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A Wave of Fear: A Classic Horror Anthology
Includes selections by L.A. Lewis, Eleanor Scott, Ambrose Bierce, M.P. Shiel, H.R. Wakefield, Charles Birkin, L.T.C. Rolt, Marjorie Bowen, A.C. Benson, E.F. Benson, R.H. Benson, Joy Burnett, Frederick Cowles, D.K. Browster, J.D. Beresford, Robert W. Chambers, and Vivian Meik.
Contents (view Concise Listing)
9 • Editor's Foreword (A Wave of Fear) • (1973) • essay by Hugh Lamb
13 • The Child • (1934) • short story by L. A. Lewis
26 • Celui-La • (1929) • short story by Eleanor Scott
44 • A Resumed Identity • (1908) • short story by Ambrose Bierce
51 • Huguenin's Wife • (1895) • short story by M. P. Shiel
63 • Blind Man's Bluff • (1929) • short story by H. Russell Wakefield (variant of Blind Man's Buff) [as by H. R. Wakefield]
68 • Marjorie's on Starlight • (1973) • short story by Charles Birkin
80 • Hawley Bank Foundry • (1948) • short story by L. T. C. Rolt
102 • Twilight • (1912) • short story by Marjorie Bowen
111 • Basil Netherby • (1926) • novelette by A. C. Benson
139 • The Wishing-Well • (1929) • short story by E. F. Benson
154 • The Traveller • (1903) • short story by R. H. Benson
163 • Phantom Silhouette • (1973) • short story by Joy Burnett
169 • Terrible Mrs. Greene • (1936) • short story by Frederick Cowles
176 • Clairvoyance • (1932) • novelette by D. K. Broster
194 • The Late Occupier • (1918) • short story by J. D. Beresford
198 • The Messenger • (1897) • novelette by Robert W. Chambers
235 • A Honeymoon in Hate • (1933) • short story by Vivian Meik
Contents (view Concise Listing)
9 • Editor's Foreword (A Wave of Fear) • (1973) • essay by Hugh Lamb
13 • The Child • (1934) • short story by L. A. Lewis
26 • Celui-La • (1929) • short story by Eleanor Scott
44 • A Resumed Identity • (1908) • short story by Ambrose Bierce
51 • Huguenin's Wife • (1895) • short story by M. P. Shiel
63 • Blind Man's Bluff • (1929) • short story by H. Russell Wakefield (variant of Blind Man's Buff) [as by H. R. Wakefield]
68 • Marjorie's on Starlight • (1973) • short story by Charles Birkin
80 • Hawley Bank Foundry • (1948) • short story by L. T. C. Rolt
102 • Twilight • (1912) • short story by Marjorie Bowen
111 • Basil Netherby • (1926) • novelette by A. C. Benson
139 • The Wishing-Well • (1929) • short story by E. F. Benson
154 • The Traveller • (1903) • short story by R. H. Benson
163 • Phantom Silhouette • (1973) • short story by Joy Burnett
169 • Terrible Mrs. Greene • (1936) • short story by Frederick Cowles
176 • Clairvoyance • (1932) • novelette by D. K. Broster
194 • The Late Occupier • (1918) • short story by J. D. Beresford
198 • The Messenger • (1897) • novelette by Robert W. Chambers
235 • A Honeymoon in Hate • (1933) • short story by Vivian Meik
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
254 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 25, 2015
I found this garish looking paperback anthology buried in the basement of a local Chicago bookstore, and I almost passed it by, as I already had a big stack of horror fiction I planned on buying. I'm glad I didn't, as there were some absolute gems in here I probably never would have come across otherwise.
Editor Hugh Lamb decided to try and bring more exposure to lost or forgotten ghost/strange stories from authors both well-known and not, mostly from the early 20th century, and it's surprising to me that some of these stories are not considered classics of the genre. While most all are worth reading, here are the four that rose above the rest for me:
"Celui-la" by Eleanor Scott, an atmospheric slow-burner that brings to mind M.R. James' "Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad," in that a man staying in a small coastal village in Brittany comes across "a sinister, mysterious object" on the beach that, once found, brings forth an ancient evil;
"Marjorie's On Starlight" by Charles Birkin, whose non-supernatural contes cruels are upsetting and depressing enough to me that I can only read him in extremely small doses, about a 10 year-old girl who loves nothing better than to torment her adopted sister, and goes perhaps too far one day while they're out riding horses. Very disturbing;
"The Wishing Well," by E.F. Benson, an excellent, sad story of witchcraft and curses that I can't believe I've not come across yet, as I went on a Benson binge not too long ago after scoring, and loving, his Horror Horn and Other Stories paperback from the mid-70s. Definitely top-notch horror here;
and, without a doubt my favorite, L.A. Lewis' "The Child," a truly forgotten tale that should be a classic that all horror fans know, but unfortunately isn't, about a traveler who decides to stop and stay at an old, woodsy English village, where there's a local legend about a woman who murdered her children and still haunts the surrounding woods, and who is blamed for the farm animals that frequently go missing. The man investigates and finds the truth much more horrible than anyone could have ever imagined. Truly a chilling story.
There are no duds here, though the flowery language of some of the earlier-written stories would occasionally cause my eyelids to weigh ten pounds if I was reading late at night, but overall this was a great find filled with stories that should be more well-known than they are. Worth getting if you come across it for a reasonable price.
