Gothic Tales

by Arthur Conan Doyle, Darryl Jones (Editor)

Arthur Conan Doyle was the greatest genre writer Britain has ever produced. Throughout a long writing career, he drew on his own medical background, his travels, and his increasing interest in spiritualism and the occult to produce a spectacular array of Gothic stories. Many of Doyle's writings are recognized as the very greatest tales of terror. They range from hauntings in the polar wasteland to evil surgeons and malevolent jungle landscapes.

This collection brings together over thirty of Conan Doyle's best "Gothic Tales," in a scholarly edition for the first time. Darryl Jones's introduction discusses the contradictions in Conan Doyle's very public life - as a medical doctor who became obsessed with the spirit world, or a British imperialist drawn to support Irish Home Rule - and shows the ways in which these found articulation in that most anxious of all literary forms, the Gothic.

Genres: Horror, Classics, Short Stories, Gothic, Fiction, Audiobook, 19th Century

592 pages, Hardcover

Published January 4, 2017

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

[Axl Oswaldo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Promedio, calificación de los 34 cuentos: [3.52/5]

Experiencia lectora: [4/5]

Promedio total: [3.76/5]

Debo decir que habiendo leído esta colección de 34 cuentos góticos escritos por el gran Arthur Conan Doyle a lo largo de más de 40 años, la experiencia lectora ha sido muy satisfactoria. Vine a esta antología para desconectar, para leer un par de cuentos entre mis otros lecturas que me demandaban más concertación o dedicación, y dio completamente en el blanco.
Ahora, con lo anterior no quiero decir que la narrativa de Conan Doyle sea simple u ordinaria; todo lo contrario, este autor sabía escribir, sabía introducirte en la historia, y mantenerte en ella de principio a fin casi sin pestañear.

Por supuesto, la ambientación gótica, inquietante —algunas veces sobrenatural— es el principal atractivo de esta colección; uno busca encontrarse con seres extraordinarios, pero también con historias donde la respuesta está en el mundo de los vivos.
Leyendo Cuentos góticos completos el lector encontrará de todo: distintos escenarios, desde inhóspitos páramos hasta lugares habitables, desde las alturas, pasando por el mar hasta sitios subterráneos, un grupo numeroso de personajes o quizá solo uno o dos a lo sumo, finales con explicación lógica y algunos donde la lógica es lo último que esperas sea la respuesta.
Con esta antología fue como me enteré de que el autor era médico de profesión, y no sólo porque muchos de sus protagonistas lo sean, sino porque al leer la introducción del libro —que recomiendo leer al final— se hace mención de las inspiraciones de Conan Doyle para escribir acerca de ciertos temas y dejarlos plasmados en su obra.

Si bien mis relatos preferidos fueron sin duda los de sus primeros años, principalmente por la atmósfera y los temas que abordan, es importante señalar que durante todos estos cuentos no observé un decaimiento de calidad literaria, sino tan sólo un cambio en la dirección de sus tópicos al momento de escribir; dicho esto, la calificación que le otorgo a cada uno se basa en mi experiencia lectora principalmente.
Así, si buscan desconectarse, pasar un rato agradable, o simplemente continuar leyendo la obra del autor o adentrarse (aún más) en la literatura gótica, no duden en hacerlo leyendo estos cuentos, que les garantizo valen mucho la pena.

“La pareja de ancianos había llegado a esa trágica imitación del amanecer de la vida, a ese momento en que, perdidos ya todos sus más íntimos allegados, o desperdigados por el mundo, marido y mujer se encuentran de nuevo frente a frente y solos, con su misión cumplida y acercándose rápidamente al final."
- La mano morena (1889)

A continuación, la lista de los 34 cuentos que componen esta antología con su correspondiente calificación:

