Victorian Tales Of Terror

by Hugh Lamb

From the gaslit nights of the age of Jack the Ripper comes this volume of long-buried horror, a selection of terrifying tales from the pens of Charles Dickens, J Sheridan le Fanu, Guy de Maupassant, Mrs Molesworth and others.

XÉLUCHA - M P Shiel
THE BLACK VEIL - Charles Dickens
THE MYSTERY AT FERNWOOD -
Elizabeth Braddon
THE BLACK LADY OF BRIN TOR -
Guy Boothby
THE MOTHER OF MONSTERS -
Guy de Maupassant
THE MURDERER'S VIOLIN - Erckmann-Chatrian
THE MASK - Richard Marsh
THE DEAD MAN OF VARLEY GRANGE - Anon
MY FAVOURITE MURDER - Ambrose Bierce
THE SHADOW IN THE MOONLIGHT -
Mrs Molesworth
THE LAST OF SQUIRE ENNISMORE -
Mrs J H Riddell
THE RED WARDER OF THE REEF - J A Barry
WOLVERDEN TOWER - Grant Allen
MADAM CROWL'S GHOST -
J Sheridan le Fanu
THE CAVE OF BLOOD - Dick Donovan

Genres: Horror, Gothic, Fiction

Paperback

Published November 1, 1976

Reviews

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

10/12:
The final five:

~The Red Warder of the Reef by J.A. Barry- So-so
~The Mask by Richard Marsh- Interesting actually, but the repetitive dialogue was ludicrous
~The Shadow in the Moonlight by Mrs. Molesworth- The longest story by far, this one is another standout. Good writing, excellent story, though a little drawn-out, definitely goosebump inducing.
~Wolverden Tower by Grant Allen- A different kind of gothic take than others in this collection. I expected a different, more original ending though.
~The Cave of Blood by Dick Donovan- Such a standout! Excellent writing and a bit twisty-turny. I definitely want to read more from this author.


11/11:
Another 5 this year:

~Xelucha by M.P.Shiel- Ravings of a madman, much?
~The Mother of Monsters by Guy de Maupassant- Pretty darn disturbing for several reasons
~The Dead Man of Varley Grange by Anonymous- Barely frightful
~The Last of Squire Ennismore by Mrs. J.H. Riddell- Kind of fun
~Madam Crowl's Ghost by J. Sheridan le Fanu- In this day and age, this would probably not be very scary to most people, but as I was reading it outside in the crisp October darkness, with the leaves swirling and making noises, I was chilled to the bone. Excellent ghost story.


11/10: I'm much too jaded for these to be terrifying, but most were interesting enough.
So far I've only read 5 of these:

~The Black Veil by Charles Dickens- Excellent writing (duh)
~The Mystery at Fernwood- Elizabeth Braddon- A standout
~The Black Lady of Brin Tor- Guy Boothby
~The Murderer's Violin- Erckmann-Chatrian
~My Favourite Murder- Ambrose Bierce- Quite sensational to say the least

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say? A great collection of some of the best in Victorian horror, all the leading lights of the day are included, Dickens, Braddon, Maupassant, Mrs. Molesworth and Le Fanu including some lesser known authors that deserve more acclaim than they have had.
If you like your horror tales in the classic vein then this compendium is a must for all horror fans.

[Robert Perret · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection suffers from the stories being very similar for the most part. There would be about 8 pages of dry set up, two pages of action, and then a denouement that would be like "I was never completely sure if I had seen a ghost that day." A couple of good stories, but for the most part I don't think these stories aged well.

[Paul Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe 5* is generous but this is a collection that should be read. I imagine Mr. Lamb must have been a dry old stick but his diligence in sifting out these stories is to his credit.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm mainly putting this review here as a memory aid for myself. I read this book when I was in high school and two stories have suck with me enough to spend hours googling their names. The first is "The Mother of Monsters" by Guy de Maupassant which is a very dark tale about pregnancy, greed, and human deformity. The other is "Wolverden Tower" by Grant Allen. This is a great supernatural tale that you do not fully get until the end. Although some parts of it are cliched tropes (they were ghosts!), but the way the plots and steps flow together makes it quite a Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock story. That is a compliment.

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

Xélucha / M.P. Shiel--
The black veil / Charles Dickens--2
The mystery at Fernwood / Mary Elizabeth Braddon--3
The black lady of Brin Tor / Guy Boothby--
The mother of monsters / Guy de Maupassant--1
The murderer's violin / Erckmann-Chatrian--2
*The mask / Richard Marsh--
My favourite murder / Ambrose Bierce--2
The shadow in the moonlight / Mrs. Molesworth--3
The last of Squire Ennismore / Charlotte Riddell--3
The red warder of the reef / J.A. Barry--
Wolverden Tower / Grant Allen--1
Madam Crowl's ghost / J. Sheridan le Fanu--3
The cave of blood / Dick Donovan--

[Mairi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection, with many stories unknown to me.