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Shadows at Midnight: Ten Ghost Stories
The Maynard Sims Library presents the finest in traditional English ghost stories and unsettling tales of quiet fear. Shadows At Midnight are ghost stories in the traditional English style. First published in hardback in 1979 from William Kimber & Co Limited of London who described the debut book as - "In this masterly collection of tales, the authors take us into that unquiet land, in the witching time of night, where malign presences seek to entwine the unwary in their web of evil. Their ghosts, or evil spirits, or gruesome influences - no one expression sums them all up - remain lingering in their chosen abodes, be it wardrobe, cradle or tomb, to threaten the existence of the innocent. But not all the spirits are terrifying. Some, like the laughing children of Border End, seek to enthral by cajolery, though their threat remains as great. The authors do not delve too far into explanations for their phantoms. Indeed how could they? For who can explain the midnight land?" There were ten stories and they were enjoyed by those that read them. "A really creepy collection, they conjure up gruesome influences to linger after the book is done." Southend & District Standard "All the tales are totally intriguing - whether they are about a boy visiting his aunt, or a man inheriting his aunt's house, a house purchaser, a vicar, a brass rubbings enthusiast, or a mother and her baby's cradle." Grimsby Evening Telegraph "Ten ghost stories for lovers of the supernatural. A book that will haunt you." Manchester Evening News "Present the uncanny in a civilised way."Yorkshire Evening Post In 1999 the book was revised and enlarged and published by Sarob Press in a limited edition hardback. "The two authors have been writing together for more than twenty-five years, and produce some of the finest examples of supernatural fiction seen today. These stories can be described as coming from the same mould as the masters of the genre, James, Wakefield, and Benson. They are a fine collection of traditional ghost stories." Sarob Press Readers agreed - "The authors have a grasp of craftsmanship which many a writer might envy, alongside an eye for detail and a knack for unobtrusive but telling characterisation."Zene "Truly none should miss out on 'Border End'. The authors affinity for the tumult of emotions that an adolescent experiences rivals the sympathetic hand of the great Robert Westall." Bill Barnett, All Hallows journal of the Ghost Story Society "This is another excellent book from Sarob. If ghost tales are your thing, get hold of this collection." David Howe, Shivers. "There is nothing wrong with the writing here, and this book is to be thoroughly recommended." Paul Brazier, Interzone "The stories are still all good examples of the understated." John Pelan, Midnight House "Sarob Press must be congratulated in producing this fine limited edition hardback which would be a welcome addition to any collection." Steve Lockley, Horror Writers Association "A welcome re-issue. (Shadows At Midnight 1999)." Steve Jones, Best New Horror, 2000
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
22 people want to read
About the author
L.H. Maynard
30 books15 followersL.H. (Len) Maynard writes supernatural horror with M.P.N. (Mick) Sims.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 21, 2022
Published in 1979 this is an entertaining set of stories that build around some of the most popular tropes in the ghost story genre.
Border End is of novella length, and deserves its extra space. It’s more a coming of age story than a ghost tale, as the narrator relates how, when turning 13, he was invited to spend some weeks in the summer with his myserious aunt in Cornwall, as all members of his family have been, dating back hundreds of years. The tumult of emotions experienced by the boy are really well expressed.
From the long to the short, the other highlight I would pick out from the collection is the 5 page final story, Do Ghosts Cast Shadows.
Len Maynard and Mick Sims, from Enfield, and born in the early 1950s, were childhood friends, and knocked out some of their best work from the pub over several pints of Guinness. This is the first time I’ve come across them, and I’m certainly keen for more. Most of these stories fit tidily into my half hour before lights out slot.
And, one edition, the 1999 Sarob reissue, has got a great cover..
Border End is of novella length, and deserves its extra space. It’s more a coming of age story than a ghost tale, as the narrator relates how, when turning 13, he was invited to spend some weeks in the summer with his myserious aunt in Cornwall, as all members of his family have been, dating back hundreds of years. The tumult of emotions experienced by the boy are really well expressed.
From the long to the short, the other highlight I would pick out from the collection is the 5 page final story, Do Ghosts Cast Shadows.
