Reviews

The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce by Michael Newton

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scheu's review

3.0

Two tries and over ten years to finish this book. In part it's because I had to be in the mood for it, in part because I loved some stories and some of them just dragged and dragged. My favorites include:

Fitz-James O'Brien, "What Was It?"
Amelia B. Edwards, "The North Mail"
Robert Louis Stevenson, "Thrawn Janet"
W.W. Jacobs, "The Monkey's Paw" (of course)
Ambrose Bierce, "The Moonlit Road"
Edith Wharton, "Afterward"

pinksy's review

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3.0

The problem with a collection of stories like this means there will be some naff ones amongst some great tales.

I love ghost stories and there were some good ones here, just giving me enough chills without keeping me awake at night!!

mike_brough's review

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3.0

Some well-known classics and some that were new to me. I'd seen Green Tea referred to a few times and now at least I can say I've read it.

I had to give up on Henry James' The Jolly Corner - deeply, deeply impenetrable writing - but his namesake's Oh Whistle... is a personal favourite.

I enjoyed most of the stories so, on balance, three-stars.

halibut's review

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4.0

A nice collection, the introduction makes clear they haven't tried to make unique selections but to provide a slice on the canonical writers and stories, so some I've read before. Among those new to me, The Cold Embrace was exceptional, not scary but melancholy and told with fascinating style. Afterward by Edith Wharton was a strong finish, I'd never looked at her ghost fiction before but having gone and sought out some more, they're really excellent.

Due to when it was first issued, some writers you might hope to encounter, like EF Benson and Algernon Blackwood aren't present, having only recently crept into public domain.