Gothic Ghosts tells riveting tales of repressed memories, desire and despair, lost connections, questionable gifts, and second chances. This distinguished collection also includes bizarre tales of love and devotion, from the romantic to the very peculiar. Wendy Webb and Charles Grant have gathered the best of the best -- the greatest talent of today and the rising stars of tomorrow. Contributors include New York Times bestselling author Rick Hautala; Bram Stoker Award winner Nancy Holder; Matthew J. Costello, creator of the bestselling The Seventh Guest; Nebula Award winner Esther M. Friesner; the critically acclaimed Brian Stableford and many more.
This collection of short stories is just okay. Some of the stories are truly chilling, but over half of them are not. To my mind, that does not make for a good collection of Gothic tales.
Let me start out by saying I am a huge fan of gothic ghost tales and haunted houses. The atmosphere created by folks like Shirly Jackson, Richard Matheson and MR James has always fascinated me (almost as much as dark cosmic horrors) but it is seldom present in this collection. The stories are well crafted but the flow between them is lacking and some of the tales just do not seem to fit in the spirit (ha!) of the genre.
3.5. Numerous clunkers, but many good moody, atmospheric ghost stories — standouts are by Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Paul Collins and Rick Kennet, Brian Stableford, Penelope. D. Cacek, and James Dorr.
A few of these stories sent a chill right up my spine, while others were just sort of meh, which is why I gave 4 stars. Some were more thought provoking though, leaving me to ponder what exactly the author was trying to communicate to me, which I love.
I was looking for something reminiscent of those camp fire tales you hear as a kid, and I felt like this had just the right amount of spook to qualify.