Classic ghost stories, so classic that they trespass into clichéed territory. There are uneasiness and creepiness at moments, but the overall narrative does not keep together. Plus, characters' reactions in front of the supernatural are not convincing at all. It's a pity, because there are glimpses of good psychological insight hinting at a narrator with some potential. Being this valid for all four stories, I am not sure whether I should give this writer a second chance.
Anecdotal: the evil grandmother seems pretty much molded on my own maternal grandmother. Even as an atheist with much respect for the gray areas in ethical matters, "evil" has always been the only word seemingly fit to describe her. Luckily enough, she was also too self-centred to even think of doing what the satanic granny does in the end of the short story... ( )

must stop reading short story books....just not for me.... ( )

This is a smallish book of collected stories from one of my favourite authors. The stories are purporting to be creepy and spooky but I’m afraid I didn’t find them very chilling…..I read the book in dribs and drabs, picking it up, putting it down. A shame, because I do so like this authors writing. ( )

The travelling bag: I liked this story but the way that the protagonist decided to get revenge was a little bit disappointing. I finished reading the conclusion which was good, but inconclusive in terms of answering some of the questions I had which was a little bit disappointing.
The main question I had was why did Silas Webb steal some of Walter Craig's work? Was that his plan to learn about Walter's research so he could then eventually claim it as his own? Silas Webb gets his revenge in an unexpected way, but I liked the ending of the story.

Boy Twenty- One- So far this story is about a 17th century house that fell into disrepair due to the owners becoming impoverished and unable to afford the general repairs or upkeep of the the Cloten House.
I like the way the text looks, it is old fashioned and goes well with the story.
Even though the house was protected by the National Heritage and the staff members restored the interior and the exterior gardens there was a fire and the original owners died within a month of each other being there. Unfortunately there is no explanation for the fire at Cloten Hall or House whatever you want to call it.
Whatever happened to the owners of Cloten Hall is not revealed either, which is frustrating because that was the first part of the short story that was interesting.
The rest of the story is about young boys in a boarding school, Toby has an imaginary friend that might be a ghost, since he arrives just at the right time when Toby is in need of a friend, but then mysteriously disappears and there is no satisfying conclusion.
I liked this story, but it would have been more satisfying to read if more was explained about Toby's friend Andreas disappearing and what happen to the Cloten Hall owners,why there was a fire in the first place.

Alice Baker- This story is about a very strange but very private woman that is working in a small office with other females members of staff. Alice nevers talks about her family, friends, a boyfriend or husband or any previous employers which make her colleagues question her motivation for working in the office.

Now they have relocated to a newer open-plan office there is a lot more room and sunlight, so they don't feel like they are working in an old, decrepit, dark and mouldy smelling hidden corner of an office. So why does Alice Baker smell like a rotting corpse, is she a vampire or something else? Why did she disappear when she was being followed home?
Is she a ghost? Why is Alice Baker trying to hide from the other female staff members? One of Alice's co-workers decides to visit a psychic but it is a waste of time, because the psychic cannot reveal any answers possibly due to the woman who saw not truly believing in her gift.
While at the office in the early hours of the morning, she sees the ghost of a little girl and hears footsteps or what sounds like someone running around the office or funning away from her.
Alice continues to deteriorate while at the office, there is still a weird, unsettling rotten smell that people are very affected by, but there is still no explanation for Alice smelling like a rotten corpse or her ailing health.
Her co-workers are still experiencing a sense of decay, strange nightmares and a feeling of their body dissolving.
Now that I have finished reading this short story it makes more sense, due to the way the woman and child died they were still lingering and haunting the building.
Their grave was discovered beneath the building in unconsecrated ground, due the burials being for suicides which I personally think is disrespectful.
This was one of my favourite stories, it was creepy and unsettling, I enjoyed reading it.

The front room- This story was about a man's stepmother that was evil, but it was really explained why she was evil. She lived in the front room, died and then haunted the man's family until they left.
The family were affected by a terrible smell, a strange and unsettling apparition, that kept waking up their son in the middle of the night to scare him, the mother and son were becoming very thin, not eating or sleeping well.
The husband mysteriously disappears into thin air.
The ending was inconclusive and I didn't really understand the point if this story.
If the step-mother Solange just wanted to hurt her step-son then why not go directly after him, instead of hurting his wife and son?
My favourite stories were the travelling bag and Alice Baker, since both stories were disturbing or created a creepy atmosphere in the story the characters were interesting. ( )

A trilogy of ghost stories that was entertaining at least.

None of these are links and there are no recurring characters.

They vary in terms of timing through from what although not specified is probably the 1920s or certainly prewar, to the modern day.

All of which use a ghost and spiritual aspect as their main protagonists. This leads to some unpleasant shocks.

This is a very good compilation, a pity it could not be drawn out a bit longer, and in addition the characters drawn a bit deeper.

first story in particular, will stick in my mind. Recommended for what it is. ( )