By RYAN DREVER

GLASGOW'S famous Necropolis cemetery is the star of a new book for teenagers.

The fantasy horror, The Devil's Creature and The City of The Dead, is set within the city's ornate graveyard.

It is the first novel to be written by author R H Stewart.

The book tells the story of Mhairi Macbeth, a 14-year-old witch living beneath the Necropolis who, along with her Siamese cat Jet, and best friend Dougie, must capture an evil creature let loose by the tyrannical overlord and leader of the Ghuls, Lord Antoninus.

Glasgow-born Stewart, 64, who now lives in Staffordshire, has always been fascinated by the burial ground.

He said: "It is such a fantastically atmospheric place. I travelled to Glasgow to visit it and took a large number of photographs, and as the visits were in the winter, under grey skies, it held a kind of darkness.

"The ideas didn't start out as horror. They were about a young witch, her cat and a journey into the past. The ghosts, ghuls and gothic came with the Necropolis - and they came thick and fast."

This isn't the first time the Necropolis has appeared in fiction. Earlier this year it featured in best-selling crime writer Lin Anderson's fifth thriller, Easy Kill, when the body of a murdered prostitute was found in the graveyard.

The 37-acre cemetery, now maintained by Glasgow City Council, is the final resting place of around 50,000 people buried in 3500 tombs dating back well over 250 years.

Now a tourist attraction, the graveyard also features monuments designed by famous architects and sculptors, including Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Alexander Greek' Thompson.

Mr Stewart added: "Apart for the monument to John Knox, all of the tombs and characters in my book are invented, and I've had to invent places on the Necropolis that aren't there."

The novel will be launched at 11am on Saturday, August 22 at the Cathedral House Hotel, which overlooks the Necropolis.