1. La historia del americano (1880): 3/5
2. El capitán del Polesta (1883): 4.5/5
3. El disparo ganador (1883): 5/5 (Favorito)
4. Declaración de J. Habakuk Jephson (1884): 4.5/5 (Favorito)
5. John Barrington Cowles (1884): 4/5
6. La casa del tío Jeremy (1887): 4/5
7. El anillo de Thoth (1890): 3/5
8. El cirujano del páramo de Gaster (1890): 5/5 (Favorito)
9. Un horror bucólico (1890): 3.5/5
10. De profundis (1892): 2.5/5
11. El lote n.º 249 (1892): 4/5
12. El fiasco de los amigos (1892): 3/5
13. El caso de lady Sannox (1893): 3.5/5
14. El señor de château noir (1894): 5/5 (Favorito)
15. La tercera generación (1894): 3/5
16. El arcón de rayas (1897): 3.5/5
17. El demonio de la tonelería (1897): 3.5/5
18. El cazador de escarabajos (1898): 3/5
19. La habitación sellada (1898): 4/5
20. El gato brasileño (1898): 2.5/5
21. La nueva catacumba (1898): 4/5
22. El retiro del signor Lambert (1898): 3.5/5
23. La mano morena (1899): 3.5/5
24. Jugar con fuego (1900): 3/5
25. El embudo de cuero (1902): 4/5
26. El tarro de caviar (1908): 5/5 (Favorito)
27. El espejo de plata (1908): 2.5/5
28. El terror de la cueva de Blue John (1910): 3.5/5
29. A través del velo (1910): 3/5
30. Cómo ocurrió (1913): 4/5
31. El horror de las alturas (1898): 2/5
32. El matón de brocas court (1921): 3/5
33. Un saloncito de pesadilla (1921): 3/5
34. El ascensor (1922): 4/5

[BrokenTune · Rating 4 out of 5]

While ACD is, of course, best known for the Sherlock Holmes stories, he also left an abundance of other stories to us, many of them quite Gothic and featuring ghosts and mummies and other evil characters.

This edition of Gothic Tales contains 34 short stories of horror and suspense that are not related to the Holmes canon.
As with any collection of short stories, some are better than others.

Btw, all of the stories are available online for free, some are even available as audio narrations on Youtube.

The 34 Stories:

The American's Tale - 3.5* - fun, in a cryptozoological way
The Captain of the "Polestar" - 4.5* - Wow. So much atmosphere.
The Winning Shot - 3.5* - Necromancy?
J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement - 2.5* - Interesting but too dragged out, also very dated.
John Barrington Cowles - 4.5* - So good. So dark.
Uncle Jeremy's Household - 1* - Thriving on Indian mysticism and some stereotyping.
The Ring of Thoth - 4* - spooky
The Surgeon of Gaster Fell - 2* - Boring.
A Pastoral Horror - 3.5* - Haha. Gory, but with a fun twist.
"De Profundis" - 4* - Grim, in a plague way.
Lot No. 249 - 4.5* - Classic, fun mummy horror.
The Los Amigos Fiasco - 4* - Truly grim. A story about electrocution.
The Case of Lady Sannox - 3* stomach turning tale. Also, ironic that the stereotyping backfires.
The Lord of Chateau Noir - 2* - Meh.
The Third Generation - 2* Meh. Medical superstition.
The Striped Chest - 3* - Good, fun, maritime superstition.
The Fiend of the Cooperage - 1* - VERY colonial creature feature.
The Beetle-Hunter - 4* - Atmospheric. This could be at home in the Holmes canon. Also: Brooke Street!
The Sealed Room - 2* - Ghostly.
The Brazilian Cat - 4* - Another one that reads Holmesian in nature. Also: Pernambuco! :D
The New Catacomb - 3* - another one where archaeology features
The Retirement of Signor Lambert - 2.5* - Operatic ripper story.
The Brown Hand - 2* - Draaaagging on a bit.
Playing with Fire - 3.5* Paranormal fun.
The Leather Funnel - 4* - pure Gothic horror based on historical fact
The Pot of Caviare - 3* - "It was the salmon mousse."
The Terror of Blue John Gap - 2.5* - too drawn out. Fits with the Lost World.
Through the Veil - 3* - Supernatural Scotland.
How It Happened - 4.5* - Aww. Cute.
The Horror of the Heights - 2* - too much like Lovecraft for me
The Bully of Brocas Court - 3* - Regency bare-knuckle fighting.
The Nightmare Room - 4* - Ha. A very 1920s twist.
The Lift - 2* - Evangelical.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these stories. My word of advice is, remember the era it was written in.

[Megan]

I borrowed the audiobook from Hoopla thinking it would be a good spooky listen for October. I didn't finish before it was returned today. Many of the stories are spooky, a few are entertaining, but most are just boring and I found my attention wavering a lot. Also, the audiobook did not have chapter divisions, which is crazy for a collection of short stories! (I don't know if that is specific to the edition on Hoopla, or if all audiobook editions are like that.)

This was my first time listening to Gary Furlong's narration, and it won't be my last. He has a very pleasant voice and can do a wide range of accents.

