An undiagnosed geek from a young age, I quickly became a fan of horror, aided by the fact that my father let me watch The Exorcist and Dawn Of The Dead before I reached primary school. Social services were not involved. Working in publishing, I was delighted to hear that Hammer would be releasing new books with Random House, with novelisation tie-ins and original stories from authors such as Guy Adams, Tim Lebbon and DBC Pierre. I caught up with writer Martyn Waites to talk about his addition to the Hammer franchise with The Woman In Black: Angel Of Death… You’re a self-confessed Hammer addict. What were your initial thoughts when they approached you to write for them? What can you tell us about the new book, The Woman In Black: Angel Of Death? Not a great deal yet. I’m sworn to secrecy about it. It’s strange, I’ve often read things where writers have said that and thought, ‘bollocks’. But it’s true. I can’t say anything. And I don’t want to. It would spoil it. All I’ll say is, we’re back at Eel Marsh House, it’s the Second World War, a group of children have been evacuated there and guess who’s woken up…? Nothing. Honestly. I can’t say much, can I? There’ll be a casting announcement soon. I think we want the book to not only follow the film but to be able to have a separate life of its own. The way that Susan Hill’s original has. That’s the plan, anyway. It’s a huge challenge, but one that I hope I’m up to. You were quoted in the Guardian saying, “You thought the first one was scary? Just you wait.” Can you give us a hint of what to expect? Scares never work if you know about them in advance . . . You’re an established crime writer, with some of your novels touching on horror. Is this a genre you’ve always wanted to explore? In some ways, yes. But in others, no. I always thought I’d just stay in the crime genre. Especially the gritty, real, noir-ish urban end. It’s where my imagination and talent lies, or so I always thought. But the Tania novels have quite a strain of Gothic horror to them. I didn’t really notice until my mate Sarah Pinborough pointed it out. I couldn’t help but notice it after that. So I embraced it. Embraced the dark side . . . I couldn’t possibly say! I still haven’t seen the stage version. I know, it’s a terrible admission to make. I plan on rectifying that soon. I used to think, when I was still an actor, that I could be in line for the young man part. Now, I’m afraid, I’d be the older one. You’re probably dying to tell us about your favourite Hammer films… How does it feel to be added to a list of great horror writers such as Helen Dunmore, Tim Lebbon and Mark Morris? Not to mention Jeanette Winterson, Sophie Hannah, Melvin Burgess . . . All writing for Hammer. It feels fantastic. But again, as long as the words ‘nowhere near as good as’ aren’t applied to me in relation to them, I’ll be happy. Everyday people. They’re much more scary. For all my love of horror as a genre – a fictional one – I don’t believe in the supernatural in the slightest. I’d like to, because in a way the existence of ghosts and vampires would make me hopeful that there’s something more than this life. Even The Woman In Black. I suspect that’s why we created these myths in the first place. Do you have any more surprises in store for us? Martyn Waites, thank you very much. Martyn Waites is the author of the Joe Donovan series and also writes as Tania Carver. The Woman in Black: Angel of Death will be published by Hammer, Random House in November 2013.
