A chilling new supernatural thriller by an award-winning Sutton Coldfield journalist has been inspired by real-life ghost stories from the region.

13 Doors, by G J Phelps, tells the story of a reporter who sets out to spend the night in 13 genuinely haunted locations, with terrifying consequences.

The author – real name Gary Phelps – edited nine newspapers across the region, and now runs a successful PR agency called Gary Phelps Communications.

With clients including West Midlands mayor Andy Street, Power Minerals Ltd and Jordan Financial Management, Gary is also vice-president of the Royal Sutton Coldfield Chamber of Commerce.

He has drawn on actual local ghost stories that he collected over a 30-year career in newspapers to create 13 Doors, which is already collecting five-star reviews since its publication on July 28.

Gary (pictured) said: “All newsrooms have odd, unexplainable stories, where a member of the public has brought in a tale which the journalists just couldn’t explain.

“After working in news for years, I’ve collected them – particularly from around the Birmingham area – and when I came to write 13 Doors, I thought it would be interesting to weave them into the story.

“For example, there’s a story based on an interview I did with the manager of haunted pub in Sutton Coldfield, back when I was a reporter, and a fantastic story about a local van driver who ‘ran over’ a ghost near Witton Cemetery.”

13 Doors is also largely set in the Second City, with locations like the Victorian cemeteries in the Jewellery Quarter playing a key part in the story.

In the supernatural thriller, news reporter Joe Baxter sets out to stay in 13 genuinely haunted locations, finding them through his contacts at newspapers across the UK.

Author Gary explained: “I have always been a devotee of horror and supernatural fiction and, as an Eighties kid, grew up watching classic movies of the time.

“I wanted to write a book that paid homage to those influences, while adding something new and different to the genre. Most of all, I wanted to write a horror novel that was rooted in my journalistic background – that featured the kind of odd, real-life stories that occasionally come into all newsrooms.

“So, while 13 Doors is fiction, there are a handful of stories and anecdotes in it that are based on real stories – stories that journalists couldn’t explain.”

13 Doors by G J Phelps is published by the Book Guild Publishing, priced £9.99 and is available from all good book shops and can be ordered online from Amazon and other outlets.