Len Maynard and Mick Sims, from Enfield, and born in the early 1950s, were childhood friends, and knocked out some of their best work from the pub over several pints of Guinness. This is the first time I’ve come across them, and I’m certainly keen for more. Most of these stories fit tidily into my half hour before lights out slot.
And, one edition, the 1999 Sarob reissue, has got a great cover..
July 26, 2023
Let me be something of an apologist for this book. Maybe for Maynard and Sims, in general, for all I know. Over at a certain horror fiction website mostly concentrated on stories like those found in the Pan horror books, this collection, the first from Maynard and Sims, has a bad rap. At least based on a few comments from a few of the regulars there.
Now, I had read a story or two or three from Maynard and Sims over the years but never one that compelled me to track down one of their collections—until I read The Seminar. That novella was a lot of fun. Something like a Hammer movie crossed with an RL Stine book. I’m on the lookout for more like it, but unfortunately although their output is great many of their titles listed online lack any descriptions and/or reviews. The Seminar was a great first date and I wanted to get to know Maynard and Sims better, put it that way. But figuring out what to read next wasn’t easy. When in doubt, go back to the beginning.
Allegedly this collection’s been tinkered with since its first publication and I believe I have the newer version. Whether that just means new or “new” old stories were added or there were line edits or larger alterations, I don’t know. But my opinions are based solely on the updated edition.
Was is it worth a read? Well, there are twelve stories here. They’re all firmly rotted in the traditional tradition. As a rule, the shorter stories are the better ones. There are only two I care to ever read again (Smoke and Curtain Call); there are four that I could have done without; and there are six that were all right, and of those there were probably three or four that could have been rewritten, even just slightly, to drastically bump up the quality—tighter plot/punchier ending/Jamesian wallop scene.
Overall, I would agree that this, the first Maynard Sims collection, is lacking. If I were reading this review, based on the summaries below I’d stick to the tales that hew close to those tropes close to my heart and avoid the rest. I still look forward to reading the rest of their output though. This was a pleasurable reading experience. Although I did take my time with it. Probably best read like that, as opposed to straight through.
Veneer - We kick things off with a solid-ish haunted object story. Nothing groundbreaking, sure, but it’s well written and well average for this sort of story.
Benjamin’s Shadow - Hm. Is this a Benjamin Button riff? I’ve never read/seen the book/film. A man inherits his aunt’s property, and it seems to be haunted by her dead son. And her nephew morphs into our man until he reverse ages to death. Or to pre-life. I don’t know. What the heck.
Mr Dawson’s Church Story - This one had a lot of potential but it ended up becoming one of those “and then I saw a ghost! The end” stories.
The Bassinet - How refreshing to read a story where someone responds to a friend who’s obviously experiencing a genuine supernatural experience with “ok, let’s figure this out together.” Not something I’ll read again but it was a nice little story of friendship.
In the Tradition Of - Paris Is Burning, the library is open. Sike. Not much to say about this story except that it stunk. Seems like a bad James pastiche, kind of. Has to do with weird happenings around an old church tower undergoing construction. Would you be shocked to learn there’s a horrible smell and—shock!—a body is discovered thither? Me neither.
A Gruesome - Another Jamesian-type of story lacking that special something. A brass rubbing nerd gets all hot and bothered about some “unlisted” brass. Apparently it’s the top of someone’s grave, inside of a church. Yadda yadda yadda, when worms attack. Or writhe menacingly anyway. Boring. However, the lost hobby of brass rubbing sounds interesting. Vaguely.
Smoke - Now this is more like it. Two buddies ditch their wives and their jobs in the city for a fishing trip. They travel by rail and end up in a little village with a secret and a strange lake with an island that’s home to a nerf stupid shrine (no idea what I meant by nerf stupid, I assume it’s a damnyouautocorrect but I’m leaving it in.) After too much rum one of the old locals spills the beans and our duo heads there the next day to fish. When they explore the mysterious island they find evidence of some very strange stuff. Good story, albeit one let down by the ending. It finishes a little to PG, so anticlimactically, for my taste.
