Irish Ghost Stories

by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Bram Stoker, Patrick Kennedy

With a word of warning to those of nervous a disposition, Wordsworth presents this spellbinding collection of chilling Celtic tales of the macabre, all drawn from the rich and varied literary tradition of a culture long enchanted by things supernatural, 'a land where ghosts and ghost-seers are so common'. Featuring the imaginative writing of such towering masters of the genre as Sheridan Le Fanu, Bram Stoker, Patrick Kennedy, Thomas Crofton Croker and George Moore, this volume of ghoulish masterpieces from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is an encapsulation of the arcane lore, magical landscape and fantastic creativity of the Irish.
Don't attempt to read these horrifying tales alone in an empty house. Your blood will run cold as the unreal becomes real and the impossible all too possible. Indelible images will possess your imagination and haunt your dreams. Make sure all the lights are on and the doors are bolted.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fantasy, Classics, Anthologies, Ireland, Ghost Stories

1102 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the leading ghost-story writer of the nineteenth century and was central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era. M.R. James described Le Fanu as "absolutely in the first rank as a writer of ghost stories". Three of his best-known works are Uncle Silas, Carmilla and The House by the Churchyard.

Reviews

[Katie Scarlett O Hara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Najpre moram da istaknem da nisam luda za pripovetkama. Ne znam zašto, ali mi nikada nisu bile privlačne za čitanje. Taman se naviknem na likove, udubim u priču, kad ono kraj, nema više. Tako da sam ovo baš lagano čitala, maksimum jednu na dan i mislim da sam zato i više uživala u knjizi. O Šeridanu Le Fanuu sam čula zbog Karmile, koja se pominje kao jako strašna knjiga u nekim drugim romanima, a i prethodi Drakuli, tako da je lepo da je i ovaj autor dobio malo više pažnje. Priče su predvidive i ne toliko užasavajuće za naše doba, kada smo se nagledali svega i svačega, ali imaju tu neku jezivu auru i atmosferu, prosto su ili jako direktne ili mistične da nateraju čitaoca da sve to zamisli u glavi, pa još ako imate bujnu maštu, eto lupanja srčke kada zaškripe stepenice. Ako volite klasične horor priče, plus elemente irskog folklora, preporučujem. Brzo se čita, a dovoljno je upečatljiva da vam neke priče baš ostanu u mislima.

[Μιτς Γιωτίξ · Rating 5 out of 5]

After 3 years (I got this book as a gift on May of 2013) I finally managed to finish it! Yep- all 1054 pages of it. I've read equally big books in the past but this one was intimidating.
As the name implies, this is a collection of Irish folk stories centered on the supernatural. The name is somewhat of a misnomer- it's not just about ghosts. It also includes stories about vampires, faeries and other assorted "good people" and demons, all of them with an irish flair (and a lot of irish words, too). Most of them are rather "tame" when compared to today's shocking, gory horror books but this does not mean that they're of any lower quality.
My favorite stories were Carmilla, The Dead Smile, and The Last of Squire Ennismore. My least favorite ones were those written by D.R. "What the fuck is he talking about?" McAnally Junior, and the reason was the kind of language he uses. They're written as if orally reported by an Irish person, and as such it's very, very hard to comprehend. It's a shame, really, because when he writes with no usage of dialects he's very enjoyable.
But still... "Sometimes the Owld Inimy, Satan himself, 'ud be there at the enthertainmint, comin' an a monsthrous dhraggin, wid grane schales an'eyes like the lightin' in the heavens, an' a roarin' fiery mouth like a limekiln. It was the great day thub, for they do say all the witches brought their rayports at thim saysons fur to show him phat they done". Six stories written like this (and even more incomprehensible!). About ninety pages, all tucked away at the end of the book, made it somewhat tiresome. The rest was solid gold, though. So, if you like horror stories with a flair of folklore, go ahead and read it!

[Dijana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kako to obično biva, neke priče su mi se manje a neke više dopale. Prosek je ispao čista trojka.

Priče iz Loh Gira - 2 ⭐️
Izveštaj o čudnim neprijatnostima u ulici Ongijer - 3 ⭐️
Dete koje je otišlo sa vilama - 4 ⭐️
Seoski siledžija - 3 ⭐️
Šta je to bilo? - 3 ⭐️
Šapat duha - 4 ⭐️
Ultor de Lejsi - 2 ⭐️
Avanture Džima Salivena u velikom snegu - 2 ⭐️
Ser Dominikova nagodba - 4 ⭐️

[Pamela Harju · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was tough going.
Some of the stories are excellent, but others are rubbish. Leprechauns and fairies are not ghosts.
Some of the stories are also included twice...

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the stories well enough. I had a little bit of a hard time reading the Irish dialog. The collection should have been called Irish Horror Stories because about half of the stories were about ghosts and the other half about other supernatural things. I don't know if it was just the version I got, but some of the stories repeated. The title would be different. I would start a story and then realize I already read the story earlier in the book.

[Mark]

Well, I really gave this one a go. But, after struggling through nearly 600 pages of stories that were neither scary nor particularly interesting, I just had to give up. Some were written in an incomprehensible brogue too. Sorry, but life is too short.

[Dejan Ostojić · Rating 2 out of 5]

1. Priče iz Loh Gira 0/5⭐️
2. Izveštaj o čudnim neprijatnostima u ulici Ongijer 2/5⭐️
3. Dete koje je otišlo sa vilama 3/5⭐️
4. Seoski siledžija (iz "Priča o duhovima Čejplizoda") 2/5⭐️
5. Šta je to bilo? 3/5⭐️
6. Šapat duha 4/5⭐️
7. Ultor de Lejsi - Legenda iz Kaperkalena 2/5⭐️
8. Avanture Džima Salivena u velikom snegu 2/5 ⭐️
9. Ser Dominikova nagodba - Legenda o Dunoranu 3/5⭐️

[Moonchild · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretpostavljam da su u tom vremenu ove price bile bauk, za nekoga ko je odrastao uz horore, ovo dodje smesno..