J. Sheridan Le Fanu Books

The story "The Murdered Cousin" originally appeared under the title "Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess" in The Dublin University Magazine in 1838. The plot of this short story was later recycled for Le Fanu's novel UNCLE SILAS in 1864. The novel is better.

"A Chapter in the History of the Tyrone Family" originally appeared in the Dublin University Magazine in 1839. He later expanded this story into the novel THE WYVERN MYSTERY and Charlotte Bronte may, or may not, have used it as the foundation for JANE EYRE (1848).

Although this book starts off a bit slow, you'll be rewarded if you stick with it. The plot concerns two wealthy families - somehow related - that are to unite fortunes with the (arranged) marriage of Mark and Dorcas. Mark leaves town on business just before the wedding, promising to be there for the event. He keeps postponing his arrival and allows Dorcas the right to dissolve their engagement. Does Mark have cold feet, or is he being coerced into cancelling the marriage? If so, by whom? After you get to the half-way mark of this book, you won't want to put it down. The suspense bulids up to the very last chapter, and you won't be dissapointed.

Like other tales, ghost stories set a tone that may be terrifying, mournful, moralistic, thought provoking, whimsical, or even humorous. In this anthology, ghosts appear for a variety of reasons. In "Across the Moors" by William Fryer Harvey, the anonymous ghost seems to wish only to tell someone about the experience that "served as the turning point in my life." Predictably, others seek revenge, even against the descendants of those who harmed them. In many stories, the presence returns because it is not at peace in some way or it wishes to warn the living. A handful of ghosts relive their deaths, so to speak. A few ghosts are not even aware that they are dead. Another twist features inexorable, repeating events of a ghastly nature instead of the beings themselves.

Interestingly, ghosts rarely transcend their humanity. Unlike Jacob Marley, whose vision beyond the grave is clearly greater than his living one was and who warns Ebenezer Scrooge against making the same errors he did, these ghosts remain true to their human nature and outlook. The family of "The House of Shadows" by Mary Elizabeth Counselman continues to live as they always have, unchanged. In "How He Left the Hotel" by Louisa Baldwin, a dead man walks whose habits and paths are no different from those he followed when he was alive. Vicious killers become vicious ghosts; malicious people become malicious ghosts, like the engineer of "The Light Was Green" by John Rawson Speer. "A Grammatical Ghost" (Elia W. Peattie) is as fastidious in the afterlife as she was in life. Few if any of these spirits behave any differently than we expect them to, given what we are told and can see of their lives and values. There are few surprises here.

I bought 100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories edited by Al Sarrantonio and Martin H. Greenberg and 100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories at the same time because they seemed to make natural companions for long winter nights. I read the second almost a year after reading the first and found it disappointing in comparison.

Perhaps it is their very nature that makes ghost stories less effective than tales of horror. Ghosts are personal, connected in some way to the specific people and places that they haunt. I have nothing to fear from Jacob Marley or from any of the motley crew that roams the pages of this collection. I have killed no one, cheated on no one, and sent no one to the gallows, nor do my home or work place seem to attract spirits. I do not collect morbid objects like "Mordecai's Pipe" (A. V. Milyer). Some of the ghosts' actions seem horrifying, but I felt detached from them, perhaps because they are fictional ghosts acting out against fictional people in ways that are not entirely unexpected.

In comparison, horror stories, like those of Poe, rely on the darkness of the mind and its imaginative ability--how terrifying can the soul's darkness be? It is difficult to translate that sense to ghost stories, which, ironically, seem more tangible. Horror can extend as far as the mind can, but in the end ghosts are merely dead people--mostly predictable dead people. Without a spectacular ending twist, part of the suspense and the element of the unknown is lost.

Still, although there are more misses and fewer hits here than in the horror anthology, this is an entertaining book, worth curling up with on a dark and stormy night.

Diane L. Schirf
Saturday, 13 January 2007.

Let's get the stinkers out of the way first. Oscar Wilde's "The Sphinx Without a Secret" is a story without a ghost, or even a fright. Very disappointing from such a talented writer. That is by far the worst story, so let's not dwell on it.

"The Sixth Tree" shows promise but suffers from a predictable ending, though it does offer a good little moral about man's misplaced reliance on science and, by extension, his own intelligence.

The best story was a much harder call, but I nominate "The Night Caller" by G. L. Raisor. The first line sets a wonderfully malignant tone: "Sherry Elder's descent into madness began on a Thursday." The rest of the story is a fast-paced masterpiece of implied doom and ominous overtones. The word "ghost" isn't mentioned, nor is the identity of the "ghost" stated, but the author makes it clear, regardless. The story is so effective because the reader is free to make his own conclusion.

But there are other fine stories. "The Coat" is menacing, "Mandolin" touching and endearing though it, like Wilde's story, doesn't have a ghost. "The Metronome" is pure vengeance from a murdered child, and Fred Chappell's "Miss Prue" deserves mention for its breathtaking descriptive prose, such as these gems: "His eyes were like cinders in the deep sockets. He seemed to belong more to the cool gray autumn wind than to the world of animal flesh." "His voice was windblown ash in a desert land." "She flicked her hand at the question as if it were a tedious housefly." "His voice was like the sound of wind in a ragged thornbush." Great stuff!

Finally, "Summerland" is effective, due to its cynical tone toward séances and spiritualism, in a subtle and understated way, and implies (again, without coming out and stating it) the truth about where our souls go. Or, more specifically, the soul of a man who rents out a decrepit house for the price of a mansion.

The editors have compiled a treasury of ghost stories, old and new, gothic to modern. No horror library is complete without it.

I didn't get my book... do not buy from this dealer, or you won't get it. The money was taken out of my account & I did not recieve a book. So either I deserve an explanation, or this dealer is a thief & I warn you to not buy from them.

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu is studied today as Victorian gothic writer. Although he wrote several gothic mystery novels, some of his best work, however, may be discovered within his shorter tales such as "Green Tea," "Carmilla," etc. The House by the Churchyard was his first gothic novel, but it was unlike his other gothic novels due to the comical nature of the work. Although the gothic elements are indeed present, the humor which is found within this text is truly delightful; I could not help but to chuckle at a few select scenes. Unfortunately, this work seems to be falling out of print. Therefore, I would recommend to the literary student, who may be trying to acquire Le Fanu's work, to locate a good used copy on Amazon. This particular edition (Pocket Classics) is a good copy with a thick and durable paperback cover.

I was a little dissapointed in the horror content. But the stories were interesting and very different. Not at all gory/splatterpunkish. If your looking for dark stories with different endings, these would be them

Although this book is technically 'hardbound' and it does contain short stories by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, potential buyers should be aware that Aegypan Press books are not what people usually expect when buying hardcover books. The books seem to have been printed like a private or school edition printing, with a very simple board cover and no dustjacket. Amazon.com's description and the image for the item give the impression that this book is bound with a dustjacket - this is not the case.

The other problem is that this particular book, 'Madam Crowl's Ghost', contains many of the same stories that can be found in another Aegypan printing of Le Fanu's stories 'More Ghostly Tales'. Note that neither of these books appeared during Le Fanu's lifetime and they are both reprints of posthumous collections (which probably explains the overlaps). The overlaps are significant, with a majority of the tales appearing in both books. 'Madam Crowl's Ghost' contains a few more stories than does 'More Ghostly Tales', so if I had to make a choice I'd go for the former and ignore the latter.

Having said all that, Aegypan Press seems to have done a good job with the printing and binding - the books seem tight and well-printed. But if only they had a dustjacket they would be much more attractive.