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Classic Ghost Stories
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First published October 16, 2007
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About the author
Bram Stoker
2,597 books5,859 followersIrish-born Abraham Stoker, known as Bram, of Britain wrote the gothic horror novel
Dracula
(1897).
The feminist Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornely Stoker at 15 Marino crescent, then as now called "the crescent," in Fairview, a coastal suburb of Dublin, Ireland, bore this third of seven children. The parents, members of church of Ireland, attended the parish church of Saint John the Baptist, located on Seafield road west in Clontarf with their baptized children.
Stoker, an invalid, started school at the age of seven years in 1854, when he made a complete and astounding recovery. Of this time, Stoker wrote, "I was naturally thoughtful, and the leisure of long illness gave opportunity for many thoughts which were fruitful according to their kind in later years."
After his recovery, he, a normal young man, even excelled as a university athlete at Trinity college, Dublin form 1864 to 1870 and graduated with honors in mathematics. He served as auditor of the college historical society and as president of the university philosophical society with his first paper on "Sensationalism in Fiction and Society."
In 1876, while employed as a civil servant in Dublin, Stoker wrote a non-fiction book (The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland, published 1879) and theatre reviews for The Dublin Mail, a newspaper partly owned by fellow horror writer J. Sheridan Le Fanu. His interest in theatre led to a lifelong friendship with the English actor Henry Irving. He also wrote stories, and in 1872 "The Crystal Cup" was published by the London Society, followed by "The Chain of Destiny" in four parts in The Shamrock.
In 1878 Stoker married Florence Balcombe, a celebrated beauty whose former suitor was Oscar Wilde. The couple moved to London, where Stoker became business manager (at first as acting-manager) of Irving's Lyceum Theatre, a post he held for 27 years. The collaboration with Irving was very important for Stoker and through him he became involved in London's high society, where he met, among other notables, James McNeil Whistler, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the course of Irving's tours, Stoker got the chance to travel around the world.
The Stokers had one son, Irving Noel, who was born on December 31, 1879.
People cremated the body of Bram Stoker and placed his ashes placed in a display urn at Golders green crematorium. After death of Irving Noel Stoker in 1961, people added his ashes to that urn. Despite the original plan to keep ashes of his parents together, after death, people scattered ashes of Florence Stoker at the gardens of rest.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bram_Stoker
The feminist Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornely Stoker at 15 Marino crescent, then as now called "the crescent," in Fairview, a coastal suburb of Dublin, Ireland, bore this third of seven children. The parents, members of church of Ireland, attended the parish church of Saint John the Baptist, located on Seafield road west in Clontarf with their baptized children.
Stoker, an invalid, started school at the age of seven years in 1854, when he made a complete and astounding recovery. Of this time, Stoker wrote, "I was naturally thoughtful, and the leisure of long illness gave opportunity for many thoughts which were fruitful according to their kind in later years."
After his recovery, he, a normal young man, even excelled as a university athlete at Trinity college, Dublin form 1864 to 1870 and graduated with honors in mathematics. He served as auditor of the college historical society and as president of the university philosophical society with his first paper on "Sensationalism in Fiction and Society."
In 1876, while employed as a civil servant in Dublin, Stoker wrote a non-fiction book (The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland, published 1879) and theatre reviews for The Dublin Mail, a newspaper partly owned by fellow horror writer J. Sheridan Le Fanu. His interest in theatre led to a lifelong friendship with the English actor Henry Irving. He also wrote stories, and in 1872 "The Crystal Cup" was published by the London Society, followed by "The Chain of Destiny" in four parts in The Shamrock.
In 1878 Stoker married Florence Balcombe, a celebrated beauty whose former suitor was Oscar Wilde. The couple moved to London, where Stoker became business manager (at first as acting-manager) of Irving's Lyceum Theatre, a post he held for 27 years. The collaboration with Irving was very important for Stoker and through him he became involved in London's high society, where he met, among other notables, James McNeil Whistler, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the course of Irving's tours, Stoker got the chance to travel around the world.
