David Castleton

David Castleton is a prize-winning writer of gothic/magical realist/literary fiction and a non-fiction author published by Shire/Bloomsbury. He grew up in rural North Yorkshire, where a childhood spent clambering around ruined abbeys and exploring spooky churchyards likely attuned his mind to the darker sides of literature, creativity, history and culture. His debut novel 'The Standing Water' is a tale of childhood struggle amidst the rain-sodden flatlands, weird legends and ghost stories of 1980s northern England. David's debut non-fiction book - 'Church Curiosities: Strange Objects and Bizarre Legends' (Shire/Bloomsbury) - investigates the unusual artefacts found in British churches and churchyards and the thoroughly odd bits of folklore linked with them. David won the 2019 Go Gothic Short Fiction Prize and his stories, poems and articles have appeared in various publications. His popular blog 'The Serpent's Pen' delves into all that is gothic, quirky, folkloric and strange. David lives in Yorkshire, where he can still be found poking around the county's many ruins and graveyards.