Thursday, 2 October 2025

Authors On Their Own Writing: CJ Hooper's Weird Tales

I've interviewed archaeologist, performer and writer of weird tales CJ Hooper, continuing my interview series with authors on their own books.

Q: Of the books you’ve written, which is your favourite?

A: My collection of short stories, Silence Next the Sea and Other Strange Tales. It’s only been available for a couple of months.

Q: What’s it about?

A: Twelve short stories evoking the sense of the haunted environment. Each location is a real place with the numbers filed off. There are ghosts, folk horror, cultists, steam trains, eco horror, an urban deal-with-the-devil story, and finally a ghostly tribute to my favourite detective, set in an Oxford flat.

Q: Why is it your favourite?

A: All the locations are places that I have spent time at and have a deal of affection for. Writing ‘what I know’ has, in this collection, become a love letter to the historic / haunted environment. For example, a real-life overnight stay and pilgrimage to the chapel of St. Dwynwyn at Newborough in Ynys Mon has become a particularly harrowing tale of wild camping gone awry. Similarly, in my story 'Witch Marks' the apotropaic marks found on a cellar door were real, and a fascinating study of vernacular belief.

Q: Tell me a bit more about yourself and any other books you’ve written.

A: My day job is a mix of archaeology and looking after historic buildings. Though I’ve degrees in both, I grew up among ancient history, mythology, and countless family holidays around neolithic sites, iron age hill forts, and various barrow mounds. I recently turned my hand to writing weird tales and horror fiction, after decades of flirting with the genre. My books prior to this have been poetry, which are written in support of my performing career as a comedian / impro poet. This is my party piece, my audience will make suggestion on the theme of the show and I then improvise poems on the spot for their amusement. They must rhyme, and they have to, ideally, be funny. My Edinburgh fringe shows have run for five years now on the subjects of Urban Horror Fairy Tales; Alternative History; Alternative Lovecraftian Tales; and Alternative Tolkien.

Q: Relating to your writing, what plans do you have for the future?

A: I'm continuing with my horror tales and strangeness. There will be another collection of short stories next year, hopefully in time for the Innsmouth Literary festival. Before then, however, I am currently editing my first full novel. It is the story of a sinister off-shoot of the Golden Dawn with nefarious purposes; the nature of ‘the Beast’; horned gods in world history; and, more pertinently, the destiny of a woman with a natural gift for ‘magick’. It is currently titled ‘After Babalon.”

You can view Silence Next the Sea on Amazon

(Please note I earn commission from some links)

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