The Stokers had one son, Irving Noel, who was born on December 31, 1879.
People cremated the body of Bram Stoker and placed his ashes placed in a display urn at Golders green crematorium. After death of Irving Noel Stoker in 1961, people added his ashes to that urn. Despite the original plan to keep ashes of his parents together, after death, people scattered ashes of Florence Stoker at the gardens of rest.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bram_Stoker
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
October 24, 2024
The Judge's house, Bram Stoker: a mathematician seeking seclusion rents out a large old house, once home of a judge infamous for his death sentences. strange things begin to happen; rats crawl the walls, old portraits take on a disquieting air, and the bell-rope's disturbing history is revealed. atmospheric. 4 stars.
Dracula's guest, Bram Stoker: a stranger visiting Romania decides to visit an abandoned town with a mysteriously sinister history, despite the warnings of the locals. he is caught by a snow storm and seeks shelter in a tomb, where he encounters a female vampire. hunted by animals, in danger of freezing, the stranger is seemingly saved by a large wolf....perhaps Dracula himself? not really a ghost story, but spooky anyway. 4 stars
To be Taken with a Grain of Salt, Charles Dickens: a man recounts his tale as a juror in a notorious murder trial, during which he claims to have seen the dead man's ghost watch and interfere with the proceedings. the ghost is finally put to rest when the accused is found guilty. interesting. 4 stars.
The Upper Berth, F. Marion Crawford: Brisbane tells the story of his voyage aboard the Kamtschatka, about his stay in cabin 105, and the strange and terrible things he witnessed. when brisbane's cabin mate disappears in the night, he learns that the latter's demise is only the latest of an odd series of apparent suicides that had all stayed in cabin 105. determined to discover the truth, he stakes out the cabin and encounters an unearthly presence he hadn't counted on. 4 stars.
Who knows?, Guy de Maupassant: coming home from an opera one night, the narrator witnesses a sight that leaves him shaken: . telling no one of the true nature of the disappearing furniture, the gentleman decides to travel abroad for his health. he soon stumbles across a strange shop where, shockingly, he finds all of his former possessions. already unstable, a final blow to his sanity comes when, the next day, . 3 stars.
Narrative of the Ghost of a Hand, Sheridan le Fanu: the story of a family haunted by a somewhat pudgy, aristocratic white hand whose body is always just out of sight. at first merely tapping at the doors, the apparition grows bolder and soon threatens the children. 3 stars
The Furnished Room, O. Henry: a young man comes to the West Side desperate to find the girl he loves. upon renting a room, he senses a familiar presence: the smell of his love's perfume, though he cannot find its source. he questions the landlady to no avail; exhausted, broken, and hopeless, he turns up the gas....4 stars.
The Open Window, Saki: rather funny. a gentleman convalescing in the country visits the home of a neighbor, where a young girl tells him the sad tale of a window left open for long dead family. when the visitor sees the dead described to him coming up to the door, he leaves as fast as he can, fearing the "ghosts". 3 stars
My Own True Ghost Story, Rudyard Kipling: a tale of India, a dark bungalow, and the sound of a ghostly game of billiards. all comes right in the end; fun and interesting. 4 stars.
Called, P.C. Wren: a story that takes place in what was then Siam. an unloved wife, tormented by her husband, slowly declines in health. when one night she asks her husband for a sleeping pill, he decides to finally do away with her all together. several months after her death, the husband, unsuspected of bringing about his wife's end, is plagued by the strange reports of his servants: the voice of his wife from the house, the call of a woman long dead...the strain of her unseen presence soon becomes unbearable, and the man does away with himself. 3 stars.