4.0 Stars
Editor Hugh Lamb decided to try and bring more exposure to lost or forgotten ghost/strange stories from authors both well-known and not, mostly from the early 20th century, and it's surprising to me that some of these stories are not considered classics of the genre. While most all are worth reading, here are the four that rose above the rest for me:
"Celui-la" by Eleanor Scott, an atmospheric slow-burner that brings to mind M.R. James' "Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad," in that a man staying in a small coastal village in Brittany comes across "a sinister, mysterious object" on the beach that, once found, brings forth an ancient evil;
"Marjorie's On Starlight" by Charles Birkin, whose non-supernatural contes cruels are upsetting and depressing enough to me that I can only read him in extremely small doses, about a 10 year-old girl who loves nothing better than to torment her adopted sister, and goes perhaps too far one day while they're out riding horses. Very disturbing;
"The Wishing Well," by E.F. Benson, an excellent, sad story of witchcraft and curses that I can't believe I've not come across yet, as I went on a Benson binge not too long ago after scoring, and loving, his Horror Horn and Other Stories paperback from the mid-70s. Definitely top-notch horror here;
and, without a doubt my favorite, L.A. Lewis' "The Child," a truly forgotten tale that should be a classic that all horror fans know, but unfortunately isn't, about a traveler who decides to stop and stay at an old, woodsy English village, where there's a local legend about a woman who murdered her children and still haunts the surrounding woods, and who is blamed for the farm animals that frequently go missing. The man investigates and finds the truth much more horrible than anyone could have ever imagined. Truly a chilling story.
There are no duds here, though the flowery language of some of the earlier-written stories would occasionally cause my eyelids to weigh ten pounds if I was reading late at night, but overall this was a great find filled with stories that should be more well-known than they are. Worth getting if you come across it for a reasonable price.
4.0 Stars
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March 9, 2021PLACEHOLDER REVIEW
A music teacher receives an odd letter from a young composer friend in "Basil Netherby" by A.C. Benson - on the surface, it says that everything is going well in his retreat and sends along some new music he has written - but even more distressing than the "evilness" of the compositions, is a hastily scrawled message on the flyleaf - intimating trouble and asking for a visit. Arriving at the isolated house, previously owned by a notorious blackguard, he finds his friend hale and hearty, but a nearby vandalized tomb, a secret stairway in the house, and a general presentiment of corruption haunt him... I'll admit, I have kind of a bias against A.C. Benson, religious brother of famed ghost story writer E.F. Benson, as the introduction of religious thought into ghost stories *can* make them a bit didactic (M.R. James was good at the balance). But it may just be that the previous A.C.s I had read fell more on the didactic side, as this is quite an enjoyable piece in the M.R. James mold. I particularly like the idea that Netherby's classical music compositions shows shocking taints of his corruption ("There must be some reticence in art, you know, and there is none here" "This is filthy stuff") - one wonders what Stravinsky and Shostakovich had to face! - and the description of the secret stairway is quite effective. The visionary ending, at least visually, even has resonances with the much later TV film THE STONE TAPE. An interesting read.
In D.K. Broster kind of confused "Clairvoyance" we are first introduced to a real estate agent attempting to sell a place that has a mysterious stain on the floor. Then, we are made privy to the events from some years earlier which caused the stain - an event involving a test of clairvoyant abilities (although in this case the expectation seems more like "psychometry") in children, and an old Japanese katana... This is not a *bad* story - the climactic event, when finally reached, is exciting and disturbing - but its is clumsily put together (lots of extraneous detail) that undermines the effect.
A music teacher receives an odd letter from a young composer friend in "Basil Netherby" by A.C. Benson - on the surface, it says that everything is going well in his retreat and sends along some new music he has written - but even more distressing than the "evilness" of the compositions, is a hastily scrawled message on the flyleaf - intimating trouble and asking for a visit. Arriving at the isolated house, previously owned by a notorious blackguard, he finds his friend hale and hearty, but a nearby vandalized tomb, a secret stairway in the house, and a general presentiment of corruption haunt him... I'll admit, I have kind of a bias against A.C. Benson, religious brother of famed ghost story writer E.F. Benson, as the introduction of religious thought into ghost stories *can* make them a bit didactic (M.R. James was good at the balance). But it may just be that the previous A.C.s I had read fell more on the didactic side, as this is quite an enjoyable piece in the M.R. James mold. I particularly like the idea that Netherby's classical music compositions shows shocking taints of his corruption ("There must be some reticence in art, you know, and there is none here" "This is filthy stuff") - one wonders what Stravinsky and Shostakovich had to face! - and the description of the secret stairway is quite effective. The visionary ending, at least visually, even has resonances with the much later TV film THE STONE TAPE. An interesting read.
In D.K. Broster kind of confused "Clairvoyance" we are first introduced to a real estate agent attempting to sell a place that has a mysterious stain on the floor. Then, we are made privy to the events from some years earlier which caused the stain - an event involving a test of clairvoyant abilities (although in this case the expectation seems more like "psychometry") in children, and an old Japanese katana... This is not a *bad* story - the climactic event, when finally reached, is exciting and disturbing - but its is clumsily put together (lots of extraneous detail) that undermines the effect.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews