Dark Powers

Ann Pilling manages to combine fascinating historical detail with mysterious and compelling ghost stories, and The Beggar's Curse is no exception. Published as an ebook for the first time, it will attract a whole new wave of fans. Ever since Ann Pilling's debut novel, Black Harvest, now a Collins Modern Classic, she has built her reputation into one of our best-loved and most talented contemporary writers for children. She won the Guardian Fiction Award for Henry's Leg. The Beggar's Curse follows the same children who appear in Black Harvest - Colin, Prill and Oliver. In The Beggar's Curse, Colin, Prill and Oliver arrive to stay in the village of Stang, where they soon realize that there's something terribly wrong. Prill feels something sinister in the ancient rituals of the village play... Colin knows the 'accidents' that keep happening are something much more gruesome... But only Oliver seems to know the truth. He understands the dark secret the village is hiding and senses that it comes from the black waters of Blake's Pit. He can even feel the terrible power of the beggar's curse... Ann Pilling has managed, yet again, to create a mysterious, compelling and gripping tale.

Ann Pilling manages to combine fascinating historical detail with mysterious and compelling ghost stories, and The Witch of Lagg is no exception. Now available as an ebook for the first time, it is sure to attract a whole new wave of fans. Ever since Ann Pilling's debut novel, black harvest, now a Collins Modern Classic, she has built her reputation into one of our best-loved and most talented contemporary writers for children. She won the Guardian Fiction Award for Henry's Leg. The Witch of Lagg follows the same children who appear in Black Harvest - Colin, Prill and Oliver. Here they are staying in Laggs Castle, a truly creepy place, and as they begin to explore the old house and the dark woods surrounding it, they find themselves becoming the victims of some evil force... Could it be some kind of vampire? Surely only something really terribly could make a loaf of bread taste of bones and blood...Ann Pilling has managed, yet again, to create a mysterious, compelling and gripping tale.

The Pit is a powerful story, encompassing plague-ridden London, ghosts from the past and present, and one boy's determination to solve unanswered questions and cure an old man's terror. When an old man comes to stay with Oliver's parents, Oliver is astonished by the man's acute phobia of fleas and rats. Determined to discover the source of the old man's terror, Oliver is drawn to a demolition site, where workmen are suffering appalling mental injuries. Oliver realises that something of enormous, terrifying power has been unearthed by the workmen but before he can find out more, a terrified scream comes from the cellar of his house. Thinking the screams to be from the old man, Oliver plunges into the cellar... to find himself in plague-ridden London, trapped in the body of a boy, surrounded by plague victims.