When I was Dead, Vincent O'Sullivan: a very short story about a man absorbed with morbidity, who finds, one night, that he is apparently dead. he plays around a bit, lays in his coffin for fun, stabs at his sister, but in the end it really sinks in: he is dead....felt it could have been elaborated on, more about his "life" as a ghost after death, his history, etc. 3 stars
entertaining and uncanny overall. 4 stars.
February 9, 2017
Perfectly good collection. This is like 2.5/3 stars. I'm terrible at listening to audiobooks though. But there were a few stand-out stories here. Especially liked Bram Stoker's two stories; Who Knows? by Guy de Maupassant; and When I was Dead by Vincent O'Sullivan. I don't think anything here will keep you up at night, but The Judge's House by Bram Stoker definitely stayed with me after. It's the first story.
March 24, 2025
Love love love reading these random AF short story anthologies that don’t exist anywhere else except in Libby. Where else am I readying Guy de Maupassant
October 26, 2016
Half of these are great romantic Era horror stories. The other half are dross.
October 3, 2017
Listened to a lot of these before.
The Judge's House by Bram Stoker was good.
To Be Taken With a Grain of Salt by Charles Dickens was good, and new to me.
The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford is still good.
I didn't like Narrative of the Ghost of a Hand much.
The Furnished Room by O. Henry is good.
The Open Window by Saki is good.
Called by P.C. Wren was very good, and new to me.
Overall, a good collection.
The Judge's House by Bram Stoker was good.
To Be Taken With a Grain of Salt by Charles Dickens was good, and new to me.
The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford is still good.
I didn't like Narrative of the Ghost of a Hand much.
The Furnished Room by O. Henry is good.
The Open Window by Saki is good.
Called by P.C. Wren was very good, and new to me.
Overall, a good collection.
July 24, 2018
The Judge's House - Bram Stoker (3*)
Dracula's Guest - Bram Stoker (3*)
To be Taken With a Grain of Salt - Charles Dickens (4*)
The Upper Berth - F. Marion Crawford (3*)
Who Know? - Guy de Maupassant (3*)
Narrative of the Ghost of a Hand - Sheridan le Fanu (3*)
The Furnished Room - O. Henry (3*)
The Open Window - Saki (3*)
My Own True Ghost Story - Rudyard Kipling (3*)
Called - P.C. Wren (3*)
When I was Dead - Vincent O'Sullivan (4*)
Dracula's Guest - Bram Stoker (3*)
To be Taken With a Grain of Salt - Charles Dickens (4*)
The Upper Berth - F. Marion Crawford (3*)
Who Know? - Guy de Maupassant (3*)
Narrative of the Ghost of a Hand - Sheridan le Fanu (3*)
The Furnished Room - O. Henry (3*)
The Open Window - Saki (3*)
My Own True Ghost Story - Rudyard Kipling (3*)
Called - P.C. Wren (3*)
When I was Dead - Vincent O'Sullivan (4*)
September 18, 2023
All authors I'd heard of but did not necessarily know wrote ghost stories. Of the stories, I'd never read any of them except for one. A number of these stories are genuinely creepy, too, which is wonderful to encounter. I learned that Englishmen can be terrific gits and their sins will get the better of them. I find that quite satisfying to know.
October 29, 2016
Enjoyed reading these stories written by the contemporary's of Charles Dickens. In my opinion the best ghost story in the series of short stories was the one written by Wilkie Collins called "Mrs. Zant and the Ghost. I also liked The Body-Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson.
October 30, 2022
This is a selection of strange tales aka ghost stories. My favorites are The Judge's House by Bram Stoker, Who Knows by Maupassant, and Narrative of the Ghost of a Hand by Sheridan le Fanu. The stories was enhanced by the wonderful voice actor. I recommend to read around Halloweens.
October 19, 2017
As a collection - 3 stars. Some stories are much more interesting than others.
October 27, 2017
Wouldn’t recommend the audiobook—it wasn’t the best and I had problems getting into the stories. Not many stood out.
July 7, 2018
Chilling delight.
December 30, 2019
The Call is probably the best one!
