The Haunted Library: Tales of Cursed Books and Forbidden Shelves

by Tanya Kirk (Editor)

A manuscript on loan delivers doom to its seeker. An uncanny tome enthrals its reader to a course of evil. Welcome to the Haunted Library, a collection of cursed tales steeped in the arcane secrets and dark psychic traces to be found in the stacks and shelves of libraries, museums and other treasure troves of hidden knowledge. First published by the British Library in 2016, this expanded edition features several new stories and an updated introduction by Tanya Kirk, now ensconced in the realm of Jamesian terrors as librarian at St John’s College, Cambridge.

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Fiction

251 pages, Paperback

First published November 13, 2025

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
A Tales of the Weird collection about libraries and books, selected by Tanya Kirk who is a librarian at St John’s College in Cambridge. There are stories by S Levett Yeats, M R James, Algernon Blackwood, H D Everett, Mary Webb, Margaret Irwin, Hester Holland, Alfred Noyes, L P Hartley, A N L Munby, Russell Kirk, William Croft Dickinson, Penelope Lively and C J Faraday. The introduction is good and the whole collection is one of the better ones in this series. The stories vary in date from 1895 to 2020. This is an updated version of a 2016 collection curated by the same author.
There is one of M R James’s more well-known stories and a quote in the introduction by actor Christopher Lee illustrates their power:
“He writes his stories so that we might feel just as if we were reading a newspaper, and his characters seemed at first impression to be the kind you could meet on any street. Then by dint of one phrase or sentence a very different picture would emerge from such an apparently normal situation. To me, that is the very essence of terror.”
There are a couple more stories in the Jamesian tradition and a particularly good one by C J Faraday, written in 2020. She is also a fellow of St John’s College. The Mary Webb story is a rather light-hearted pastiche and is also very effective. There is also humour in Penelope Lively’s contribution when a very snobbish woman buys what turns out to be a haunted typewriter and starts to take on traits of the previous owner who was very loud and gauche. Hartley’s story concerns a writer who starts to realise on of his nastier creations may be alive. The structure of this story is unusual and works well. There are a couple of stories about evil books and evil booksellers. I’ll end this with a quote from M R James on writing ghost stories:
“On the whole (though not a few instances might be quoted against me) I think that a setting so modern that the ordinary reader can judge of its naturalness for himself is preferable to anything antique. For some degree of actuality is the charm of the best ghost stories: not a very insistent actuality, but one strong enough to allow the reader to identify himself with the patient: while it is almost inevitable that the reader of an antique story should fall into the position of the mere spectator.”

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. The Devil's Manuscript (1895)• S. Levett-Yeats ⭐⭐⭐
2.The Tractate Middoth (1911) •M. R. James
3.The Whisperers (1912)•Algernon Blackwood ⭐⭐⭐
4.Fingers of a Hand (1920)•H. D. Everett ⭐⭐⭐
5.Mr. Tallent's Ghost (1926)•Mary Webb⭐⭐
6.The Book (1930)•Margaret Irwin ⭐⭐⭐
7.The Library (1933)• Hester Holland ⭐⭐⭐
8.Midnight Express (1935)•Alfred Noyes ⭐⭐
9.Herodes Redivivus (1949)•A. N. L. Munby ⭐⭐⭐⭐
10.W.S. (1952)•L.P. Hartley ⭐⭐
11.What Shadows we Pursue (1953)•Russell Kirk ⭐⭐⭐
12.The Work of Evil (1963)•William Croft Dickinson ⭐⭐⭐
13.Revenant as Typewriter (1978)• Penelope Lively ⭐⭐⭐
14.The Advent Visitor (2020)•C.J. Faraday ⭐⭐⭐

[p. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5☆

Those were well selected and managed to hold my attention well enough throughout. Quite a few were perfect to read at Christmas-time. I guess it just did not wow me as much as I had hoped.

Favourite stories: "The Tractate Middoth" by M. R. James, "Fingers of a Hand" by H. D. Everett, "Mr Tallent's Ghost" by Mary Webb, "Herores Redivivus" by A. N. L. Munby, "The Advent Visitor" by C. J. Faraday

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

As usual, classic stories from the British Library of the Weird shelves. The Haunted Library: Tales of Cursed Books and Forbidden Shelves was full of short stories that i had not read before, so it was a nice surprise. Edited by Tanya Kirk, each story made you think and gave you a number of chills along the way. Excellent. 10/10.

[Lee Bridges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable collection of short stories complete with enough commentary and context to lead you off down plenty of other rabbit holes. I particularly enjoyed The Devil's Manuscript, The Library and What Shadows We Pursue.

[Ben Crozier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent selection. I particularly enjoyed Herodes Redivivus, the Library by Hester Holland and the Book by Margaret Irwin all really unsettling. Dock one point for a pastiche of a ghost story by Mary Webb called Tallent's Ghost.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cracking stuff, though I'm a little biased. These collections are always hit and miss, but there is a higher hit ratio in this one. Good and musty.