HORROR fans can enjoy an evening of spine-tingling original short movies at the first ever Black Country Horror Shorts Film Festival.

The event, organised by Weeping Bank Productions, will now take place at the Green Duck Brewery, Rufford Road, Stourbridge, on Thursday February 27.

Short films from the Black Country area and even overseas are among around 100 entries submitted for the inaugural event, which is tipped to become an annual affair.

Stourbridge actor Alan Birch, whose Weeping Bank Productions has staged a series of horror-themed events over the last couple of years, said: "We’ve had films sent in from the USA, France and even an animated film from Iran.

"These are all no budget projects and we’ve been amazed by the quality of not just the filming and acting but also the original writing of the entries."

The panel of judges includes horror author Adam Neville, whose book The Ritual has been made in to a chart-topping Netfilx movie; Worcester based film-maker Hendrik Harms, who last year turned Stephen King's short story All That You Love Will be Taken Away in to an award-winning film; and journalist and founder of Birmingham Now TV, Steve Green, who has contributed articles to the horror fanzine The Dark Side.

Alan said: "I’m just glad I’m not one of the judges, they certainly have their work cut out."

The festival, sponsored by Bathams Brewery, will see 10 to 15 shortlisted films screened, with prizes and trophies given out to three-runners up and the overall winner.

Alan said: "It will certainly be an entertaining evening for fans of horror films and hopefully will inspire other film-makers to give it a go next year."