December 19, 2020
Spooooooky. But fun.
December 30, 2024
This also feels like cheating as it was so desperately boring and I was listening and kept zoning out. The one that took place in Siam was my favorite.
November 26, 2011
The collection of stories and authors:
The Judge's House by Bram Stoker - When a young scholar seeks out an old house for some solitary studying, he soon finds himself dealing with a very frightening companion.
Dracula's Ghost by Bram Stoker - When an English traveler goes wandering during Walpurgisnacht, he soon learns that the dead can be all too lively.
To Be Taken with a Grain of Salt by Charles Dickens - A rather sensible Englishman finds himself being haunted by the ghost of a murdered man, and when he is selected to be on a jury, he soon finds out what the ghost wants.
The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford - A man crossing the Atlantic is told that his cabin is haunted, and he decides to get to the bottom of what is going on, no matter the cost...and it will cost dearly.
Who Knows? By Guy de Maupassant - A man afraid of the world seeks refuge in his house, but learns that the outside world can reach in after him.
Narrative of the Ghost of a Hand by Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu - A story of a house that is being haunted by the ghost of a disembodied hand.
The Furnished Room by O. Henry - When a young man comes looking for a furnished room, it soon becomes apparent that he is not so much looking for a room as he is looking for a certain young lady. He takes the room, and in a mysterious way he finds the young lady.
The Open Window by Saki - The story of a man with shattered nerves and a widow waiting for her husband's return...and a girl with a lively sense of humor!
My Own True Ghost Story by Rudyard Kipling - A night spent in an old, converted billiards room is interrupted when the dead come back for one more game.
Called by F.C. Wren - A man in the Foreign Service in Siam is a hard man indeed, but when he grows tired of his wife, he soon learns that a wife's anger can last a long, long time.
When I Was Dead by Vincent O'Sullivan - What a surprise it is for Alistair when he suddenly turns up dead!
Of them I I really enjoyed To Be Taken with a Grain of Salt, The Furnished Room, The Open Window, and Called, the others I found to suffer from a classic ghost story blunder: stupid protagonists. This is really driven home in The Judge's House by Bram Stoker, which had some really great elements, but just didn’t come together.
The Judge's House by Bram Stoker - When a young scholar seeks out an old house for some solitary studying, he soon finds himself dealing with a very frightening companion.
Dracula's Ghost by Bram Stoker - When an English traveler goes wandering during Walpurgisnacht, he soon learns that the dead can be all too lively.
To Be Taken with a Grain of Salt by Charles Dickens - A rather sensible Englishman finds himself being haunted by the ghost of a murdered man, and when he is selected to be on a jury, he soon finds out what the ghost wants.
The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford - A man crossing the Atlantic is told that his cabin is haunted, and he decides to get to the bottom of what is going on, no matter the cost...and it will cost dearly.
Who Knows? By Guy de Maupassant - A man afraid of the world seeks refuge in his house, but learns that the outside world can reach in after him.
Narrative of the Ghost of a Hand by Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu - A story of a house that is being haunted by the ghost of a disembodied hand.
The Furnished Room by O. Henry - When a young man comes looking for a furnished room, it soon becomes apparent that he is not so much looking for a room as he is looking for a certain young lady. He takes the room, and in a mysterious way he finds the young lady.
The Open Window by Saki - The story of a man with shattered nerves and a widow waiting for her husband's return...and a girl with a lively sense of humor!
My Own True Ghost Story by Rudyard Kipling - A night spent in an old, converted billiards room is interrupted when the dead come back for one more game.
Called by F.C. Wren - A man in the Foreign Service in Siam is a hard man indeed, but when he grows tired of his wife, he soon learns that a wife's anger can last a long, long time.
When I Was Dead by Vincent O'Sullivan - What a surprise it is for Alistair when he suddenly turns up dead!
