Hey, Gordon Urquhart!
Anything you might enjoy?
The Red Lodge by H R Wakefield. The ‘green monkey’ will haunt your dreams.
The Upper Berth by F Marion Crawford. Haunted ocean liner. On line here GASLIGHT electronic text and discussion site
Blackham’s Wimpey by Robert Westall. Haunted WWII bomber.
The Scarlet Lady by Keith Roberts. Haunted (or possibly possessed) classic car.
And a novel: - The House on the Brink by John Gordon. Odd and indescribable. (Except to say it’s inspired by a Lincolshire legend) Hard to find but worth the effort.
How many times do you recommend reading it before one “gets” the ending?
Never mind, in fact. Would you be good enough to spoil it for me?
I hate to say this but, “me too.”
Absolutely – some great suggestions that are new to me in this thread! I started VCO3’s suggestion of “The Vane Sisters” yesterday, and will finish it today. I’ve seen “Pigeons From Hell” recommended elsewhere and will definitely check that out; there are certainly some other suggested stories and novels that I’m looking forward to reading. Thanks, everyone, for telling us about your favorites.
As I expected, some favorites of mine have pleasantly popped up:
If no one in this thread has read it, “The Haunting of Hill House,” as suggested by lissener, is well worth the time. Robert Wise’s original film is an annual Halloween treat in our house; stay far, far away from the awful remake.
Saki’s “The Open Window,” recommended by Dijon Warlock in this thread, is also a favorite of mine. That story led me to read Saki’s collected short fiction – he wrote some devilishly entertaining stories.
While I’m back in the thread, I’ll drop a couple more suggestions that haven’t been mentioned:
Perhaps because of the delicious effectiveness of its brevity, “The Open Window” reminds me of another favorite of mine, “The Clock” by W.F. Harvey. Whenever I see a bird hopping on the ground, I think of this story.
I can’t find it online, but it’s been included in a couple of anthologies, including The Norton Book of Ghost Stories.
That particular book has many of the stories mentioned in this thread, as well as a couple of other particular favorites of mine, “Sir Edmund Orme” by Henry James and Edith Wharton’s “Miss Mary Pask.” Both James and Wharton wrote some great ghostly fiction, but those are probably my favorites from them.
I wish I could remember who wrote it, or even what it was called. We had a record when I was a kid and one story scared the crap out of me, or at least really creeped me out. It was about a man who every night would visit someone near the railroad. The guy working at the railroad would tell a story of how he saw someone get hit with a train, then a couple of days later someone gets hit by a train in the exact way this guy was telling the story, and I think he turned out to be a ghost.
Are there any good anthologies out right now? I’m thinking I could use a good scare now that Halloween is around the corner. I think I’ll pull out the Halloween stuff and get ready to set it up. Should be fun, we’ve just moved into a new house.
Sounds like “[The Signalman](The Signalman)” by Charles Dickens.
In addition to The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories and the Norton Book of Ghost Stories (links upthread), you might check out The Literary Ghost – it features (relatively) contemporary stories from the likes of John Gardner and Graham Greene.
I love anthologies – I’ve probably got 20 or so strictly ghost story anthologies as well as general horror collections (and thus can read “The Romance of Certain Old Clothes” and “The Monkey’s Paw” in 15 different typefaces and paper weights). In addition to the oft-anthologized stories, there’s certainly some chaff among the wheat, so to speak, but I’ve come across some really, really good tales from less-known writers.
Me three. I thought I was an astute reader, but I guess I’m not astute enough.
Oh wait, I just got it!
Icicles by Cynthia, meter from me, Cynthia.
Woops, screwed it up. Should be Icicles by Cynthia, meter from me, Sybil.
Since he hasn’t been mentioned yet, I’d also like to recommend E.F. Benson for his Edwardian ghost stories, some funny, some creepy. His stories aren’t online, but this is the book I have a copy of: http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Ghost-Stories-F-Benson/dp/0786709804
Just thought of another one - *‘Soft Voices at Passenham’ * by T H White. A very subtle story - it really creeps up on you.
Nice little bit of misdirecton there, putting the key right into a part of the story that seemed no more significant than any other part. And doing it with such an air of dismissiveness that the reader’s first reaction is to say “Surely not. It’s got to be more subtle than that.”
I didn’t find it all that spine-chilling, though. Maybe my soul is too shrivelled for me to experience the frisson.
The hut in the paddy field.