BDL has just published Id-Deffien taċ-Ċimiterju (The Grave Digger of the Cemetery) by Joseph A. Cachia, a collection of nine horror stories, a genre much sought after by the local reading public.

These stories were written over a long period of time. As the author writes in the book's introduction  he never had any inclination to have them published as he wrote them only for himself as he enjoys letting his imagination run riot in dark places where he meets people and creatures that would terrify him should he meet them face to face in real life.

Cachia writes that he has enjoyed reading horror stories since he was young. "I always knew that as soon as I close the book, all those nefarious beings will be trapped between the covers of the book and they die there." This served him as a safety cushion to continue reading these horror stories knowing that at the end he had complete control over those "nefarious beings".

Id-Deffien taċ-Ċimiterju will lead you to places you would never want to go, where you will meet people and creatures that you never really come across in your everyday life. Among them there are vampires, criminals, children affected with a mysterious condition and murderers.

Then there are those people who make an agreement among themselves to commit a criminal act but which ends badly. The aftermath continues to follow them until they can no longer bear the weight of their evil deed. Then comes the day of the third anniversary which brings to an end what they had tried to escape from.

Dreams instil fear in those who, when living, loved a woman too much. When she dies in a tragic death he continues to follow her in dreams. Then he meets her again, but not in dreams.

The devil's daughter also rears her head in these stories and brings fear and heartbreak to those who have anything to do with her. Who can stop such a creature that has the power to destroy anyone who tries to interfere in her evil purposes?

And what was that strange burial that the cemetery gravedigger did? He had buried many corpses in his work but there was a particular corpse close to his heart that deserved special attention.

Id-Deffien taċ-Ċimiterju (265 pages) is on sale at all local bookshops.