YOU can't fault photographer Sir Simon Marsden's choice of location to launch his sumptuous new book of photos of haunted England. He chose York: the 'city of a thousand ghosts' and, by all accounts, one of the most haunted places in Europe.

To be more specific, he chose Clifford's Tower - the site, according to his book, of "one of the region's most famous and eerie supernatural phenomena. At certain times the solid stone walls appear to drip with blood".

Clifford's Tower is also, of course, the site of York's greatest act of shame: the hounding to death, in 1190, of more than 100 jews by an ugly mob.

An anti-semitic rabble of townsfolk, led by Richard Malebisse and an unknown friar, vowed to purge the city of Jews. As the mob gathered strength, many Jews fled their homes and barricaded themselves in the castle tower, then made of wood. The rioters set fire to it. Most of the Jews inside decided they would rather die than surrender, and committed mass suicide. The rest were massacred by the mob when they finally stormed the tower.

The tower was rebuilt in stone - but soon after its construction, the legend goes, a red fluid seemed to be oozing from the walls.

Scientific tests have now determined that the red stains were probably caused by iron oxide. But for the medieval citizens of York, overwhelmed with horror and shame at what they had done, it was natural to suppose the 'blood' dripping down the walls was a supernatural reminder of their guilt.

Given the sensitive nature of the site, it is good to see that Sir Simon's photo of the tower is appropriately sombre and dignified. No tacky attempt to make the tower look spooky. Instead, it appears to brood beneath a darkened sky, outlined by silvery cloud: almost as if it, too, feels the shame of its past.

The same is true of the book as a whole - as you'd perhaps expect of an English Heritage publication.

The black and white photos here are brooding, atmospheric portraits of England's haunted landscape.

The large-format book boasts more than 100 photographs altogether - a good few of them taken in Yorkshire. The grim keep of Helmsley Castle graces the book's back cover, while inside you will find haunting images of Whitby, Byland and Rievaulx Abbeys.

They are quality images throughout: thoughtful and truly spooky, rather than cheaply sensational.

The text that accompanies them, written by English Heritage's Val Horsler and Susan Kelleher, is brief, concise, informative - and chillingly to the point.

A book that will linger.

Updated: 08:52 Saturday, July 09, 2005