The Window - A diplomat retires to a lonely house in a small village. One of the windows is bricked up, so he has it fixed. Soon he begins to see strange things through the window. Haunted house story, this. Not bad, not great. Depressing, really. The protagonist was a workaholic his whole life, never made time for friends and family—and now he only has his fear. Hey, it’s a parable for modern times. That’s why you’ll never catch me working!
Non Omnis Moriar - Another haunted object story. This time it’s a four poster bed. It starts pretty good with its clubby storytime atmosphere but, alas, it turns out to be another one of those wimpy, scare-free “and then I saw a ghost! The end” stories. More “…boo” than “boo!” The potential is there, though. There’s one very striking image of a bloated face looking through the bed curtains but it’s not enough.
Border End - A seemingly immortal matriarch summons all of her relatives as they turn thirteen and when they leave her, their childhood, for lack of a better word, remains as a ghost to play with the ghostly remnants of the childhoods of the previous family members in some kind of parallel dimension. Through some black magic the matriarch takes their youth to keep her old age at bay. A good idea but boring. It’s overlong, lacks any mystery, the gothic touches do nothing for me, and it seems to just be going through the motions.
Curtain Call - I like haunted theater stories; this is a haunted theater story: I liked it. Curtain Call would be very at home as one of the shorter segments on the 1980s Twilight Zone revival. I liked the ending, which I read to be: two star actresses, frenemies, refusing to ever give up performing.
Do Ghosts Cast Shadows? - A man feels guilty for lying by omission on his CV. When he arrives for a job interview he finds the place empty. He did see a figure in the window and heard footsteps, but otherwise there are no signs of life. He searches for anybody and when he looks out the window he sees a figure waking toward the building. But the grounds are no longer well-kept. They’re in ruins. The figure spots him in the window and runs towards the building. And… that’s it. Seems to be one of those looped stories, I guess. Less Dead of Night and more Dead on Arrival, am I right, yuk yuk yuk. But… I’m not sure how to make sense of it. Why is the place a ruin? Did he die and time passed? If so, how? If so, why is there a figure whether it’s him or not walking towards the building when it’s a ruin? The title makes me think I’m right about the loop but I can’t articulate why. Feels like I’m missing a piece of information that would make this a satisfying short story.
Then I put the book down and saw a ghost!
FINI
Now, I had read a story or two or three from Maynard and Sims over the years but never one that compelled me to track down one of their collections—until I read The Seminar. That novella was a lot of fun. Something like a Hammer movie crossed with an RL Stine book. I’m on the lookout for more like it, but unfortunately although their output is great many of their titles listed online lack any descriptions and/or reviews. The Seminar was a great first date and I wanted to get to know Maynard and Sims better, put it that way. But figuring out what to read next wasn’t easy. When in doubt, go back to the beginning.
Allegedly this collection’s been tinkered with since its first publication and I believe I have the newer version. Whether that just means new or “new” old stories were added or there were line edits or larger alterations, I don’t know. But my opinions are based solely on the updated edition.
Was is it worth a read? Well, there are twelve stories here. They’re all firmly rotted in the traditional tradition. As a rule, the shorter stories are the better ones. There are only two I care to ever read again (Smoke and Curtain Call); there are four that I could have done without; and there are six that were all right, and of those there were probably three or four that could have been rewritten, even just slightly, to drastically bump up the quality—tighter plot/punchier ending/Jamesian wallop scene.
Overall, I would agree that this, the first Maynard Sims collection, is lacking. If I were reading this review, based on the summaries below I’d stick to the tales that hew close to those tropes close to my heart and avoid the rest. I still look forward to reading the rest of their output though. This was a pleasurable reading experience. Although I did take my time with it. Probably best read like that, as opposed to straight through.
Veneer - We kick things off with a solid-ish haunted object story. Nothing groundbreaking, sure, but it’s well written and well average for this sort of story.
Benjamin’s Shadow - Hm. Is this a Benjamin Button riff? I’ve never read/seen the book/film. A man inherits his aunt’s property, and it seems to be haunted by her dead son. And her nephew morphs into our man until he reverse ages to death. Or to pre-life. I don’t know. What the heck.
