Paula Cappa's Blog - Posts Tagged "hauntings"

This short story (1908)by F. Marion Crawford takes place in a farmhouse near the Dorsetshire coast, and is really creepy, a perfect read for Halloween season. The skull lives in a hat box in a bedroom cupboard. Crawford writes a stream of consciousness, inviting the reader in with scenes full of spooky wind howling through the windows, urgent raps at the front door, candles mysteriously blowing out. Yes, we've read all these things before in other stories, but the effects are gloomy and haunting, especially when the skull disappears. The skull, of course, creates its own supernatural manifestations, and the reader can't be sure if the actions are real or from the narrator's fearful thoughts. The style is wonderfully old-fashioned, shedding doubt over all ... until the very end.

No real violence; just suspense, haunting, and a deep sense of dread. Love it!

Book: The Weird, edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer.