''Ghost Stations'' is a series of books by the British
military historian
Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships.
Professional historians norma ...
Bruce Barrymore Halpenny
Bruce Barrymore Halpenny (1937 – 3 May 2015) was an English people, English military historian and author, specialising in airfields and aircraft, as well as ghost stories and mysteries. He was also a Television presenter, broadcaster''Framlin ...
, containing ostensibly true ghost and
mystery
Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
*Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange''
Films
* ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film
* ''Mystery'' ( ...
stories generally connected to the
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
,
airfields
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publi ...
and other military or war connected stories.
History
Bruce Halpenny had been writing ghost stories in the 1960s and encountering ghost stories in his exhaustive research into airfield histories, when he decided they should form the subject of a special book, and so started to add to and research his “ghost-mystery” files about abandoned airfields that "murmur and whisper with ghosts". Halpenny had by 1984 become acknowledged as a respected British military historian, expert in airfield histories, and expert in "RAF ghosts", especially surrounding airfields.
In the 1960s, Halpenny began presenting what he believed to be evidence of paranormal activity on airfields. He also campaigned for the British government to do their part by preserving a
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
airfield in its original condition for future generations to see, and for the history of each airfield to be recorded fully and the men and sacrifice never forgotten.
''Ghost Stations'' was officially launched at
RAF Wittering
Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford, Lincolnshire, Sta ...
on Thursday 16 October 1986.
[''Flight into ghostly unknown'' – Mr. Leicester's Page – ]Leicester Mercury
The ''Leicester Mercury'' is a British regional newspaper for the city of Leicester and the neighbouring counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. The paper began in the 19th century as the ''Leicester Daily Mercury'' and later changed to its pre ...
– Monday, 13 October 1986 The book took 18 months to compile
and drew upon the author's knowledge and experience working in airfields and documenting their history.
''Ghost Stations'' proved a best seller and was followed by a second book, entitled, ''Aaargh!'' that was published with over 30 "ghostly and mysterious" tales, one of which was "The eerie mystery of Lightning 894". ''Aaargh!'', was later to become ''Ghost Stations 2'' as six more books followed over the years.
''GHOST STATIONS'' became a trademark in the late 1980s and in 2008 the new Ghost Stations series, based on the original series, was brought out. In the new series the stories had been shuffled around and merged, thus a story that was being investigated by Bruce Halpenny that was in several books in the old series, were merged into one story in one book in the new series. Also regional books were created in the new series, with ''Ghost Stations Lincolnshire'', already for some Lincolnshire bookshops, one of their best sellers.
[''Give the gift of reading at Christmas'' – Finding Your Presents in Print – ]Lincolnshire Echo
The ''Lincolnshire Echo'' is a weekly British regional newspaper for Lincolnshire, whose first edition was on Tuesday 31 January 1893, and is published every Thursday. It is owned by Reach PLC and it is distributed throughout the county.
The ...
– Tuesday, 18 November 2008 The author's son,
commercial artist
Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) for viewers with the intent of promo ...
,
book editor
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
and writer,
Baron Barrymore Halpenny
Baron Barrymore Halpenny is a commercial artist, executive editor, writer and historian of traditions and culture."A Season of Traditions", ''Lincolnshire Standard'', 4 April 1986 Working for several publications, he is best known for his book cove ...
had a hand in the book cover design from the original series to the new series.
The author expresses his beliefs in the supernatural:
The original series of ''Ghost Stations'' books
The original eight ''Ghost Stations'' books were:
*''Ghost Stations (Paperback)'' ()
*''Aaargh! (Paperback)'' – Later retitled ''Ghost Stations 2'' ()
*''Ghost Stations 3 (Paperback)'' ()
*''Ghost Stations 4 (Paperback) '' ()
*''Ghost Stations 5 (Paperback)'' ()
*''Ghost Stations 6 (Paperback)'' ()
*''Ghost Stations 7 (Paperback)'' ()
*''Ghost Stations 8 (Paperback)'' ()
The new series of ''Ghost Stations'' books
The new ''Ghost Stations'' books (as of 2008), published by L'Aquila Publishing:
*''Ghost Stations 1 (Paperback)'' ()
*''Ghost Stations 2 (Paperback) '' ()
*''Ghost Stations 3 (Paperback)'' ()
*''Ghost Stations 4 (Paperback)'' ()
*''Ghost Stations 5 (Paperback)'' ()
*''Ghost Stations Mysteries (Paperback)'' ()
*''Ghost Stations Lincolnshire (Paperback) '' ()
*''Ghost Stations Yorkshire (Paperback)'' ()
*''Ghost Stations Germany (Paperback)'' ()
*''Ghost Stations The Story (Paperback)'' ()
External links
Official Website for the Ghost Stations books
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghost Stations
1986 books
Novels set during World War II
History of aviation
Occult books
Works by Bruce Barrymore Halpenny
Books about military history
Aviation books
Ghost novels