Gothic, horror suspense set on a “God-Forgotten” island off SCOTLAND
Talking Location with Noelle Albright – THE YORKSHIRE DALES
5th December 2024
#TalkingLocationWith … Noelle Albright, author of The Christmas Eve Murders, set in The Yorkshire Dales.
I knew from the get go that setting would be key to creating tension when penning The Christmas Eve Murders. In this festive murder mystery a group of villagers, and our protagonist who’s car has broken down, become trapped in a remote pub mid-scavenger hunt due to an unholy blizzard. The inadvertent lock-in seemed set to provide the required claustrophobic atmosphere. In my mind’s eye, The Merry Monarch, the pub in the story, was akin to somewhere like The Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge. This is actually located on the North Yorkshire Moors, not in the dales. But in principle, I imagined a building on a high spot on the landscape where snow would be inevitable come December.
With the cabin fever angle already covered, for the exterior, I needed a location where, if something terrible did befall you, nobody could hear you scream. What better strategy then, than to create a fictional village nestled in the bleak beauty of the Yorkshire Dales?
Having lived my formative years on the Cumbrian coast and in the quaint, North Yorkshire market town of Thirsk, I’m no stranger to the dales. Over the many years I’ve walked their crags and studied their ever-shifting horizons, I’ve come to understand the intricate ways in which they are both inviting and terrifying. A combination that lends itself perfectly the cosy crime genre, a form that demands a careful balance of darkness and light.
I have travelled the Carlisle to Settle railway line on numerous occasions, and seen the sun bouncing off the jagged rocks of the landscapes. I’ve also driven past Ribblehead viaduct on a starless, winter’s night. It’s strange how, for an inanimate object, it is nothing short of startling when it appears unexpectedly out of the gloom. The manner by which it looms can easily get the mind whirring about sinister events that might occur in such a desolate place.
Photo: Two Tickets To
This quality, in essence, is what makes the Yorkshire Dales such a prime setting for a murder mystery. It is a location in which our imagination could quite easily run away with us. This is precisely what was required for this story. I needed a place where the fears of both the characters and the reader could run wild.
In order to make the story I was telling feel that bit more peculiar, I also wanted to feature a landscape that was rich in folklore. On that note, the Yorkshire Dales does not disappoint. Some of the stories that circulate are humerous. Such as the man who worked on building Ribblehead viaduct and had his hat blown off by a strong wind. The hat reportedly flew down under one of the arches and then was blown back up the otherside landing straight on top of his head. More sinister than the magical hat incident are the stories of a large, black dog roaming the dales. The creature is thought to have claws and teeth that could rip any human to shreds and goes by the name of the Barguest of Trollers Gill.
Although neither of these particular folkore tales appear in the book itself, I used this rich cultural tapestry to inform some spookier elements of the story. Such as including a character who always seems to be able to appear and disappear as if from nowhere to add a little gentle humour to the piece. This flourish is also accompanied by some darker superstitions shared by the group who find themselves trapped in an isolated pub trying to unmask a killer on Christmas Eve. Superstitions that may serve to help or hinder them in getting to the bottom of who the true culprit is.
Although the village of Quernby, as it appears in the book, was fictional, I naturally wanted it to be rooted in as much 
reality as possible. Consequently, I based the small settlement featured in the story, on the villages I have visited in Upper Wensleydale. Places like Aysgarth and Askrigg. I think those who live in more populated areas would be surprised by how harsh a winter can still be in these remote areas. Though some supermarkets do deliver to them, in the case of heavy snow it’s not guaranteed that a driver can reach them. Thus, some residents stockpile food and are generally reliant on local farmers to clear roads when necessary. I even read an article in the Yorkshire Post that explained these communities occasionally get supplies dropped by helicopter.
Using my experiences and the research I had completed, I was able to weave details into the story that underlined just how dire a situation a blizzard in the dales can be for those who live there. How help is not so close at hand as we would like and how, if you happen to be a character who finds yourself stranded there with car failure on an icy Christmas Eve, there’s no way out until the snow stops falling.
THE CHRISTMAS EVE MURDERS by Noelle Albright is published by Quercus in HB, Audio and Ebook.
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