Of them I I really enjoyed To Be Taken with a Grain of Salt, The Furnished Room, The Open Window, and Called, the others I found to suffer from a classic ghost story blunder: stupid protagonists. This is really driven home in The Judge's House by Bram Stoker, which had some really great elements, but just didn’t come together.
November 30, 2014
I wouldn't say these are 11 of the best ghost stories ever written - for one thing, there was no M.R. James (how can you claim to have the best ghost stories ever written without M.R. James???), and for another thing, some of them were downright dull ("Called" by P.C. Wren, for example, I fast-forwarded to the end after a while, because he just kept repeating the same few thoughts over and over and over again in an odd attempt to create tension and atmosphere).
However, a few of them were well worth listening to - "To Be Taken With a Grain of Salt" by Charles Dickens, "The Upper Berth" by F. Marion Crawford, "Who Knows?" by Guy de Maupassant, "Narrative of the Ghost of a Hand" by Joseph Sheridan le Fanu, "My Own True Ghost Story" by Rudyard Kipling, and in an amusing though not particularly scary way, "The Open Window" by Saki.
However, a few of them were well worth listening to - "To Be Taken With a Grain of Salt" by Charles Dickens, "The Upper Berth" by F. Marion Crawford, "Who Knows?" by Guy de Maupassant, "Narrative of the Ghost of a Hand" by Joseph Sheridan le Fanu, "My Own True Ghost Story" by Rudyard Kipling, and in an amusing though not particularly scary way, "The Open Window" by Saki.
August 9, 2016
Since it's nearing Halloween I thought I'd read (or listen to) some ghost stories. This is an interesting collection that started out pretty well, but in whole wasn't so great - although, to be fair, I'm not usually one to enjoy short stories or collections of them. My favorites were "The Judge's House" by Bram Stoker and "The Upper Berth" by F. Marion Crawford. Most of them are Victorian-era fiction and feature protagonists who pursue the most illogical course of action through stubbornness and pride - which gets a little old when it's pretty much every single story. The reader, Richard Pasco, does a good job, but overall I think I'd rather just listen again to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow read by Tom Mison.
December 14, 2015
a.What dates did you read the novel? December 10- December 14
b.What do you think the overall theme, or universal message, of the novel is? The book didn't have a theme but if it did it would be overcome fears
Why? the book has multiple amount of stories with different themes
c. Choose a significant quote from the novel and describe its significance. "Everyone who has lived their has died" the window was hunted and who ever lived their died.
d. Would you recommend this novel to others? Yes.
Why or why not? it was slightly scary but not really as much as I though that it would be.
b.What do you think the overall theme, or universal message, of the novel is? The book didn't have a theme but if it did it would be overcome fears
Why? the book has multiple amount of stories with different themes
c. Choose a significant quote from the novel and describe its significance. "Everyone who has lived their has died" the window was hunted and who ever lived their died.
d. Would you recommend this novel to others? Yes.
Why or why not? it was slightly scary but not really as much as I though that it would be.
September 19, 2009
An excellect collection of short stories by superior writers: Bram Stoker, Charles Dickens, Guy de Maupassaunt, etc. I loved every story each for their own charms and merits, though, if I had to choose one, I would say Rudyard Kipling's "My Own True Ghost Story" for it's clarity of voice and descriptive passages of India and its culture.
October 24, 2012
The stories in this collection were hit-or-miss, in my opinion. I quite enjoyed The Judge's House by Brom Stoker, To Be Taken with a Grain of Salt by Charles Dickens, The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford, and Who Knows? By Guy de Maupassant. The others were either not particularly scary or simply dull.
February 12, 2013
Some really great and spooky classics. Win hipster points.
June 17, 2016
Absolutely these are classic ghost stories. Not all by Stoker but instead a collection of great tales by popular authors.
July 16, 2014
it was OK, not all the stories are BS stories..
September 19, 2017
This has many coauthors. some of the stories will bring a chill to your vines, but others just leave you bored
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews