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aftanith's review against another edition
3.0
Well, one thing's for sure: these definitely aren't the best ghost stories ever. Honestly, it boggles my mind how you'd even have the balls to assign that title to any collection, let alone one so small. Lots of great horror/ghost story authors are neglected that should really get some inclusion here; there's no J. Sheridan le Fanu, no M.R. James, no Lovecraft (though it's probably reasonable to leave him out of a book of ghost stories, as that wasn't really his jam), and all in all no representation to tons of authors who deserve a showing. And while there are definitely some famous and well-deserving inclusions here (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Masque of the Red Death, The Judge's House), I question the inclusion of stories like The Monkey's Paw, which, though it is a much-loved classic horror story, has nothing at all to do with ghosts, and The Yellow Wallpaper, which can only really be considered a ghost story by readers willfully choosing to ignore the themes of mental illness and misogyny that the story is actually about.
A couple of the stories were ones that I actually either hadn't read before or didn't retain strong memories of. Algernon Blackwood's The Empty House was a fun read with a refreshing portrayal of an older woman as the major supporting character. A Ghost Story by Jerome K. Jerome was a bit dull, but its ghostly revenge plotline is interesting primarily for its use of many of the tropes that remain mainstays of modern horror stories (a vengeful ghost seeking to punish someone who wronged him or her during life, a haunted/possessed object--in this case, human remains made into a display skeleton--that allow the ghost to haunt the owner, and even the 'he looks like he's just sitting oddly stiff in his chair until you get right up close to him and realize he's dead!' cliche). And The Romance of Certain Old Clothes is also a rather interesting little piece, except that it also isn't terribly involved with a ghost, except for a single line implying the cause of death for the greedy wrongdoer. (Ultimately, I don't begrudge The Empty House its inclusion in a collection of "the best ghost stories ever", and I think someone more knowledgeable than I about the history and evolution of ghost stories could make a good case for A Ghost Story. But if I'm being perfectly honest, I think that even within the realm of public domain works, there are more worthy inclusions. And I really strongly question whether The Romance of Certain Old Clothes should've made the cut.)
The Story of Clifford House, meanwhile... well, it was definitely a ghost story, but I did not enjoy it a whit and am not remotely interested in even entertaining the idea that it belongs in a collection of "the best". An anonymous tale, its horror revolves around the idea of the ghost of a masculine woman, and god knows there's nothing more terrifying than a tall woman with broad shoulders and masculine facial features! How frighteningly uncouth! *gags* Now, while that definitely rubbed me the wrong way, I normally wouldn't make such a big deal out of it, except that the short story also includes this little gem of womanly advice from the protagonist:
This anonymous motherfucker straight-up paused the ghost story to lecture women about not looking their best in the privacy of their own goddamned bedrooms. Because what if a man has to look upon the horror of your natural appearance! However would he recover, the poor dear? (Which is the point at which I realized why the author here was anonymous: he's a man trying to write in a woman's voice--and to lecture women from a position of false authority--by pretending to be a woman. Or at least I fucking hope so, because that level of preachy internalized misogyny is deeply horrifying.) What I'm saying here is that this story is toxic--and we knew these tropes were toxic as far back as I Love Lucy, at least. (Seriously, way back in 1951 there was a whole episode about how "looking your best so you don't neglect your husband" is awful, bullshit advice; it was called "Be a Pal", and, yes, it's still funny af in 2019.) And a short story promoting these tropes does not belong in a Scholastic book of ghost stories for children. Especially not one published as recently as 2003.
So, to close, I want to throw out just a couple of suggestions for other "best ghost stories": The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford, The Colour out of Space (since apparently we're not actually limited to ghost stories here--and, yes, I'm looking at you, The Monkey's Paw), and maybe The Inner Room by Robert Aickman. Feel free to let me know your own suggestions in the comments below; I'm always looking to read more great ghost stories!
A couple of the stories were ones that I actually either hadn't read before or didn't retain strong memories of. Algernon Blackwood's The Empty House was a fun read with a refreshing portrayal of an older woman as the major supporting character. A Ghost Story by Jerome K. Jerome was a bit dull, but its ghostly revenge plotline is interesting primarily for its use of many of the tropes that remain mainstays of modern horror stories (a vengeful ghost seeking to punish someone who wronged him or her during life, a haunted/possessed object--in this case, human remains made into a display skeleton--that allow the ghost to haunt the owner, and even the 'he looks like he's just sitting oddly stiff in his chair until you get right up close to him and realize he's dead!' cliche). And The Romance of Certain Old Clothes is also a rather interesting little piece, except that it also isn't terribly involved with a ghost, except for a single line implying the cause of death for the greedy wrongdoer. (Ultimately, I don't begrudge The Empty House its inclusion in a collection of "the best ghost stories ever", and I think someone more knowledgeable than I about the history and evolution of ghost stories could make a good case for A Ghost Story. But if I'm being perfectly honest, I think that even within the realm of public domain works, there are more worthy inclusions. And I really strongly question whether The Romance of Certain Old Clothes should've made the cut.)
The Story of Clifford House, meanwhile... well, it was definitely a ghost story, but I did not enjoy it a whit and am not remotely interested in even entertaining the idea that it belongs in a collection of "the best". An anonymous tale, its horror revolves around the idea of the ghost of a masculine woman, and god knows there's nothing more terrifying than a tall woman with broad shoulders and masculine facial features! How frighteningly uncouth! *gags* Now, while that definitely rubbed me the wrong way, I normally wouldn't make such a big deal out of it, except that the short story also includes this little gem of womanly advice from the protagonist:
I cannot tell why wives, and young wives too, will neglect their personal appearance when "only one's husband" is present. It is unpolitic, unbecoming, and unloving; and men and husband's don't like neglect--direct or implied, be sure of that, ladies--young, middle-aged, or old.
This anonymous motherfucker straight-up paused the ghost story to lecture women about not looking their best in the privacy of their own goddamned bedrooms. Because what if a man has to look upon the horror of your natural appearance! However would he recover, the poor dear? (Which is the point at which I realized why the author here was anonymous: he's a man trying to write in a woman's voice--and to lecture women from a position of false authority--by pretending to be a woman. Or at least I fucking hope so, because that level of preachy internalized misogyny is deeply horrifying.) What I'm saying here is that this story is toxic--and we knew these tropes were toxic as far back as I Love Lucy, at least. (Seriously, way back in 1951 there was a whole episode about how "looking your best so you don't neglect your husband" is awful, bullshit advice; it was called "Be a Pal", and, yes, it's still funny af in 2019.) And a short story promoting these tropes does not belong in a Scholastic book of ghost stories for children. Especially not one published as recently as 2003.
So, to close, I want to throw out just a couple of suggestions for other "best ghost stories": The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford, The Colour out of Space (since apparently we're not actually limited to ghost stories here--and, yes, I'm looking at you, The Monkey's Paw), and maybe The Inner Room by Robert Aickman. Feel free to let me know your own suggestions in the comments below; I'm always looking to read more great ghost stories!
katemixon1117's review against another edition
2.0
this book was very boring...
definitely not the best ghost stories ever
definitely not the best ghost stories ever
amalieturner's review against another edition
5.0
Don't let the cover fool you, this is an awesome collection of classic gothic ghost stories. Some of my favorites like The Yellow Wallpaper and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and some new to me stories like The Judge's House. I loved them all! Perfect for spooky season!
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