Why a Booktrail?
2000s: Six Stories, several theories, one truth….
Beast
What you need to know before your trail
Elusive online journalist Scott King examines the chilling case of a young vlogger found frozen to death in the legendary local ‘vampire tower’, in another explosive episode of Six Stories… In the wake of the ‘Beast from the East’ cold snap that ravaged the UK in 2018, a grisly discovery was made in a ruin on the Northumbrian coast. Twenty-four-year-old Vlogger, Elizabeth Barton, had been barricaded inside what locals refer to as ‘The Vampire Tower’, where she was later found frozen to death.
Three young men, part of an alleged ‘cult’, were convicted of this terrible crime, which they described as a ‘prank gone wrong.’ However, in the small town of Ergarth, questions have been raised about the nature of Elizabeth Barton’s death and whether the three convicted youths were even responsible. Elusive online journalist Scott King speaks to six witnesses people who knew both the victim and the three killers to peer beneath the surface of the case. He uncovers whispers of a shocking online craze that held the young of Ergarth in its thrall and drove them to escalate a series of pranks in the name of internet fame. He hears of an abattoir on the edge of town, which held more than simple slaughter behind its walls, the tragic and chilling legend of the ‘Ergarth Vampire’… Both a compulsive, taut and terrifying thriller, and a bleak and distressing look at modern society’s desperation for attention, Beast will unveil a darkness from which you may never return..
Locations
Reset- North East England/Northumberland
- A: "Ergarth" - Pele Tower
- B: "Ergarth" - Pele Tower
- C: "Ergarth" - Tower
- D: "Ergarth Dene" - Cragside
- E: Northumberland Coast
Travel Guide
Dare to venture to Ergarth, Northumberland
Ergarth is fictional and just as well given what goes on here. As you might expect with Matt’s Six Stories, the landscape is vast, remote, raw and very very wild. There are pele towers dotted all over the moorland, remnants of the past.
Peel/Pele towers are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders. They were built as watch towers and animals were kept here sometimes too. Some were quite big and housed landowners with their workers living in simple huts. They were the symbol of war between the battles of north and south, Scotland and England and many still stand today.
This landscape therefore is the perfect setting for tales of witchery goings on, myths if vampires and youngsters exploring the raw landscape and getting into trouble. If someone was trapped inside a tower or pile of stones, then who would ever find them? The towers are remote and are miles from anywhere although you can see many from the road.
The silhouette of the towers against the dark Northumberland sky is menacing on its own without seeing what might be inside…
Booktrailer Review
Just when you think it’s safe to venture back onto the Northumberland coast and moors….
Six Stories is a series that just keeps getting better and better. This arrived just before Christmas and I immediately wanted to dive in. Vampires and legends in Northumberland? Yes please? A vlogger found in a pele tower? A youngsters prank gone wrong? The blurb says the book will look at our obsession with needing attention on social media so there’s the modern angle. Old folklore mixed with modern day life? Bring it on.
The mystery is quickly established and like in the other books, the podcast king examines the story, legend, witnesses and more. It’s impeccably researched and set up and reads very realistically – just like a true podcast. The language, turn of phrase and observation of what teenagers get up to are all nicely done. There’s LOTS here to admire.
I’m not going to say much about the story as like with the others, you have to read and discover the threads for yourself. The mystery deepens, the legends explored, the vampire stories come to the fore. Think Whitby, rituals and the dark side. Bram Stoker and Dracula get mentions and team that with the wild North Sea, the rocks, the raw coastline and that lonely tower silhouetted against the rich winter sky. There is SO MUCH TO LOVE and FEAR here. Gothically inspired and deliciously dark.
I had all the feels, the chills, the horrors mixed with excitement and trepidation.
Visually stunning and chillingly complex. 5 stars are not enough.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: Beast (Six Stories 4)
Destination/location: North East England Author/guide: Matt Wesolowski Departure Time: 2000s
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