Ancient Images

Ancient Images by Ramsey Campbell: Personal entertainment value 4⭐️. It’s Ramsey Campbell, by now you’re either into his work or you’re not. If you’re not, this may not be the one to win you over, but if you are then… Ancient Images is an old school folk horror slow burn originally released in 88-89ish, rereleased from Flame Tree Press. It is concerning the search for an unreleased, possibly cursed, Karloff/ Lugosi film. What happens when ancient rituals are lost, forgotten, over the generations?

Campbell crafts quite an unsettling narrative, not uncommon to his body work, with a great nuance to his dialog. I'd definitely like to be more well versed in his bibliography,

5 Stars!

I cannot get enough Ramsey Campbell so I was happy to see that Flame Tree Press was reprinting Ancient Images. I wanted to get right into the novel but life got in the way for a little while and I got delayed. I was finally able to dig in and found that the book was well worth the wait.



Some films are legendary. Other films are legends of their own. That seemed to be the case of a lost film starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. For unknown reasons, the film was suppressed before it was released and no one ever got to see the finished movie. With stories of strange happenings around the filming of the movie to the film itself never seeing the light of day, it seemed more of a legend than a reality. Sandy Allan, a film researcher, seems to be ready to see the Holy Grail of horror films when she is invited over to a friend’s house for a screening of the lost movie. But when the film disappears and her friend dies, it seems the movie has once more faded into darkness. Little did Sandy know that her part in the film’s legend was just beginning.



Sandy finds herself traveling around England to find the film in memory of her friend before finally coming to the town of Redfield. Along the way, she meets a band of gypsies that were soon to become an important part of the story. After meeting the descendant of the man who suppressed the film and exploring the town and its sinister chapel, she is convinced that there is something much deeper going on that just the suppression of a film to protect the morality of the country. When she finally finds the film and watches it, the terrible horror that it hides comes to light. As the gypsies approach Redfield, Sandy realizes that the horrible secret of the film is about to come to light once more. Sometimes reality can be worse than fiction. Sandy knows she must take drastic action to keep the film’s dark legacy from once more emerging into the unknowing world.



Ancient Images is not a new novel by Ramsey Campbell but it has all the elements of a Campbell novel that makes him one of the greats in the dark fiction genre. The pacing of the story keeps it moving along without dragging even while much of the action is building in the background. On some levels, the story feels like a straightforward tale of a missing film, but fans of Campbell know that there is much more lurking in the background. The novel unfolds in a series of revelations as Sandy works through the mystery of the film and the tension slowly simmers toward a crescendo until it is all released at the end of the story. Campbell masterfully handles all the elements of the story and the reader is filled with unease at the events of the novel but there is also the comfort of being in the hands of a master. Ancient Images is Campbell at his creepy, unsettling best.



Ancient Images is a great book for those who are not familiar with Campbell’s work to get a glimpse at why he is so good. The story is intricate and takes some thinking on the reader’s part to unravel but it never feels overwhelming or dull. The reader has to put in effort, but it never feels like work. Instead, it is the thought required that makes this work of fiction seem so real. There are times throughout the story when you can almost feel a specter standing behind you just waiting to leap into the pages. Campbell brings the story to a slow boil, but when the climax arrives, it comes with a bang. Campbell pulls all the tension of the novel and its many elements into one explosive ending that leaves the reader breathless and stunned at what just happened. Campbell is a true master of horror fiction, and Ancient Images will leave the reader eager for what Campbell is going to bring to the table at his next ghoulish feast.



I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. Ancient Images is available now.

Part of Campbell’s genius is his deceptive way of easing you into the horror, first situating his characters in a world that, however violent, exists on steady ground, before plunging you into a land where it seems we can never be safe again. The divide between the present and the past is so abrupt in Ancient Images that the book itself seems like it has a divided personality. That tenuous grasp of reality that we hold so dear is particularly vulnerable in the hands of this stylist, and even if his works don’t immediately strike a chill in the soul, its foggy terrors are far more effective than the ordinary beasts that jump out of the dark.

Campbell definitely has creative plots,
paced and not too long enough to drag. His characters are well developed, building suspense consumes your attention and time.
Great read!
I mean the first life of the blurb will get you - from Goodreads :
A lost horror film holds the key to terrifying secrets.