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The Ghost Story Megapack: 25 Classic Tales by Masters
Hours of great reading await, with ghostly tales from some of the 19th and 20th century's most renowned authors. Here is the CHRIGHTON ABBEY, by Mary Elizabeth BraddonTHE HAUNTED MILL, by Jerome K. JeromeTHE GHOST CLUB, by John Kendrick BangsTHE SHADOWS OF THE DEAD, by Louis BeckeTHE ROOM IN THE TOWER, by E. F. BensonTHE HAUNTED AND THE HAUNTERS, by Lord Edward Bulwer-LyttonTHE MIDDLE BEDROOM, by H. de Vere StacpooleTHE DRUMMER GHOST, by John William DeForestMISS JÉROMETTE AND THE CLERGYMAN, by Wilkie CollinsTHE SPECTRE BRIDE, by William Harrison AinsworthTHE TAPESTRIED CHAMBER; or, The Lady in the Square, by Sir Walter ScottTHE OLD NURSE’S STORY, by Elizabeth GaskellTHE JUDGE’S HOUSE, by Bram StokerAT THE END OF THE PASSAGE, by Rudyard KiplingTHE WITHERED ARM, by Thomas HardyJOHN CHARRINGTON’S WEDDING, by Edith NesbitTHE MAN OF SCIENCE, by Jerome K. JeromeWHAT DID MISS DARRINGTON SEE? by Emma B. CobbA GHOST STORY, by Mark TwainTHE SOUL OF ROSE DÉDÉ, by M.E.M. DavisTHE HOUSE OF THE NIGHTMARE, by Edward Lucas WhiteREALITY OR DELUSION? by Mrs Henry WoodFISHER’S GHOST, by John LangTHROUGH THE IVORY GATE, by Mary Raymond Shipman AndrewsTHE COLD EMBRACE, by Mary Elizabeth BraddonAnd don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Megapack" to see all the great volumes in this series, covering everything from science fiction, fantasy, and horror to westerns, mysteries, and pulp fiction.
423 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
64 people are currently reading
132 people want to read
About the author
Mary Elizabeth Braddon
1,038 books381 followersMary Elizabeth Braddon was a British Victorian era popular novelist. She was an extremely prolific writer, producing some 75 novels with very inventive plots. The most famous one is her first novel, Lady Audley's Secret (1862), which won her recognition and fortune as well. The novel has been in print ever since, and has been dramatised and filmed several times.
Braddon also founded Belgravia Magazine (1866), which presented readers with serialized sensation novels, poems, travel narratives, and biographies, as well as essays on fashion, history, science. She also edited Temple Bar Magazine. Braddon's legacy is tied to the Sensation Fiction of the 1860s.
She is also the mother of novelist W.B. Maxwell.
Braddon also founded Belgravia Magazine (1866), which presented readers with serialized sensation novels, poems, travel narratives, and biographies, as well as essays on fashion, history, science. She also edited Temple Bar Magazine. Braddon's legacy is tied to the Sensation Fiction of the 1860s.
She is also the mother of novelist W.B. Maxwell.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 23, 2022
Part of my Halloween challenge, which I might actually finish by Halloween. Wildside Press's Megapacks always have some good stories in them and this one was no exception. My personal favorites:
"The Haunted Mill" by Jerome K. Jerome - a humorous ghost story with a funny twist.
"The Lost Ghost" by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman - I have read several of Ms Freeman's stories and I have always been impressed by her skill. This is an especially moving ghost story that is typical of her writing - strong female characters and a story firmly rooted in every day life. There are no rattling chains, no haunted castles, no ancestral curses - just a sad, lonely, little ghost.
"The Room in the Tower" by E. F. Benson - This really isn't a ghost story. It's something more terrifying, but you have to read the story to understand. A man has a recurring nightmare over many years, and finally finds the events in his nightmare repeating themselves in real life. One of the most chilling stories I've read in a long time.
"The Haunted and the Haunters" by Lord Edward Bulwer-Lytton - Anyone who has read "Peanuts" is familiar with Snoopy's take on, "It was a dark and stormy night..." It was inspired by Bulwer-Lytton, who wrote melodramatic and over-the-top novels in the 19th century. However, he could write something good on occasion and this ghost story is one example. It is about a man who decides to stay in a haunted house just to see what happens - and gets more than he bargained for.
"The Drummer Ghost" by John William DeForest - This is an author I have never heard of, but this story makes me want to read more of his work. A teenager is forced to join the military as a drummer by his greedy, unpleasant uncle. When the boy is killed in battle, his ghost comes back to haunt his uncle, aunt, and young cousin - or does it? An excellent story with real characters.
"The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell - One of my favorite ghost story writers. I rank her up there with Edith Wharton, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, and Mary Braddon. The story is told by Hester, an old nurse, to the children of her former charge, Rosamond. When Rosamond was orphaned at an early age, she went to live with an elderly aunt and her companion in what turned out to be a haunted house. When Rosamond's life is threatened, it is up to Hester to save her, and the only way she can do that is to find out the true story behind the haunting.
