Ghostly Tales: Spine-Chilling Stories of the Victorian Age
As someone who focused in British literature, in particular Victorian literature, while in college, it is no surprise I adore this beautiful anthology of ghostly classics.
As per Amazon’s description:
A vengeful phantom lurks in a country graveyard.
A whaling crew becomes trapped on a haunted ship.
A human skull is kept locked in a cupboard, but
sometimes at night, it screams. . . .
”This collection of tales transports the reader to a time when staircases creaked in old manor houses, and a candle could be blown out by a gust of wind, or by a passing ghost.”
“Penned by some of the greatest Victorian novelists and masters of the ghost story genre” each tale is accompanied with exquisite and eerie artwork similar to Celtic Tales.
Seven yarns altogether, including:
“Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad” by M.R. James, English author and medievalist, who could be considered the “father of the modern tale of the supernatural.” Truly, one of the best ghost stories ever written.
“The Old Nurse’s Story” by Elizabeth Gaskell, English novelist and short story writer, who was a friend of Charlotte Bronte. A well-constructed story of the malicious spirit of a murdered child.
“The Signalman” by Charles Dickens, and I don’t think I need to give Mr. Dickens an introduction. Like most Victorians Dickens loved ghost stories and perhaps was the first to use the literary device of the “dead warning the living.”
“The Body-Snatcher” by Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist, short story writer, poet, and essayist. So, so, so much atmosphere in this story (my personal favorite of the collection).
“The Captain of the Pole-Star” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Scottish author and physician. This tale is a spin on Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.”
“The Phantom Coach” by Amelia B. Edwards, English novelist, journalist, and Egyptologist (and my second favorite of the collection). You will love the chilling ending.
“The Screaming Skull” by F. Marion Crawford, Italian-born American novelist and historian. This one has the added entertainment of a “mad narrator.”
