Author Description
With their evocative settings amid mists and shadows, in ruinous houses, on lonely roads and wild moorlands, in abandoned churches and over-grown gardens, ghost stories have long exercised a universal fascination. Here at last is an anthology of some of the very best English ghost stories which combines a serious literary purpose with the plain intention of arousing a pleasurable fear at the doings of the dead.This selection of forty-two stories, written between 1829 and 1968, is the first to present the full range and vitality of the ghost fiction tradition by demonstrating its historical development as well as its major themes and characteristics. It includes stories by Walter Scott, M. R. James, Bram Stoker, Rudyard Kipling, Edith Wharton, Somerset Maugham and T. H. White.Elizabeth Bowen suggested that the ghost story works "through a series of happenings whose horror lies in their being just, just, out of time", and the success of a story may be judged by what Edith Wharton called its "thermometrical quality; if it sends a cold shiver down the spine, it has done its job and done it well". The challenge of this most demanding form has been taken up by a host of writers, both 'specialists' like J. S. Le Fanu and Algernon Blackwood, and those, such as Henry James and H. G. Wells, for whom ghost stories were only a part of their literary output. Nor does this collection overlook the important contribution of women writers, with eight stories included from Amelia Edward's The Phantom Ghost (1864) to Elizabeth Bowen's Hand in Glove (1952).
Menrva's Summary
THE PULSE
This anthology presents a curated collection of forty-two ghost stories that explore the intersection of human vulnerability and the supernatural. The collection follows a chronological progression, showcasing how various authors utilize atmospheric settings—such as ruinous houses and lonely moors—to evoke a sense of dread. The narrative framework shifts between the distinct voices of forty-two different writers, each employing unique stylistic approaches to the ghost story genre. These stories function as a study of the evolution of fear, moving from early 19th-century gothic sensibilities to mid-20th-century psychological tension.
INSIDE THE PAGES
- Chronological arrangement of stories spanning 1829 to 1968
- Inclusion of both specialized horror authors and mainstream literary figures
- Emphasis on atmospheric settings like abandoned churches and overgrown gardens
- Focus on the 'thermometrical quality' of fear as defined by Edith Wharton
- Representation of diverse narrative techniques from epistolary to third-person limited
- Inclusion of eight stories by prominent women writers of the genre
- Exploration of the historical development of the ghost story tradition
- Balanced selection of classic and lesser-known supernatural fiction
THE COLLECTIVE ECHO
Readers and critics frequently highlight this anthology as a definitive resource for understanding the historical trajectory of the English ghost story. Discussion often centers on the editors' ability to balance well-known masters of the genre with significant but overlooked contributors. The pacing is noted for its variety, as the collection moves through different eras and stylistic interpretations of the supernatural. Critics appreciate the inclusion of both 'specialist' writers and those who only occasionally engaged with the macabre. The collection is widely regarded as a foundational text for those interested in the mechanics of fear and the evolution of gothic literature.
Page Count:
504
Publication Date:
1987-05-07
ISBN-10:
0192141635
ISBN-13:
9780192141637
Horror
Supernatural
GHOST STORIES
Classic Literature
Short Stories
Gothic
Anthology