'Ghost Stories' at the Duke of York's

As you can imagine, this post contains a spoiler or two.

Arghhhhhh! followed by a giggle. It's a classic reaction to a good scare. The tension, the shock then the relief. And a deft avoidance of the intellect centres of the brain. If the rest of the audience plays along too, well, you can all get taken in together. Much like comedy, horror works better in a group.

The direction, stage craft and script of 'Ghost Stories' are magnificently single minded, they want you to jump; that's about it. Maybe let out a squeak. Possibly scream. But definitely jump. And they use every classic theatrical trick to make it work. Sweeping light across the audience before something jumps out; loud noises highlighting sudden movement; the juxtaposition of the horrific and the mundane. It's not sophisticated but it is successful - judging by the people around me anyway.

And then there's the final twist. It really worked for me. It raised the ropey, predictable (and enjoyably hokey) trio of campfire tales into something much more horrific. It's always what you don't see, those things allowed to play in your mind that has the most impact and this was nasty.

What's most enjoyable about 'Ghost Stories' is however clever, jumpy and nicely played the earlier parts of the play are, it's the dropping of a pen that becomes truly horrific. And that's clever.