GRUESOME tales of torture and terror have landed around 80 budding writers from the same school in print.

Students from the Wensleydale School and Sixth Form College at Leyburn were asked to write chilling yarns for a book of short stories entitled Grim Tales, edited by Sarah Washer.

Inspired by the works of the Brothers Grimm, the book was the culmination of a competition organised by Young Writers and designed to encourage the technical and creative skills of 11 to 18-year-olds.

For Max Foxwell, 13, of Leyburn, the book was the chance to publish Limbs, a horror story about a man who wakes up tied to a chair but with his detached arms attached to the wall.

The 13-year-old said: “It feels really great actually having your story published in a book.”

Lewis Benaiges, 12, of Exelby, wrote Terminator, a saga involving hunting a demon on a spaceship, while Jennifer Smith, 15, of Redmire, wrote Red Cloak and Rebecca Foxwell, 15, of Leyburn, Not So Charming, both variations of fairytales with a sinister twist.

Rebecca said: “I really enjoyed looking at the traditional, but then flipping it round to make Prince Charming the bad guy.”