Content Warnings: violence, racism, death, murder, suicide, capital punishment (electrocution)

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The master storyteller sets out to scare...

Although best known today for his Sherlock Holmes stories, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote prolifically across a whole range of genres in his lifetime. This collection brings together thirty-four of his tales which have been categorised as “gothic”, although some of them are more gothic than others. Some are well known as classic horror stories, such as The Horror of the Heights and Lot No. 249. None of the Holmes stories are included, although several of them would certainly count as gothic and have a strong element of horror – The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax, for example, is one of his most Poe-like gothic horrors, I think.

The level of horror is variable from mild and even humorous to really quite scary. But the real joy of the collection, as always with Conan Doyle, is the sheer quality of his story-telling skills. Whether relating an Arctic adventure complete with ghostly apparition, or telling a tale of vengeance set in the wild frontier of old America, or forcing the reader to spend a night in a museum full of not completely dead Egyptian mummies, or taking us into the dark heart of the British Empire, his powers of description and ability to create atmosphere and tension are surely second to none. And his total command of a wonderful vocabulary and seemingly effortless writing style make the stories pure pleasure to read.

The range of stories is incredible, making it quite hard to single any out as representative of the collection. Some have a supernatural element while others concentrate on the horrors men and women perpetrate on each other, and yet others take their horror from the dangers of the natural world. We even get a couple culled from Conan Doyle’s life as a physician, including one about a young man with hereditary syphilis – I was astonished that such a subject was handled so openly in a story at this early date. I’m spoiled for choice, but here’s a brief look at some of the ones I enjoyed most...

J Habakuk Jephson’s Statement – based on the story of the Marie Celeste, ACD gives his version of what might have happened. A “quadroon” kills everyone and takes the ship to Africa. Although there’s some fairly strong racial stuff here that sits uneasily with the modern reader, Jephson is an abolitionist and the motive is revenge against white people for the cruelties they have perpetrated through slavery and colonialism. Powerfully told, it reminded me of Conrad’s stories in its reaction to colonialism.

The Beetle Hunter – the narrator is a newly-qualified doctor and beetle collector who answers an advert for the same. His new employer takes him to the home of a famous beetle expert, where the beetles will not be the scariest thing he has to face! Very well told and quite creepy in parts, especially if you’re squeamish about beetles... ugh!

The Retirement of Signor Lambert – a cuckolded husband takes revenge on the opera singer who seduced his wife. That’s all, but it’s told in a kind of understated deadpan that makes it deliciously horrible.

The Pot of Caviare – a group of Westerners trapped following the Boxer Rebellion await relief. But they have heard terrible stories of how the Chinese treat their captives, especially women, and so have a contingency plan should the relieving force not turn up in time. This is a dark and rather disturbing story, expertly told for maximum effect. The notes point out that it’s part of the Edwardian “Yellow Peril” genre, but it’s far more realistic and chilling than any of the silly Fu Manchu type of stuff I’ve read.

The Captain of the Polestar – an Arctic expedition to hunt whales comes to a stop when the ship is caught in the ice. Scary enough, but even scarier when the ghostly figure of a woman begins to appear and the Captain seems to recognise her. This is narrated via the journal of a young ship’s medic, a role ACD himself had undertaken in his youth. Very atmospheric, great descriptions and some first-rate Scottish dialect!

As always in the Oxford World’s Classics editions, there is an informative introduction and extensive notes, this time written by Darryl Jones, Professor in English at Trinity College Dublin. He gives a kind of biography of Conan Doyle’s thought development over the course of his life. He talks about these stories and Conan Doyle’s wider writings in the context of the various phases of his changing beliefs – his pro-Imperialism, his anxiety over the question of Irish Home Rule culminating in him changing from anti- to pro- after seeing the worst of colonialism in the Belgian Congo; and of course his loss of religion and the growth of his belief in spiritualism – Jones shows that he always had an interest in the subject but “came out” as a believer after witnessing the huge losses in the Great War. An interesting and informative essay, happily written without any lit-crit jargon, making it both accessible and enjoyable for the general reader. (Though I do wish he wouldn’t refer to him as Doyle – after he added Conan to his name (in tribute to his godfather) he was always known as Conan Doyle, he published under that name, his son refers to him that way in his biographical writings about his father, and his wife took the double surname Conan Doyle, so I don’t understand why some modern commentators have taken on themselves the right to change his name back.)

