jennet Scot. It fills in a gap reference in the novel without giving away the events in the novel. I enjoyed the read, though I wish it were longer. I can't seem to get enough of this story with its rich setting and fully realized characters.
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Paula Cappa Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars An okay story
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2014
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The suspense in this short story was pretty good. I read it in an hour. I've not read Perkins's other stories and chose this because I like to read ghost stories. A witch's bones are upset when the town is digging to create a new reservoir for the village. Jennet is a scorned angry woman from 1700s and out for revenge. Not exactly an original storyline but Perkins makes it interesting. I found the characters John, Sue and "Ma" underdeveloped and thin. Sometimes their voices were the same: flat and predictable. Lots of people are killed by Jennet--as she is let loose on the town--but I didn't care much about her victims because we didn't get to know them. I didn't care much about Jennet either; her evil was pretty ordinary, as were her appearances. I could not get into the emotion in this story at all; maybe the writing was just too distant for me. In terms of Perkins' literary voice ... it was okay. The ending was a disappointment and left me feeling a little manipulated to go buy another Perkins book Thores-Cross about Jennet. I probably won't, although I think this writer has an interesting skill for contriving mystery plots and I can admire the weave she created.
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JA Wolfe
5.0 out of 5 stars This Story Is Too Good To Miss
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2017
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This is a thriller story. It is well written, and the characters well defined. Don't start this novel in the evening, if you want to get a full night's sleep, because you will not want to stop reading. The excitement begins early and continues with every page. Hats off to the author, she has done a spectacular job in telling and writing her story.
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Antoinette Dunn
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great story from Karen!
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2018
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I am eagerly awaiting the newest Jennet novel. This short story was so good! Just enough to tide me over until the end of the month. Love Jennet !
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Choctaw Jane
4.0 out of 5 stars She cursed the family of the man who treated her horribly along with his family
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2016
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This novel explained more about the previous novel about the witch that was hanged in the past. She cursed the family of the man who treated her horribly along with his family. She returned to continue with the curse. I was surprised that her curse still took another generation of the family in modern times. Great story!
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
2.0 out of 5 stars Thrown Together
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2014
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I really didn't like this as a sequel. This was a prequel to the main story Thores-Cross, which I liked a lot more because I enjoyed learning Jennet's full story (didn't care too much for the storyline happening in the modern age, though). I suppose I do understand why a story like this one couldn't just stand alone because of the abrupt progression and the way it was thrown together - you really did have to have some prior understanding of what was happening before hand to understand Jennet's wrath. In any case, this is the reason I am giving this two stars as opposed to the three I might have given it.

I felt this short story had no bearing or relevance to the original story Thores-Cross whatsoever. Old Ma Ramsgill is alluded to in Thores-Cross by her great-grandson in that story as he is the one who winds up with her only surviving journal of many that she had written and lost in this story Cursed. But there was nothing in her journal that contributed to how Jennet was done away with in Thores-Cross that made Ma Ramsgill's story in Cursed relevant in any way other than basic curiosity.

All but Ma Ramsgill didn't seem to buy into Jennet's legend and yet when the first victims start succumbing to Jennet's wrath, suddenly it's mass hysteria. Like my problem with the first story, I felt everyone bought into this legend a little too easy for modern times - granted, it was 1966, but still modern compared to the 1700 period Jennet lived in when the legend was born.

So I guess the gist of this review is that I just didn't think this story contributed to Jennet's overall story in any way. There was nothing special or memorable about the characters and storytelling in any way for this to be a must read. If you read Thores-Cross, then there's no harm going ahead and reading this, but just don't expect anything critical or relevant to the general story.
2 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Short Story
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2016
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I wish it was longer. This story was very short, but explained some details of Thores Cross. Great story. I look forward to reading more of Karen Perkins' books.
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Top reviews from other countries

Gavin Griffiths
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read to fill in the gaps
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 30, 2020
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Short brilliant and ghostly tale, that fills in the gaps and leave you wanting more some time since I read the first book, and now can’t wait to get on to book 3. Love this trilogy, I’m glad to hear there is a fourth book on the way.
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Margaret R Blake
5.0 out of 5 stars Kept me from my housework
Reviewed in Australia on October 31, 2018
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It was a compelling read, though similar to another book I read many years back. This did not put me off, however, as it was a great story. Loved it.
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Karen O.
4.0 out of 5 stars You like Yorkshire and ghost stories? Enjoy.
Reviewed in Germany on August 30, 2014
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With Cursed – A Yorkshire Ghost Story, Karen Perkins presents us with a suspenseful short story. The story is cleverly elaborated, leaves you opportunity to include your own imagination. I had a real good time reading Cursed (Yorkshire Ghost Serie, #2). You can read and enjoy cursed even if you did not (yet) read Thores-Cross (Yorkshire Ghost Serie, #1).
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Mum of 5
4.0 out of 5 stars Very short story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2024
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I think this book could have been expanded more into a novel not just a very short story. Good short read tho 😊
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Mrs M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Cursed by karen Perkins
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2017
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If you love a ghost story ,you will love cursed, found it thrilling all the way to the end, it tells of a family that was cursed and how they struggled through the generations to save themselves from jennet............and they know she will rise again ,read this for yourselves you won't be disappointed ,karen Perkins has written this to keep us thinking about will this ever end.......I don't think we have heard the last of jennet....
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