Reviews

The Open Door: A Ghost Story for Christmas by Margaret Oliphant

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charlottesometimes's review

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emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

ritajlwang's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

An excellent ghost story by a writer I had never heard of but seems to have been in the same space as Anthony Trollope and George Eliot in her time. Pretty classic set of tropes--a man returns with his family from India, rents a remote house in Scotland, has ruins on the property, the son thinks he sees a ghost, then more and more people do--until finally the situation is resolved in a kindly manner. But sometimes classic is classic. More of a long short story or novelette, I read it in one sitting.

The Open Door was published as a beautifully bound and illustrated single volume by Biblioasis in a series of ghostly short stories curated and illustrated by Seth. I reviewed this one because it was more than 100 pages but do not plan to review the others separately as they are genuinely short stories, even if published in a single volume. I will, however, add brief sentences on them here as I read them.

12/25/2020: [b:Afterward: A Ghost Story for Christmas|29633925|Afterward A Ghost Story for Christmas|Edith Wharton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1467164779l/29633925._SX50_.jpg|1183582] by [a:Edith Wharton|16|Edith Wharton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1484512230p2/16.jpg]. A classic of the transatlantic ghost genre as events in America haunt a rich couple that has taken residence in an English mansion. All fits together beautifully.

12/28/2020: [b:The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance|56150851|The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance|M.R. James|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1607016576l/56150851._SY75_.jpg|26204903] by [a:M.R. James|2995925|M.R. James|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1254798756p2/2995925.jpg]. I liked this but felt myself getting a little lost but also a little excited about the wildness of it at times.

12/30/2020: [b:The Morgan Trust|56024419|The Morgan Trust|R. Bridgeman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1607015866l/56024419._SY75_.jpg|87260565] by [a:R. Bridgeman|20904796|R. Bridgeman|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Absolutely loved this story of a man who goes to investigate the paranormal in Wales and finds a delightful, but slightly disconcerting, surprise.

7/21/2021: [b:The Sundial: A Ghost Story for Christmas|46200942|The Sundial A Ghost Story for Christmas|R.H. Malden|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559919416l/46200942._SY75_.jpg|71167166] by [a:R.H. Malden|1134773|R.H. Malden|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. A relatively think pretty standard ghost story about a man who rents a haunted house and frees the spirt of the person who had been murdered there centuries before under a burial place. All predictable.

7/22-23/2021: [b:The Green Room: A Ghost Story for Christmas|42379165|The Green Room A Ghost Story for Christmas (Seth's Christmas Ghost Stories)|Walter de la Mare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1539797979l/42379165._SY75_.jpg|66042458] by [a:Walter de la Mare|1126|Walter de la Mare|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1221316457p2/1126.jpg]. I loved the setup: an antiquarian bookstore with a hidden room, an unpublished manuscript, and of course a ghost. But it didn't have any of the satisfying twists or reveals that one might have wanted, still enjoyable.

7/24/2021: [b:One Who Saw|28473596|One Who Saw|Alfred McClelland Burrage|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461083311l/28473596._SY75_.jpg|48612195] by [a:Alfred McClelland Burrage|14425448|Alfred McClelland Burrage|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: One of the better ones in this collection, genuinely atmospheric, nicely written, a twist.

7/24/2021: [b:The Toll House: A Ghost Story for Christmas|34381191|The Toll House A Ghost Story for Christmas|W.W. Jacobs|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1526672507l/34381191._SX50_.jpg|14262837] by [a:W.W. Jacobs|57721|W.W. Jacobs|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1241620985p2/57721.jpg]: It is hard to read this without thinking about how it does not come close to The Monkey's Paw, only OK.