The Prayer: A Victorian Horror Story

by Violet Hunt

Addressing the corpse of her husband, who has just been pronounced dead, a hysterical Mrs Arne prays that 'if there be a God in heaven, and if He ever answered a prayer, let Him...give you back to me'.

Shortly afterward, an amazed doctor finds that the patient he had thought dead has somehow miraculously recovered. But as time goes by, it's clear that there is something unsettling about Edward Arne, something that frightens people, including his once-adoring wife.

'The Prayer' is taken from the second volume of the Victorian Anthologies Horror series, featuring short stories by classic writers of the spooky, the scary and the supernatural. Guaranteed to give you the shivers, each collection includes familiar and loved creepy tales as well as those less well-known. With music by Benedict Edwards.

Genres: Short Stories, Mystery, Horror, Classics

Audible Audio

Published January 14, 2021

About the author

Isobel Violet Hunt was a British author and literary hostess. She was an active feminist. She covered several literary forms, including short stories, novels, memoirs, and biographies.

Reviews

[Lucas Tunes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Até agora o melhor conto que li na antologia Vitorianas Macabras. Muito carregado emocionalmente e também o mais maduro. Divido em 4 partes me pareceu um salto na qualidade da escrita, com elipses muito bem colocadas e cada cena mais envolvente que a anterior. É mais uma tragédia do que uma história de terror propriamente dita. Além disso é o primeiro com uma protagonista feminina e isso fez toda a diferença para mim. Eu não estava esperando tantos protagonistas masculinos numa antologia de escritoras mulheres. Espero ver mais protagonistas femininas nos próximos.

[Shuggy L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Depicts upper class, married life in the 19th century - London, UK. Describes how Alice and Edward Arne's relationship changes for the worse during an illness. Weirdly, Edward seems to have been brought back from the dead.

Religious themes reflect metaphysical issues that are still around today: "You blurt out your blessed petition to your Deity and the idea that you're irrelevant never enters you head, soft, persistent, High Church thing that you are..."

See for instance: The Extraordinary Life of Samuel Hill (Robert Dugoni) where the mother petitions religious help and says her prayers using rosary beads (novena): "Maybe it's God's will, ... I no longer believed in God's will."

Also see Charlotte Bronte (Gaskell's LCB) speaking from the same religious tradition:

"We saw her taken from life in its prime. But it is God's will, and the place where she is gone is better than that she has left".

Victorian Ghost Stories - Edited by Richard Dalby

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A grieving widow prays for her husband to return from death, only, predictably, to regret it. Some nice foreshadowing glimpses of later horror such as the Stephen King classic, ‘Pet Sematary’, and also a couple of fun twists.

[Anne Bollmann (Annelise Lestrange) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite its terrific premise and beginning, the story was a little all over the place regarding its narrative style and the end was too open to scare or surprise.

[Barbi Berenyi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the gothic elements, but I think it could have been more elaborated at some parts.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐

AKA: The Story of a Ghost