The Horror of Abbot's Grange

by Frederick Cowles

Frederick Cowles (1900–48) was a librarian by trade who occupied his leisure hours writing on the subjects of topography and gipsy lore. In addition he wrote sixty-one ghost stories, the first volume of which, THE HORROR OF ABBOT'S GRANGE, was published in 1936. Shivers abound in the twenty stories included in this volume. The remainder of Cowles's ghost stories are collected in the companion volumes, THE NIGHT WIND HOWLS and FEAR WALKS THE NIGHT.

Genres: Horror

126 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 14, 2011

About the author

Date of Birth: 1900
Date of Death: 1949

A bibliophile and antiquarian whose ghost stories were first resurrected by Hugh Lamb in his anthologies, then by the Ghost Story Press, and more recently by Ash-Tree Press.

Reviews

[Phillip C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cowles attempts to be M.R. James

This collection of very short stories from Frederick Cowles strikes me as an attempt to pay homage to the far superior M.R. James. Don't let that put you off, though. Almost everyone was inferior to James, and there are some good and gruesome ghosts to be found within these pages. Enjoy.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sub-Jamesian (MR) stories. Mostly very short anecdotes rather than full-blown ghost stories. There are few, if any, twists, just a straight retelling of a tale.

Entertaining though and I fair ploughed through them.

[Paul Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short crisply written stories of the super natural; many set in Cornwall.

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

Very good short stories of horror

I've not read any books by Frederick Cowles before, and was pleasantly surprised by how good each story was. I will definitely look for more of his books.

[Bruce Messer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Great stories. The early ones were the best but they were all readable. Very good value for so many stories.

[Red Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s not bad, but the stories definitely lack the ghastly force of James or Benton.