Published Fiction
The Man Who Fell Awake - Paperclips, UK (hardback anthology), circa 1997/98.
The Attic Clock - A Stoneground Ghost Tale (homage to E.G. Swain) - Weirdly Supernatural 1, UK, 2002.
The Thing In The Tree - Supernatural Tales, UK, Autumn 2003.
Beyond The Fens - Weirdly Supernatural 2, UK, 2004.
Snow Train - Supernatural Tales, UK, 2004.
Subtle Differences - To Be Advised - Autumn / Winter 2007
One Last Glastonbury - To Be Advised - Autumn / Winter 2007
* Received an Honourable Mention in The Year’s Best Horror & Fantasy Stories
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Reviews / Published Comments
"Chris Barker....has the ability (rather like de la Mare) of being able to make everyday things seem dreamlike and nightmarish."
David G. Rowlands (author & editor)
"The best story in the issue is the excellent 'The Tableaux' by Christopher Barker - linked to the 'haunted house' tradition but vitalising that tradition with a fresh and original approach, as well as being very well-written."
Malcolm Stevens.
“Christopher Barker produced my favourite of this issue. In Snow Train, which is vivid in its imagery and elegant in its narrative, Christopher has written a genuinely frightening story. The scene where the ‘thing’ peered – ‘bleating’ – out of the misty train window in the dead of night had the hairs standing up on the back of my neck! He winds this up masterfully and in an unhurried way to a superb ending. Outstanding.”
" 'The Tableaux'...[is] Aickmanesque without any of Aickman's arrogance. Christopher Barker writes well, and he leads the reader gently from normality into an effectively nightmarish other place, where the horror may or may not be supernatural - either way, it's gruesomely effective."
Roger Johnson (author)
"I read 'The Tableaux' and found it really, really frightening. The descriptions are extremely good: all the neighbourhood and countryside are so vivid that it makes the fright much worse."
Joan Aiken (author)
“The Thing In The Tree” is arch, creepy and bizarre.”
Joel Lane (author)
“The Thing In The Tree” is a good example of of supernatural tale as a metaphor for existential crisis, and the ending is both unexpected and rather horrific.”
Peter Bell. (author)
“ [‘Beyond The Fens’] is a clever spoof....a fascinating piece of literary archaeology....You might think from all this preamble that it would be like those parcels which are passed round at Christmas parties from which one removes layer after layer of wrapping paper to reveal very little of substance, but you would be wrong. It is a very good story.....extremley professional...a damned good story well worth the telling.”
Ken Cowley (genre bookseller)
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Essays & Articles
Herbert James: The Ghost-Story Writing Brother Of M.R. James; & James McBryde: A Dedication That Rings Hollow - Weirdly Supernatural 1, UK, 2002 (article).
Plagiarism & Pederasty: Skeletons In The Jamesian Closet - Haunted River, UK, 2003 (booklet).
Unpleasant Demons: Cruelty & Violence In The Jamesian Tale - Weirdly Supernatural, UK, 2004 (article).
Ghost Stories and More Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary: Bibliographical Notes - Weirdly Supernatural, UK, 2004 (article).
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Editing & Publishing
Weirdly Supernatural 1 - UK, 2002.
Weirdly Supernatural 2 - UK, 2004 (assisted by Reggie Oliver).
The Dreams Of Cardinal Vittorini & Other Strange Stories - Haunted River, UK, 2003.
Nominated for an International Horror Guild award.
The Complete Symphonies Of Adolf Hitler -
Shortlisted for the Dracula Society’s ‘Children Of The Night’ award
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New Work
“The Sinister Cupboard” (sinister Le Fanuesque novella set in the Edwardian era - finished)
“Gallows Trap” (Jamesian novella, same era - finished)
“Rivals Forever” (original 1920s short ghost story featuring William Hope Hodgson in a cameo appearance - in works)
“An Episode Of Cathedral History” (expanded dramatization of the classic M.R. James tale - in works)
“A Perfect Horror Of Fish Eyes” (original short story - in works)
“The Reed Doll” (mainstream novel - in works)
“Untitled” (screen or radio play based upon the Black Shuck legend - in works)