The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories
My last post shared Charles Dickens’s “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton” an early draft, if you will, to A Christmas Carol. (Click here for this post).
In that post I discussed how Dickens, in a way, created the image of everyone gathering after Christmas dinner around a fire, anticipating a good ghost story, and cozying up while a cold wind wailed outside.
And so, I’m recommending this book, The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories if you desire reading ghost stories authentic to what the Victorians would have shared around the fire following their Christmas dinner.
A Time of Transitions
The Victorian era in England was a time of transitions. For centuries, life had revolved around feudalism, and the lifestyle was agrarian. But then came the Industrial Revolution, changing everything, leaving people uncertain and full of anxiety about the present, as well as the future.
An Anchor
Many scholars believe this is what inspired the Victorian ghost story. In The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories, scholars suggest these ghost stories were created as a way to anchor “the past to an unsettled present.”
In essence, the ghost story provided a sense of security because the stories suggested that “the past is never a closed book…what has been can be again.”
In turn, this comforted Victorian readers, who were probably longing for the way of life they knew and loved, which was slipping away fast.
The Past Haunting the Present
I love Victorian ghost stories because they embody one of my favorite storytelling elements–the past haunting the present. In addition, according to the book, “the function of most Victorian ghost stories…was simply to produce…the pleasurable shudder.”
The Pleasurable Shudder
Ohhh….the pleasurable shudder…one of my favorite things to experience while reading.
Writers of Victorian ghost stories, such as Elizabeth Gaskell and M.R. James, were extremely skilled at producing this “pleasurable shudder” in a way so it still surprised the reader. Unlike earlier gothic tales of horror, such as Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, which was obviously fictitious, the Victorian ghost story is domestic in tone, the action taking place in a familiar setting instead of a fake, historical setting used in the gothic novel. This left the reader wondering if perhaps…the story might be true.
Maybe the events really did happen.
Or, maybe they could happen.
Best Sellers
Victorian ghost stories were super popular. They thrived for four decades, even in the face of developing science, maybe because of it, since they presented scenarios in direct contrast.
Returned for a Reason
One convention of the Victorian ghost story: the ghost always returned for a reason. There was always motivation, such as, a desire to reveal a secret, avenge a wrong, or even…re-enact an old tragedy.