I loved this collection. Admittedly Conan Doyle can do no wrong in my eyes, so I’m not the most unbiased reviewer, but nearly all of these stories are good and many are excellent – masterclasses in the form. Perfect for dipping – one to keep on the bedside table in perpetuity, since stories of this quality will stand up to frequent re-reading.

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Oxford World’s Classics.

www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

That combination that I like so much in fiction, of rational characters forced to confront the irrational, is no better exemplified than in this literary period (around the 1890s) and especially in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the enlightened medical man/seance-attending spiritualist. There's a good intro included here which expounds on this tension.

I think I may have enjoyed these weird stories more than anything else I've read by Doyle. Completists, however, should seek out the novella The Parasite, which falls into the category.

____
The American's Tale--1880 cryptozoological horror written in cowboy vernacular.

____
The Captain of the 'Polestar'--1883. An erratic captain anchors in the arctic circle. Enter a ghost.

Reminiscent of course of Coleridge and even Melville, but also the Demeter scene in Dracula, which it predates by 12 years.

____
The Winning Shot--1883

"He's a Swedish doctor on a tour, and a deuced good fellow. He went in an open boat from What's-it's-name to another place. I've offered him a bed for the night."

A vampire-like stranger falls in love with his host's fiancée. Besides Stoker, MR James was probably influenced by this story, with its necromancy and devil-worship. Has a William Wilson-type twist at the end.

Other funny quotes:

"'Hullo, you sir!' cried Charley, passing from fear into anger, as Englishmen generally do."

"My mother had a curious way of drifting along in her conversation, and occasionally rushing off at a tangent, which made it rather difficult to remember her original proposition."

____
J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement--1884. Speculates on the real-life mystery of the Mary Celeste.

Another possible precursor to The Captain's Log in Dracula. This story is like if you put a serial killer or monster in a closed circle mystery, like Who Goes There or Ten Little Indians. It's like a lot of things: yet another nautical horror story, yet more journal entries that get increasingly desperate. [Mem., for the ghost ship and general phantom vehicle genre, see The Flying Dutchman and Marryat's treatment of it].

Hilarious that some people simply label the story racist when it's obviously one of the strongest in the bunch, where the pieces of the previous ones come together in a desperate and suspenseful tale. It plays on fears of racial retribution, and the most prescient part is how even our abolitionist narrator, an "ally," as they would call him today, is targeted. Written when Doyle was 25.

____
John Barrington Cowles--1884. Mesmerism, mind-control, witchcraft. Strong story. The final words are stirring.

I wonder if Haggard read this before writing She. It's about a demonic woman exerting her powers over the narrator's good friend. I've read enough fiction from this period to know, as soon as the woman was called beautiful, what was coming: that her beauty would be of the "Greek type."

Allusion to Marryat's werewolf tale.

____
Uncle Jeremy's Household--1887. Holds your attention like all the stories here.

Suspicious behavior by a house's governess and an interloping servant leads to murder with a dash of exoticism to it. I never knew "thug" comes from an Indian word.

Reference to Munchhausen, fictional character known for his comically tall tales.

____
The Ring of Thoth--1890

"I was old when Ilium fell. I was very old when Herodotus came to Memphis. I was bowed down with years when the new gospel came upon earth."

An Egyptologist dozes off in the Louvre and wakes after closing to find a mysterious attendant unwrapping a mummy. Well written. Add this to the list of 19th c. stories concerned with finding some "animating principle" of life, à la Frankenstein.

____
The Surgeon of Gaster Fell--1890. The mysterious inhabitants of the village are what drive the story forward. The mystery has a mundane explanation, but unless I was just distracted the story was strange in a different way. There are some hints of modernism, in the way Doyle withholds information about the main character, and then slyly reveals them, for example when he writes "There I threw myself upon my couch, more disturbed and shaken than I had ever thought to feel again."

Why "again"?

You also begin to pick up traits that make him seem a rather comic figure, and give the story an absurdist feel.

Interesting reference to one of the fragments of Iamblichus, a Neoplatonist whom Julian the Apostate called "posterior to Plato in time, but not in genius."

____
A Pastoral Horror--1890

Masterfully atmospheric murder mystery set in the Tyrolese Alps.

____
'De Profundis'--1892

Title is Latin for "out of the depths,"
meaning of anguish or despair.

Opens with as clear a declaration of the Imperial Gothic spirit as you will find, basically saying that the empire and the supernatural are inseparable, since the former was founded on something as mysterious as the seas.

