in their time, the late 1800s, these stories would have been mediocre (some) and good (not very good) some. For today's reader, unfortunately, they are rather lame, many even boring. Furthermore, the writing style of the age, with endless sentences 5 lines long and endless expositions for a little twist are just tiring.
The only one still holding its ground was, for me, "The Monkey Paw" - WW Jacobs. ( )

I love ghost stories. Ever since I was a kid sitting outside on summer nights telling scary stories with my friends by the dim glow of a flashlight, I have loved creepy tales of all sorts. These days I listen to a lot of creepiness on my phone -- ghost story podcasts, Old Time Radio like Suspense and CBS Radio Mystery Theater, and Creepypasta stories. I am also a sucker for every haunted house or creepily awesome book I come across.

My favorite sort of ghostly tale is classic.....slow-building psychological terror that often ends with that surprise stab....that shudder inducing da-dah-dahhhhh moment. No weird steamy sex, spurting arterial blood or blood-curdling Wilhelm screams. Just suspenseful, old fashioned, oh-my-god-what-is-that horror.

Great Ghost Stories is a collection of 10 classic ghost stories published in England and America between 1864 and 1912 - the golden age of ghost tales. Most of the authors in this anthology are power-hitters - authors who wrote masterpieces of classic literature. Others are masters of the ghost story. It's a collection of great examples of the classic ghost story!

The lineup:

The Phantom Coach - Amelia B. Edwards
To Be Taken With a Grain of Salt - Charles Dickens
Dickon the Devil - J.S. LeFanu
The Judge's House - Bram Stoker
A Ghost Story - Jerome K. Jerome
The Moonlit Road - Ambrose Bierce
The Monkey's Paw - W. W. Jacobs
The Rose Garden - M. R. James
Bone to His Bone - E.G. Swain
The Confession of Charles Linkworth - E.F. Benson

I found this book by chance on the shelf at a thriftstore. I think I paid a quarter for it. So glad I did! The stories were all awesome and enjoyable. A few I had read before, and several were new to me. I can't really pick a favorite. I enjoyed them all.

This book is a Dover Thrift Edition, so it's inexpensive but awesome. Any reader who enjoys classic literature and scary stories will love this little, but hard-hitting, anthology.


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Some of the stories were very creepy, one or two actually chilling. Overall a nice little collection everyone should own. For the price you can't go wrong ( )

It is apparent that modern people, used to viewing horror movies of the late-Twentieth century and onwards, are unlikely to be thrilled or startled by horror stories written in the Nineteenth century. Literature does not work in the bright light or the glaring brighness of the screen. It operates best in the dark crevices of the imagination, and the borderlands between the real and the imagined. However, there will always be a group of readers who have a strong imagination, and for them these stories will remain as scary as ever.

The thing with anthologies is that they often contain stories one already owns in other volumes or has read before. Great ghost stories, edited by John Grafton contains a number of ghost stories b well-known authors, such as LeFanu, Dickens, M.R. James and Bierce, but also a number of stories by authors less well-known.

Some of the scariest stories in the collection are written by W.W. Jacobs, "he Monkey's Paw", woe he who can imagine the mangled creature that knocks at the door, and Charles Dickens' "To Be Taken with a Grain of Salt", the latter is scary once one thinks through to the implication of who is able to see ghosts, is seen by ghosts, and may appear as ghosts to others. Whether one is afraid of rats or not, the giant rat and what it stands for in Bram Stoker's "The Judge's House" will make any sensitive reader shudder. "The Phantom Coach" by Amelia B. Edwards calls the rugged moorland of the Bronte's to mind.

The power of all the stories lies within the realm of the imagination, outside the direct experience of the characters and the reader. Great ghost stories offers a very interesting sample of ghost stories. ( )

No blood and guts in these classics but more than a few chills went up my spine. Highly enjoyable. ( )