Victorian Ghost Stories: An Oxford AnthologyMichael Cox, R. A. Gilbert "'I think it must have been two o'clock at least when I thought I heard a sound in that--that odious dark recess at the far end of the bedroom.... Without at first a suspicion of anything supernatural, on a sudden I saw an old man, rather stout and square, in a sort of roan-red dressing-gown, and with a black cap on his head, moving stiffly and slowly in a diagonal direction, from the recess, across the floor of the bedroom, passing my bed at the foot, and entering the lumber-closet at the left. He had something under his arm; his head hung a little at one side; and, merciful God! when I saw his face....'" There's nothing like a good ghost story. And in Victorian Ghost Stories, Michael Cox and R.A. Gilbert bring together thirty-five well wrought tales of haunted houses, vengeful spirits, spectral warnings, invisible antagonists, and motiveless malignity from beyond the grave. The Victorians excelled at the ghost story, it was as much a part of their literary culture as the realistic novel, and it was practiced by almost all the great writers of the age. Cox and Gilbert here provide samples from Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Henry James, and Wilkie Collins, as well as such classic ghost-story specialists as M.R. James and J.S. Le Fanu (whose "Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street," considered one of the best haunted-house story ever written, is excerpted above), plus one or two genuine rarities for the supernatural fiction enthusiast to savor. The editors also reveal the key role played by women in the growth of the genre, including stories by Elizabeth Gaskell, Mrs. Craik, Mrs. Henry Wood, Amelia B. Edwards, Charlotte Riddell, and many others. Finally, they offer an informative introduction, detailed source notes, and an extensive survey of ghost-story collections from 1850 to 1910. Traditional in its forms, but energetically inventive and infused with a relish of the supernatural, these classic ghost stories still retain their original power to unsettle and surprise. Every one is guaranteed to satisfy what Virginia Woolf called "that strange human craving for the pleasure of feeling afraid." |
Contents
To be Taken with a Grain of Salt 1865 CHARLES DICKENS | 74 |
The Romance of Certain Old Clothes 1868 HENRY JAMES | 214 |
19 | 293 |
Copyright | |
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Abbey Aggie Algernon Blackwood answered Arthur Conan Doyle asked believe better Brigham Broughton Caroline Carrison Chrighton Clifford House cried dark dead dear Dennistoun door Dorothy eyes face fancy father fear feel felt Fettes floor George ghost story girl gone hall hand head hear heard heart horror hour Hummil Hurly Hurly Burly John Charrington John Turk knew Ladlow lady laughed Lettie light living looked M. R. James Macfarlane Mary Elizabeth Braddon Mary Louisa Molesworth matter mind Miss Furnivall Miss Rosamond morning mother never night once passed poor pretty Rebecca Rosalind round sacristan seemed seen Sénanges servants shadow silence sister sleep smile sound spoke Spurstow stood strange tell thing thought told took turned uncle voice W. W. Jacobs walked window Wingrave woman words young