This ghost story has a ghastly explanation which is almost comic, as the body of a corpse buried at sea slips its weight and comes shooting out of the surface just at the moment its widow is sailing by the spot.

Quotes:

"And now, Britain lies far beyond herself, for in truth the three mile limit of every seaboard is her frontier, which has been won by hammer and loom and pick, rather than by arts of war."

"But if every man had his obelisk, even where he lay, then no frontier line need be drawn, for a cordon of British graves would ever show how high the Anglo-Saxon tide had lapped." [Another edition had this has Anglo-Celtic].

"This, then, as well as the waters which join us to the world, has done something to tinge us with romance. For when so many have their loved ones over the seas, walking amid hillmen's bullets, or swamp malaria, where death is sudden and distance great, then mind communes with mind, and strange stories arise of dream, presentiment or vision..."

"...of all things which the brain will grasp the last will be itself."

____
Lot No. 249--1892. Absolutely delightful.

More Egyptomania. Mummy in Oxford tale that gave Rudyard Kipling his first nightmare in years. Apparently the first time a mummy was made into a monster. I'm starting to think Doyle is not given the credit he deserves as a horror writer.

____
The Los Amigos Fiasco--1892

Fun one. A town finds an opportunity for corporal punishment in which to show off its vaunted electrical capacity, ignoring the cryptic warnings of a German crank. There's a macabre humor to the city council's experimental zeal, and it's probably no coincidence the scene is laid in America.

____
The Case of Lady Sannox--1893

Genuinely blood-curdling. I admit: Doyle got me good.

Features a Dorian Gray-type sensualist. Always amusing to see a time when having a passion for scents and pottery was seen as the height of decadence.

____
The Lord of Château Noir--1894

"Captain Baumgarten, heavy with his repast, lay back in his chair looking up at them through the clouds of his tobacco smoke, and pondering over the strange chance which had sent him, a man from the Baltic coast, to eat his supper in the ancestral hall of these proud Norman chieftains."

Now the author brings you right into the Franco-Prussian War. Is there any type of tale he can't do? Excellently written.

____
The Third Generation--1894

Story of a man with a disease passed down from his wicked grandfather. It's not named but is most likely congenital syphilis. I liked this one for the contrast between the patient receiving the bad news, and the sounds of the party in the room next door at the doctor's house. Also you get a glimpse of what Doyle's bedside manner might've been like if you'd learned of some fatal illness:

"You are trembling all over. Your nerves cannot stand it. We must take these great questions upon trust. What are we, after all? Half-evolved creatures in a transition stage, nearer perhaps to the Medusa on the one side than to perfected humanity on the other. With half a complete brain we can't expect to understand the whole of a complete fact, can we, now? It is all very dim and dark, no doubt; but I think that Pope's famous couplet sums up the whole matter, and from my heart, after fifty years of varied experience, I can say—"

____
The Striped Chest--1897

Spooky! Great fun.

We're back to the ghost ships. I swear you'd think Doyle had been a lifelong seaman, his writing is so convincing. But he's like that for everything. I like the paranoia the treasure chest starts to cause once it's suspected someone is hiding inside.

____
The Fiend of the Cooperage--1898

African horror, in all its steamy goodness.

____
The Beetle-Hunter--1898

A curious case of lunacy. I don't even care if these stories end anti-climatically. Doyle pulls me in again and again.

____
The Sealed Room--1898

Intriguing mystery that has a tragic explanation.

Note: our narrator, a lawyer, complains of his office hours: 10:00-5:00.

____
The Brazilian Cat--1898

Fantastic.

The eccentricity of the cousin quickly becomes darker and darker--with the wife with her "mania," and the grounds of the estate with its curious beasts slinking into the cover. The cat and its frightful cage add to the menace. A Poe-like tale written in the Doyle manner. I liked the happy ending.

____
The New Catacomb--1898

Speaking of Poe...

____
The Retirement of Signor Lambert--1898

More jealousy and retribution. Not my favorite type of tale.

____
The Brown Hand--1899

Wonderful Indian ghost story with another heartwarming ending.

____
Playing with Fire--1900

An out-and-out spiritualist story, giving an insight into Doyle's familiarity with the subject. A seance conjures a spirit. The enigmatic, slightly sinister exchange is straight out of a modern horror movie. Then the party raises a raging beast--a unicorn, as it happens. The horrific scene is well done.

____
The Leather Funnel--1902

About the psychic phenomena of dreams and objects. Buries the lede, though, and focuses on the least extraordinary part of the story.

