From Charles Dickens to Daphne du Maurier, I love a quick spinechiller. Yes, I know, it’s nearly summer, but here are my six spooky short story suggestions, ideal for a skin-shivering quick read under a parasol…

Brighton Rock is intense to say the least. It may be a classic race against time thriller, but it’s also a strange, heady mix of poverty-sticken provincialism and the potential damnation of one’s eternal soul.

What does the current law in the UK actually say, if anything, about witchcraft? In a country where now only a tenth of people believe in the Devil, is witchcraft still illegal? Is it even recognised in today’s legislation?

Why is Rebecca one of my favourite books? Well, the big twist holds up every time I read it, the protagonist’s anxieties become mine, and the atmosphere at Manderley is a heady mix of claustrophobia and lushness.

In the Nineties, it felt like witches were everywhere and witches were being seen; even more importantly, they were being seen as good and cool and normal, considering their exceptional powers.