Mr Dawson’s Church Story - This one had a lot of potential but it ended up becoming one of those “and then I saw a ghost! The end” stories.
The Bassinet - How refreshing to read a story where someone responds to a friend who’s obviously experiencing a genuine supernatural experience with “ok, let’s figure this out together.” Not something I’ll read again but it was a nice little story of friendship.
In the Tradition Of - Paris Is Burning, the library is open. Sike. Not much to say about this story except that it stunk. Seems like a bad James pastiche, kind of. Has to do with weird happenings around an old church tower undergoing construction. Would you be shocked to learn there’s a horrible smell and—shock!—a body is discovered thither? Me neither.
A Gruesome - Another Jamesian-type of story lacking that special something. A brass rubbing nerd gets all hot and bothered about some “unlisted” brass. Apparently it’s the top of someone’s grave, inside of a church. Yadda yadda yadda, when worms attack. Or writhe menacingly anyway. Boring. However, the lost hobby of brass rubbing sounds interesting. Vaguely.
Smoke - Now this is more like it. Two buddies ditch their wives and their jobs in the city for a fishing trip. They travel by rail and end up in a little village with a secret and a strange lake with an island that’s home to a nerf stupid shrine (no idea what I meant by nerf stupid, I assume it’s a damnyouautocorrect but I’m leaving it in.) After too much rum one of the old locals spills the beans and our duo heads there the next day to fish. When they explore the mysterious island they find evidence of some very strange stuff. Good story, albeit one let down by the ending. It finishes a little to PG, so anticlimactically, for my taste.
The Window - A diplomat retires to a lonely house in a small village. One of the windows is bricked up, so he has it fixed. Soon he begins to see strange things through the window. Haunted house story, this. Not bad, not great. Depressing, really. The protagonist was a workaholic his whole life, never made time for friends and family—and now he only has his fear. Hey, it’s a parable for modern times. That’s why you’ll never catch me working!
Non Omnis Moriar - Another haunted object story. This time it’s a four poster bed. It starts pretty good with its clubby storytime atmosphere but, alas, it turns out to be another one of those wimpy, scare-free “and then I saw a ghost! The end” stories. More “…boo” than “boo!” The potential is there, though. There’s one very striking image of a bloated face looking through the bed curtains but it’s not enough.
Border End - A seemingly immortal matriarch summons all of her relatives as they turn thirteen and when they leave her, their childhood, for lack of a better word, remains as a ghost to play with the ghostly remnants of the childhoods of the previous family members in some kind of parallel dimension. Through some black magic the matriarch takes their youth to keep her old age at bay. A good idea but boring. It’s overlong, lacks any mystery, the gothic touches do nothing for me, and it seems to just be going through the motions.
Curtain Call - I like haunted theater stories; this is a haunted theater story: I liked it. Curtain Call would be very at home as one of the shorter segments on the 1980s Twilight Zone revival. I liked the ending, which I read to be: two star actresses, frenemies, refusing to ever give up performing.
Do Ghosts Cast Shadows? - A man feels guilty for lying by omission on his CV. When he arrives for a job interview he finds the place empty. He did see a figure in the window and heard footsteps, but otherwise there are no signs of life. He searches for anybody and when he looks out the window he sees a figure waking toward the building. But the grounds are no longer well-kept. They’re in ruins. The figure spots him in the window and runs towards the building. And… that’s it. Seems to be one of those looped stories, I guess. Less Dead of Night and more Dead on Arrival, am I right, yuk yuk yuk. But… I’m not sure how to make sense of it. Why is the place a ruin? Did he die and time passed? If so, how? If so, why is there a figure whether it’s him or not walking towards the building when it’s a ruin? The title makes me think I’m right about the loop but I can’t articulate why. Feels like I’m missing a piece of information that would make this a satisfying short story.
Then I put the book down and saw a ghost!
FINI
May 11, 2022
Interesting read - I own a lot of ghost story books but have read hardly any of them! Some stories were better than others.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews