Haunted Houses

by Charles G. Harper

Excerpt from Haunted Houses: Tales of the Supernatural; With Some Account of Hereditary Curses and Family Legends
"Do you believe in ghosts?" asked a gentleman of Madame du Deffand.
"No," replied that witty lady, "but I am afraid of them."
There are very many people who, without the least danger of being accused of wit, do not believe in ghosts, and yet are afraid; it is, in fact, the attitude of the world toward the supernatural. Most people whose mental digestion of the marvellous, as exemplified by the pretensions of patent medicines and company promoters, is quite robust will refuse to believe in ghosts, and yet there must be few whose hair has not been stirred and whose hearts have not beat an unusual tattoo at the sound of a Something inexplicable in the watches of the night: a Something that is not rats, nor burglars, nor the wind, nor anything readily associated with things of earth.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Ghost Stories, Supernatural, Ghosts

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1907

About the author

Charles George Harper (1863 – 1943) was an English author and illustrator.

Reviews

[Juliew. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did very much like some of the stories in here but I found myself struggling with the old English it is written in.It was difficult to keep remembering which family I was reading about due to the sections of the chapters not being clear when it moved on to a different family.Some of the stories are what I'll call cozy horror stories not really scary but interesting and weird.Some are just plain boring.I found myself wishing for something similar with modern retellings and modern language.Not bad just not what I had hoped for when I picked up

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as great as other true ghost stories.

Was really dated, and when I checked the publish date I was shocked at how long since first written. (over 100 years before)

[Reuxbot · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting reading about the subject matter written from the perspective of someone from this particular time period (1907. It can be a bit heavy going at times because Harper tended to drone on with unnecessary details but there were sections I enjoyed.

[Michael John Paul McManus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would have enjoyed this book more if it had been a modern book. As it is its reports deal with houses, manor houses etc that have in all probability been lost to abandonment or demolition. The artwork throughout of the buildings are good though.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dewey # 133.1

[Natasha M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this wasn't entirely what I expected it was still interesting enough. Rather than ghost stories this read more like a catalog of haunted houses, ghost sitings, house "lucks", family curses and so on written by a Victorian/Edwardian skeptic. Which I suppose it was, really, though I'm almost inclined to treat this as a travel guide of stately homes that I might potentially visit if they are open to the public or now in the hands of the National Trust. Not recommended for those looking for a ghost story or chilling tale of dark, stormy nights and mysterious scratching at the door.