"The Judge's House" by Bram Stoker - I don't normally like Bram Stoker, but this is a creepy tale with a kicker of an ending. It starts out rather humorous and light, but things turn very serious towards the end.
"A Ghost Story" by Mark Twain - another humorous ghost story by the master of humorous stories. Great fun with a very unusual ghost.
One warning about reading old stories and novels, especially those from the 19th century to early 20th century is you can run into some pretty unpleasant attitudes and languages that would not be tolerated nowadays. I do not know why Wildside Press included "Through the Ivory Gate" by Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews, with its racist attitude. However, you have been warned. It's why I subtracted a star from my rating.
The Andrews story aside, this is a good volume of ghost stories and I do recommend it.
"The Haunted Mill" by Jerome K. Jerome - a humorous ghost story with a funny twist.
"The Lost Ghost" by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman - I have read several of Ms Freeman's stories and I have always been impressed by her skill. This is an especially moving ghost story that is typical of her writing - strong female characters and a story firmly rooted in every day life. There are no rattling chains, no haunted castles, no ancestral curses - just a sad, lonely, little ghost.
"The Room in the Tower" by E. F. Benson - This really isn't a ghost story. It's something more terrifying, but you have to read the story to understand. A man has a recurring nightmare over many years, and finally finds the events in his nightmare repeating themselves in real life. One of the most chilling stories I've read in a long time.
"The Haunted and the Haunters" by Lord Edward Bulwer-Lytton - Anyone who has read "Peanuts" is familiar with Snoopy's take on, "It was a dark and stormy night..." It was inspired by Bulwer-Lytton, who wrote melodramatic and over-the-top novels in the 19th century. However, he could write something good on occasion and this ghost story is one example. It is about a man who decides to stay in a haunted house just to see what happens - and gets more than he bargained for.
"The Drummer Ghost" by John William DeForest - This is an author I have never heard of, but this story makes me want to read more of his work. A teenager is forced to join the military as a drummer by his greedy, unpleasant uncle. When the boy is killed in battle, his ghost comes back to haunt his uncle, aunt, and young cousin - or does it? An excellent story with real characters.
"The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell - One of my favorite ghost story writers. I rank her up there with Edith Wharton, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, and Mary Braddon. The story is told by Hester, an old nurse, to the children of her former charge, Rosamond. When Rosamond was orphaned at an early age, she went to live with an elderly aunt and her companion in what turned out to be a haunted house. When Rosamond's life is threatened, it is up to Hester to save her, and the only way she can do that is to find out the true story behind the haunting.
"The Judge's House" by Bram Stoker - I don't normally like Bram Stoker, but this is a creepy tale with a kicker of an ending. It starts out rather humorous and light, but things turn very serious towards the end.
"A Ghost Story" by Mark Twain - another humorous ghost story by the master of humorous stories. Great fun with a very unusual ghost.
One warning about reading old stories and novels, especially those from the 19th century to early 20th century is you can run into some pretty unpleasant attitudes and languages that would not be tolerated nowadays. I do not know why Wildside Press included "Through the Ivory Gate" by Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews, with its racist attitude. However, you have been warned. It's why I subtracted a star from my rating.
The Andrews story aside, this is a good volume of ghost stories and I do recommend it.
February 8, 2020
A decent collection of classic ghost stories. Nothing in particular scary about any of them. I think when they wrote ghost stories in the 19th early 20th century the goal was more to warn than to scare. Kind of "Do the right thing, or your may be visited by vengeful ghosts." I had read the Bram Stoker story before and got a kick out the ghost story " The Ghost Club". I am always amused by how much language is used to tell a simple story when these stories were written. Nothing evil or too dark, but interesting.
November 24, 2019
Rare Reading...
An excellent read of material I first read almost 30 years ago. Twenty-five stories of all kinds of ghostly visions and nightmares to stir the blood in your veins, and all from a period when ghosts and the ilk were the stories that many writers chose to do.
Now looking forward to reading the rest of the series over the next few months. More classic stories from a bygone era of writing styles not seen today.
An excellent read of material I first read almost 30 years ago. Twenty-five stories of all kinds of ghostly visions and nightmares to stir the blood in your veins, and all from a period when ghosts and the ilk were the stories that many writers chose to do.
Now looking forward to reading the rest of the series over the next few months. More classic stories from a bygone era of writing styles not seen today.
October 13, 2017
I enjoyed most of the stories. There seems to be a bit of all sorts but worth a read.
October 26, 2019
Good autumn read. Old school is NOT bad school!
April 8, 2024
About half of these stories were good and solid, giving me the creeps. But I skipped over a lot of them, either because they dragged or they had some country bumpkin narrator speaking in a dialect for most of the story, which I can't stand. I have PTSD from Shadow Over Innsmouth. M.R. James's or Algernon Blackwood's collections are much spookier overall.
February 14, 2013
A bit hit and miss.
October 27, 2014
A nice Halloween read. Quite a variety of stories. I was familiar with only some of the authors, and discovered a couple to add to my reading list.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews