When the artist Bill Rich and his wife Liz moved into Heol Fanog with their young family it was supposed to be an idyllic hideaway. Within weeks they were afflicted by a series of inexplicable events, including a massive power drain that took their electricity bills to industrial levels. I also work extensively as a screenwriter – 26 hours of produced work for the BBC under my belt to date. I’m currently developing several new series for broadcasters around the world, and working on a film script. My near-future SF series, Shadow State, is in the hands of a US network. My book, Testimony, an investigation into a British Amityville, is being developed for UK and international TV. I have a political thriller and a crime series also in development. It’s a long road from here to any of these projects appearing on a screen near you, and they all might fall at any one of the numerous obstacles. But, you know: paid work. Occasionally, just to keep things interesting, I like to throw a bit of non-fiction into my reading mix. As far as horror fiction is concerned haunted house stories have always been a bit of a favourite of mine so the thought of reading non-fiction that details a genuine haunting seemed like a good fit.

I’ve seen some of the art and it definitely deserves a public viewing. I’m sure Liz would be keen to hear from anyone with gallery space or the wherewithal to make it happen. Farewell to the 21st Century Girl (in The British Invasion, edited by Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon & James A moore, Cemetery Dance) If you want to reach your own conclusions, or dismiss it out of hand, I suggest you read all those first hand accounts first. You might find it harder than you think. A.M.Heath is proud to be a member of the Association of Authors’ Agents and endorses the principles of best practice in the Association’s Code of PracticeI’ll be popping up on Channel 4 next week in the drama-documentary series True Horror. The first episode on April 19, 10 pm, is a chilling account of the Rich family’s terrifying experiences in an isolated farmhouse, which I wrote about in my non-fiction book Testimony. ( You can read about it here.) I work at my writing constantly. Five days a week, sometimes more. It’s my job, it’s my life. A book with my name on it may crop up once a year, sometimes with even longer breaks, so it’s easy to think I while away my hours drinking in the local pub or wandering the world, watching the clouds pass by. (I do both, just not all the time.) What you don’t get to hear about are all the pieces of work that never break surface, because: what’s the point? But here’s what I have been doing: A dozen people of varying degrees of credulity, differing ages, sex and religious persuasion are convinced something beyond the bounds of reason happened at Heol Fanog between November 1989 and June 1995. Something supernatural. Something Evil. An old house in mid-Wales seemed like a haven to Liz and Bill Rich. But within weeks of their arrival, inexplained happenings turned their enchantment to horror. This is their story - the true story of an experience that has defied all explanation.

The excellent The Witch Farm podcast by Danny Robins was inspired by Testimony and digs deep into the investigation. It’s one of those rare accounts of the paranormal that has multiple witnesses – I interviewed twenty-four, many of them unconnected, including a previous resident – all of whom experienced something disturbing in that isolated house just outside Brecon in rural Wales. Heol Fanog (c) Elizabeth Udall

Of course, the church, all churches, has been telling us this for years. Every religion is based on the supernatural, some force inexplicable by science which shapes our lives. But as the philosophers repeatedly tell us, there is no proof of God. You either believe or you don’t. At its core, that is what this book is about: faith. Do you believe? If you’re interested in the paranormal, there’s plenty in this book to sink your teeth into. If you’re a sceptic, there’s something here for you too. The debate is the thing. After reading Testimony, do I believe that Riches experienced a haunting? I still honestly don’t know. The sceptical part of my brain falls firmly into the camp that just because there isn’t a scientific explanation we shouldn’t automatically afford events a supernatural explanation. But there is still also that niggling shadow of doubt. Do I believe that The Riches believe they experienced a haunting? Absolutely. I’ve tried to remain open-minded about supernatural events and it strikes me that in documenting this account Mark Chadbourn does too. The details of Bill, Liz and their shared experiences are presented without embellishment. I never felt that as a reader I was being pushed in any particular direction regarding what I should think or feel about what was going on. I’d be genuinely surprised if anyone finished this and discovered all their questions had been answered. This is the sort of book that is going to leave you thinking.