Jan Andrew Henderson (J. A. Henderson)
'Writes the kind of thrillers that make you miss your stop on the bus'
- Times Educational Supplement
'One of the UK’s most promising children’s writers’ – Edinburgh Evening News
‘One of the UK’s best new talents’ – Lovereading.co.uk
Jan-Andrew Henderson is an award winning author and the founder and director of Black Hart Entertainment. He also makes the tea.
After gaining an M.A. from Edinburgh University, he went to the US where he worked for several years as a writer, director and actor in theatres in Texas and New York. Returning to Scotland, he was a tour guide for years before founding his own company. He still lives in Edinburgh and wears black a lot. He began writing books in 1999, starting with historical fiction and moving on to the supernatural. With the birth of his son Charlie he switched to children's novels – writing kid’s thrillers under the name J A Henderson. His books have been shortlisted for numerous literary awards and he is the winner of the Royal Mail Award and the Doncaster Book Prize.
His books can be purchased from our gift shop or at Amazon.co.uk. Or you can order them over the telephone or by email and we’ll send out signed copies. (look up Jan-Andrew Henderson for earlier books and J A Henderson for later ones).
You can find out more about Jan and his books from his very own website at - www.janandrewhenderson.com
– Edinburgh’s Legendary Underground City.
‘Spine Chilling’ – Scotland on Sunday.
‘Thoroughly recommended’ – Radio Scotland.
‘Fascinating’ - Big Issue.
‘A fascinating book’ – Daily Mail
Below Scotland’s capital, hidden for almost two centuries, is a metropolis whose very existence was all but forgotten.
For almost 250 years, Edinburgh was surrounded by a giant defensive wall. Unable to expand the city’s boundaries, the burgeoning population built over every inch of square space. And when there was no more room, they began to dig down . . .
Trapped in lives of poverty and crime, these subterranean dwellers existed in darkness and misery, ignored by the chroniclers of their time. It is only in the last few years that the shocking truth has begun to emerge about the sinister underground city.
Price - £7.99 (GBP)
– A history of the Supernatural in Edinburgh.
‘A riveting read’ – Edinburgh Evening News
‘Witty and surprising’ – The Scotsman
It's the capital of a civilized western nation - a seat of learning that influenced the world. Yet today it is famous as the most haunted city on Earth. This book sets out to discover why. City of the Dead is the definitive exploration of Edinburgh's dark side. It's a history of the occult, a guide to grisly and paranormal locations, and an investigation into Edinburgh's numerous supernatural phenomena. Is there really something strange and sinister lurking in its shadows? Author and historian Jan-Andrew Henderson lets you in on his city's darkest secrets.
Price - £7.99 (GBP)
– The Story of the Mackenzie Poltergeist.
‘A haunting tale’ – The Scotsman. ‘Compelling’ – Daily Express.
‘A fascinating read’ – Dundee Courier.
‘Well written and gripping’ – Scottish Town & Country.
‘Fascinating’ – Lanarkshire TV.
Greyfrair’s Cemetery in Edinburgh has a centuries old reputation for being haunted. Its gruesome history includes use as a mass prison, headstone removal, witchcraft, bodysnatching, desecration, corpse dumping and live burial.
In 1998, something new and inexplicable began occurring in the graveyard. Visitors encountered ‘cold spots’, strange smells and banging noises. They found themselves overcome by nausea, or cut and bruised by something they could not see. Over the space of two years, twenty-four people were knocked unconscious. Homes next to the graveyard wall became plagued by crockery smashing, objects moving and unidentified laughter. Witnesses to these attacks ran into the hundreds. There were two exorcisms of the area. Both failed.
The section of Greyfriars where the attacks occurred is now chained shut. The entity responsible has been named the ‘Mackenzie Poltergeist’. It has become one of the best-documented and most conclusive paranormal cases in history.
The Poltergeist is still growing stronger. This is its story.
Price - £6.99 (GBP)
Other non-fiction by Jan-Andrew Henderson.
Who Wants to Be an Edinburgher? and The Wee Book of Edinburgh.
