Terry Prone: Not the ghost of a chance of sleep as things go bump in the night

I lay in the dark debating switching on the light, which, logic told me, would lead the invader to where I am, whereas allowing them to wander around in the dark, downstairs would at least give me time to work out how I would fight them. 

As she puzzles over mystery noises in her home, Terry Prone's weapon of choice against Halloween apparitions is the latest Robert Galbraith novel. Picture: Ruth Medjber

Bleak night it was. Bleak and seasonal, linked, down all the days, to Samhain and bonfires in the pitch-dark. 

The wind howling outside, tossing torrents of rain at the windows. But that’s winter-normal, if you live in a Martello tower. You sleep through it.