Playing with Fire

by Arthur Conan Doyle

Although best known for the stories of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a remarkable number of weird and supernatural tales. Pulling at this thread of his fiction reveals a writer deeply fascinated in matters of the occult, the uncanny and the unexplainable.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Mystery, Classics, Gothic

34 pages, Paperback

First published November 6, 2013

About the author

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a Scottish writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.

Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed description of a Séance gone very eerie and dangerous. Why are the persons involved and the narrator so shocked about the course of events? I love the old fashioned setting, the well carved characters and the twist at the end. The illustrations also add to the atmosphere of this story. Another remarkable tale by Doyle. Really recommended!

[Charles van Buren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of Kindle edition
Publication date: February 14, 2014
Language: English
ASIN: B00IGZVTCO
34 pages

Published in "The Strand Magazine" in March 1900 and adapted as an episode of BBC's Arthur Conan Doyle TV series in 1967, "Playing With Fire" is the story of a seance. Pretty good suspense with an ending which doesn't quite equal the buildup.

This is another of Conan Doyle's forays into spiritualism via his fiction. He was later to concentrate most of his writing on nonfiction concerning spiritualism and the occult. An enterprise which seriously hurt his standing and gained him an unwanted reputation for a certain degree of gullibility.

[Federico DN · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neigh.

John Moir, Harvery Deacon, Paul Le Duc and William Markham, a group of students of the occult, and Mrs. Delamere, a medium, get together one night for a session of spiritism, in the hopes of communing with an outside entity. Little do they know, their innocent séance would bring some unexpected results for them all.

This was a bit better than ok. Kept me interested enough most of the time, but wasn't wow by any chance. Still good, spooky, eerie. Conan Doyle knows how to entertain. I've watched enough horror movies to know you just don't mess around with spirits or ouija boards though.

It’s public domain. You can find it HERE.



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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1885] [15p] [Horror] [2.5] [Not Recommendable]
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★★★☆☆ 10. The Complete Sherlock Holmes
★★★☆☆ The Great Keinplatz Experiment and Other Tales of Twilight and the Unseen <--

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Relincho.

John Moir, Harvery Deacon, Paul Le Duc y William Markham, un grupo de estudiantes de lo oculto, y la Sra. Delamere, una médium, se reúnen una noche para una sesión de espiritismo, con la esperanza de comunicarse con una entidad externa. Lo que no saben es que su inocente sesión traería resultados inesperados para todos ellos.

Esto estuvo un poco mejor que bien. Me mantuvo bastante interesado la mayor parte del tiempo, pero no fue wow ni por casualidad. Igual bien, espeluznante, inquietante. Conan Doyle sabe cómo entretener. Aunque he visto suficientes películas de terror para saber que no se juega con espíritus o tablas ouija.

Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.



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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1885] [15p] [Horror] [2.5] [No Recomendable]
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[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Ouija feelings! During a séance, a dumb man decides to materialize a unicorn (yes, you read it right.) What possibly could go wrong?

[Amina (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Am not quite sure what to say, the world where this story takes part is totally unknown for me so I can't judge.

[molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

agnostic unicorn horror

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐

A spiritualistic seance conducted by Mrs. Delamere, a medium and Paul Le Duc, a French occultist who is eager to perform an experiment in trying to materialize thoughts.
These two and three others start the séance in the dark. Quickly, the medium enters a trance. Then a greenish-yellow phosphorescent light appears on the table followed by a spirit voice coming from the sleeping medium. They start a conversation with the spirit. After some questions and answers, the spell is broken and the medium remains silent. Now the French occultist starts to materialize thoughts. The phosphorescent light becomes shinier and red then disappears. But a form has emerged from the fog. Some sort of horse is rushing in the room frightening the group. They summoned an unicorn!
The huge thing clattered and scrambled amongst us, rushing with horrible energy from one corner of the room to another

[Teemu Öhman · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of ACD's stories about his great passion, spiritualism. This was published in The Strand magazine in 1900, so he hadn't become a public advocate of spiritualism yet. Playing with Fire is, as the title hints, a story about a seance going wrong. It could have been a bit longer but, nevertheless, it was quite enjoyable.

The version I read was a part of a Kindle compilation.

4.25/5

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doyle knows how to set a scene. He picks up the reader and drops them into the midst of a seance. needles to say the enquiries are answered, only it is by an unexpected specter. A fun ghost story.
Originally published in 1900 in The Strand. Narrated by John Lee.

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

During a seance of misguided thrill-seekers, a terrified and rampaging unicorn is summoned into existence in a London dwelling, which proceeds to wreak havoc in this fun but still somewhat underwhelming Doyle tale.

[Shuggy L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

One evening, a Frenchman, Monsieur Paul LeDuc, is brought along to a regular seance session by John Moir'

Moir is a senior partner (Moir, Moir and Sanderson), and one of the regular group of friends who like looking into matters of the occult.

Fellow occultists are Harvey Deacon, a painter, Mrs. Delamere (Moir's sister), the medium, and the narrator (William Markham, 146 M, The Albany).

Mrs. Delamere is Harvey Deacon's sister. She is married to a famous sculptor. She tends to be very sleepy.

This particular seance takes place, as usual, at 17 Badderly Gardens, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Deacon.

Mrs. Harvey Deacon does not participate in the supernatural activities as she does not like them.

Harvey Deacon has painted a picture with a unicorn in it that is hard to recognize as such.

Guests are discussing the picture before Mr. Moir and his special guest have arrived, rather unusually late that evening.

At some point later on in the evening, Monsieur LeDuc suggests that he wants to show the British regulars a physical object of that which is of a thoughtful nature:

"...to show you that which is only a thought."

It's all rather humorous in Monsieur Paul's broken English: "What a fun!"

Noticeably, a horse-drawn cab had drawn up a little earlier, which is noticeable because the cabman grumbles about the fare.

The guests find that things can get out of hand in a smoky atmosphere; especially when Mrs. Deacon is found at the foot of the stairs, and Mrs. Delamare needs a rescue mission.

A humorous story where the ladies get a little flustered with the men's antics!