Killer Who Lived Here

Matt Blake is an award-winning journalist who has written for the Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Grazia, Esquire, and Men’s Health, and is a former crime reporter for the Daily Mirror and Independent. During his journalism career, he has covered everything from gang murder and police corruption to terrorism and serial killing – reporting from crime scenes, doorsteps, and courtrooms on some of Britain’s most high-profile criminal cases. He once unknowingly interviewed a murderer in his own front room. His story House of Horror, which appeared in the Guardian and formed the basis of Hearth of Darkness, proved an international success, garnering more than half a million reads in its first week of publication alone. Hearth of Darkness is his first book.

'Captivating. What begins as a modern horror story slowly reveals itself as something more ambiguous and, ultimately, heartening. Blake is a very winning narrator.’ Julie Myerson ‘Expertly crafted and blisteringly honest … I was drawn in from the very first sentence.’ Manni Coe, author of brother.do.you.love.me‘Well written and well researched’ The Society for Psychical Research‘With Blake as a likeable narrator who interrogates himself as much as the poltergeist-expungers who peddle their wares at him, what could have been a straightforward ghost story turns into something more meditative and quizzical, and is all the more engaging for that.’ Esquire‘In his highly readable and self-deprecating memoir, [Blake] recounts his obsession with the house’s past and his efforts to get to the bottom of the phenomena.’ Mail on Sunday‘My book of the year is this non-fiction thriller from British investigative journalist Matt Blake. The concept is enough to send a chill down the spine of just about anyone: what if it turned out that your home had a disturbingly dark history? … Fear and confusion hang over this book like a cloud, but in the end it’s Blake’s masterful conveying of emotional truths and familial love that makes the biggest impression.’ Time Out, Best Books of 2025‘The book is well written and researched; the content is intriguing.’ Fortean Times ★★★★★‘A fascinating exploration into place memory and the paranormal.’ Esquire, ‘Best Summer Books of 2026’