Fiction Reviews
Classic Ghost Stories
(2024) edited by Lisa Tuttle, Flame Tree Press,
£8.99 / Can$16.99 / US$12.99, pbk, 246pp,ISBN 978-1-804-17799-0
In my opinion Lisa Tuttle is an underrated writer who has been quietly working in the Fantasy/Horror field for over 40 years now. In this anthology, she has chosen fourteen classic stories from a variety of authors, some expected, others less well-known.
Generally, it is a fine selection. There’s a nice range of male and female authors, readdressing the usual male dominance of such collections. So, as well as the fairly well- known stories written by men (M. R. James, Bram Stoker, F. Marion Crawford, Algernon Blackwood, Guy de Maupassant) we also have Olivia Howard Dunbar ('The Shell of Sense'), Amelia B. Edwards ('The Four-Fifteen Express'), Mary E. Wilkins Freeman ('The Shadows on the Wall') and Edith Wharton ('Kerfol'), all of whom have been unfairly ignored in many past collections.
There’s the so-called ‘golden trinity’ of M. R. James, Edith Wharton and Algernon Blackwood, all from the period 1904 – 1936. The stories chosen are worth reading if you’ve read them before. Of the three, M. R. James’ 'The Wailing Well' is perhaps the best known, although often felt to be one of his lesser works, yet still chilling. Less well-known, Blackwood’s story 'The Kit Bag' makes a pleasant change from the usual Blackwood stories used in collections, 'The Willows' and 'The Wendigo'. Edith Wharton, one of the few women ghost writers of the time, is represented by her story 'Kerfol', of which more about later.
Favourites? Well, I did enjoy rereading F. Marion Crawford's 'The Doll's Ghost' and Guy de Maupassant's 'The Apparition'. M. R. James is always a welcome read for me, even if I know his stories very well. Algernon Blackwood seems to be known, if at all, for his story 'The Wendigo' but little else, so it was good to read a lesser-known but still effective story from him.
Away from the fairly well-known classics that are worth a reread, I must admit that I enjoyed reading the stories from authors I knew little or nothing about. less known, more obscure tales that are worth a read. These days, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu is best known for work such as his novel Carmilla, yet his story here, 'An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street', I don’t remember reading before. It is still worth reading as an alternative to his more famous work. The Hungry Stones by Rabindranath Tagore was my least well-known author, bringing a taste of colonial India to the proceedings and being pleasantly different to the majority of the stories here.
However, I think that the collection leaves the best until the end – Edith Wharton’s 'Kerfol' is the last story in the book, a suitably creepy story of murder in an old deserted house in Brittany – Appropriately Gothic - the house had a round tower and a chapel – the tale felt rather exotic in its setting, and with a touch of the House of Usher about it in its grand manner. Brittany is not a place I would normally associate with ghosts, which may be partly why I thought that it worked supremely well.
In summary, Lisa has judiciously selected a collection of quality here from a classic era of the genre. This is topped by Lisa’s introduction, which manages to explain the different between a ghost story and stories of other supernatural phenomena, as well as give some ideas of why these stories in this collection have been selected. It is knowledgeable, entertaining and intelligent, without being over-academic or officious. At the end there’s also a nice Biography section to give you more details about each of the writers. Neither elements are essential, but they show a degree of thought and care that have gone into this collection.
In short, Classic Ghost Stories is a definite recommendation from me for anyone who likes their haunted places lit by gaslight, where characters with names like Algernon and Rebecca go around saying things like “By Jove!” and want a little chill created by things not being quite what they should.
One last odd note – in these days of immediate access to material via technology, it was a little surprising to find that whilst the paperback is available now (December 2024), the eBook version is not available until June 2025. Mind you, I did wonder whether you really should read classic early 20th century tales on modern technology! Sitting in a library with a coal fire, a pot of tea and a comfy chair seem more appropriate.
Mark Yon
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