Rex Collings (1925–1996)

This collection comprises (more or less) classic short stories of the fantastic and the supernatural – to call them ghost stories would be an exaggeration – and with the exception of three ‘true accounts’ consists of fiction by mostly well-known pre-Victorian, Victorian and Edwardian authors, several women among them. While some of the featured stories have deservedly earned their popularity in classic literature, most of the tales were unknown to me. In Victorian and Edwardian times these may have raised shivers, but reading them I felt that with a few exceptions most of them were quite devoid of atmosphere and rather tame, not to mention dull.

In particular, the stories are:

The Tapestried Chamber: A soldier returning from the American War of Independence spends the night at a castle belonging to an old acquaintance of his from Eton and in the night encounters a hideous spectre.

The Spectre of Tappingham: A lieutenant in the East India Company, while staying with his cousins at an old manor house in Kent, meets with a rather mischievous apparition which appears to steal his trousers at night.

While written with a humorous touch, the story is so rambling and dull that I didn’t finish it.

The Botathen Ghost: A parson is called to deal with a haunting in Cornwall.

The Tell-Tale Heart: After committing a murder, the culprit is haunted by the sound of the victim’s beating heart.

The Squire’s Story: The perpetrator of a murder gives himself away.

Another long, rambling story and, what’s more, no supernatural agency makes an appearance in the story. How it ended up being selected for this anthology I’ve no idea.

The Story of Mary Ancel: A young man is sent to further his studies in theology and divinity at Strasbourg with an old friend of his uncle’s, only to discover that the professor is now a member of the Committee of Public Safety during the Terror.

Again, no ghost makes an appearance in this story – why was it selected for this volume?

The Story of the Bagman’s Uncle: A gentleman encounters a phantom coach while staying in Edinburgh.

To Be Taken with a Grain of Salt: The ghost of a murder victim appears before a bank manager who is then selected to sit on the jury during the trial of the murderer.

An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street: The ghost of a hanging judge appears to two young men in said street in Dublin.

Narrative of the Ghost of a Hand: The ghost of a hand haunts a house in Dublin.

Fisher’s Ghost: The ghost of a murder victim appears to a farmer in the Australian outback.

The Traveller’s Story of a Terribly Strange Bed: After a successful night playing cards, a traveller spends the night in a room in a gambling house in Paris, which features a most unusual bed.

This is one of Wilkie Collins’ best-known tales but it’s not a ghost story, so why choose it?

The Phantom Coach: After a day’s hunting on the moors in the north of England, a young man gets lost and eventually finds himself a passenger on a phantom coach.

One of the more memorable stories in the collection, it features atmospheric descriptions of the desolate snow-covered landscape and is genuinely creepy.

Eveline’s Visitant: Two cousins fight in a duel, with one mortally wounded by the other. With his dying breath he promises to haunt his cousin.

Markheim: After Markheim commits a murder, a mysterious stranger appears who appears to know all of Markheim’s secrets.

Not exactly a ghost story but unusual in its resolution.

Man-Size in Marble: Once a year on Halloween, two marble effigies in a parish church come to life.

The Canterville Ghost: When a family of Americans buy Canterville Chase, the resident ghost comes in for the shock of his (after-)life.

This is one of the best-known ghost stories and a true Oscar Wilde classic, the more memorable because it uniquely combines wry humour with an atmospheric tale of the supernatural while also displaying pathos and compassion.

The Haunted Doll’s House: A gentleman buys an antique doll’s house where the puppets appear to re-enact a murder most foul.

A School Story: A teacher at a private school is haunted by someone from his past.

Thurnley Abbey: After returning from India, the unnamed narrator spends the night in the titular location at a friend’s request and encounters a terrifying spectre.

In the Cliff Land of the Dane: When livestock is found slaughtered, the evidence points to the husband of a local innkeeper, but the man is a simpleton. Is he capable of the atrocities the villagers accuse him of?

This story is unusual but its rightful place in the collection is debatable as it doesn't feature a ghost but does seem to involve a supernatural agency of some kind.

Laura: Shortly before her death, Laura confides in her friend her plans for the afterlife, which then seemingly come to pass.

The Story of Euphemia Hewit: Two lovers in Scotland cannot be separated by death.

This is the first of the three ‘true’ accounts, written by James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd.

A Ghostly Manifestation: A clergyman and his wife are haunted by strange noises at night in their apartment in India.

Ghost in the Tower: The Keeper of the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London and his wife observe a strange apparition that defies explanation.… (més)