____
The Pot of Caviare--1908

"Of course, it is all over now, and we need not speak of such dreadful things. But what would you have done in my place?"

"Kill them."

Very dark and intense. Reads like a play at one point. Doyle's range is such that it's little wonder he resented the shadow cast by Sherlock.

____
The Silver Mirror--1908

Doyle pares his story down to a young man and a mirror, which shows horrible images from history. Roped me in, but like The Leather Funnel it relies too much on simply describing the past scene.

____
The Terror of Blue John Gap--1910

A creature feature, very cozy. I like when the doctor seems intrigued by the narrator's story and sends him to a man who might be able to help--the director of a madhouse.

____
Through the Veil--1911

Married couple visiting Roman remains in Scotland flash back to the husband attacking the fort and carrying away the wife.

____
How It Happened--1913

Little vision of the afterlife, rather sweet and emotional, with a gripping description of an accident in the early days of the automobile.

____
The Horror of the Heights--1913

"A visitor might descend upon this planet a thousand times and never see a tiger. Yet tigers exist, and if he chanced to come down into a jungle he might be devoured. There are jungles of the upper air, and there are worse things than tigers which inhabit them."

Extremely cool.

____
The Bully of Brocas Court--1921

Old-fashioned ghost story à la Large Marge.

____
The Nightmare Room--1921

If it seems like a femme fatale melodrama, there's a reason for that. I like how the story melds from a fever dream into the bathetic ending.

____
The Lift--1922

Unlikely clairvoyant has premonitions of danger one seemingly peaceful day with his love. Doyle quickly adds to the suspense and skillfully plays with the reader's unease. Gripping finish. The 63-year-old Doyle still got it.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

* The American’s Tale: 3/5 - great idea (botanical gothic), but I wasn’t that invested
* The Captain of the Polestar: 4/5 - very atmospheric
* The Winning Shot: 4/5 - very enjoyable and dark
* J. Habakuk Jephson’s Statement: 2.5/5- cool idea, but dragged a bit and didn’t age well
* John Barrington Cowles: 3.5/5 -
* Uncle Jeremy’s Household: 3/5 - this could have been great, but the representation of Indians didn’t age well
* The Ring of Toth: 3/5 - good Egyptian gothic but I wasn’t that invested
* The Surgeon of Gaster Fell: 3/5 - great atmosphere but there was something missing
* A Pastoral Horror: 2/5 - nothing wrong with it but I wasn’t invested in the story
* De Profundis: 2.5/5 - not that intriguing either
* Lot. No. 249: 4/5 - great mummy gothic
* The Los Amigos Fiasco: 3.5/5 - that was rather … gruesome/brutal
* The Case of Lady Sannox: 2/5 - this was just cruel
* The Lord of Chateau Noir: 2/5 - cruel
* The Third Generation: 2/5 -
* The Striped Chest: 3.5/5 - nice maritime gothic
* The Fiend of the Cooperage: 2/5 - meh (colonial)
* The Beetle-Hunter: 3.5/5
* The Sealed Room: 3./5 - I do love sealed rooms and secrets but wish that this had been more supernatural
* The Brazilian Cat: 3.5/5 - you should listen to women
* The New Catacomb: 4/5 - I do love a good revenge story
* The Retirement of Signor Lambert: 2/5 - a bit boring
* The Brown Hand: 4/5 - always keep your promises
* Playing with Fire: 4/5 - a good seance story
* The Leather Funnel: 2/5 -meh
* The Pot of Caviare: 3/5 - this was rather sad
* The Silver Mirror: 3.5/5 -
* The Terror of Blue John Gap: 2/5 - this dragged a bit
* Through the Veil: 3/5 - mhm not sure how I feel about it
* How it Happened: 3/5 - very short, but it stayed in my mind
* The Horror of the Heights: 2.5/5 - very Jurassic Park but wasn’t really for me
* The Bully of Brocas Court:
* The Nightmare Room: 3/5 - I’m a bit tired of Doyle’s femme fatals
* The Lift: 3/5

[Jaime Delmas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthur Conan Doyle es conocido principalmente por ser el creador de Sherlock Holmes. Hasta que me regalaron este libro no sabía que también había escrito cuentos, y la verdad es que me han sorprendido muy gratamente. Aunque haya otros autores que son más conocidos por sus cuentos como Edgar Allan Poe o H.P. Lovecraft, lo cierto es que los cuentos de Arthur Conan Doyle no tienen nada que envidiar a los de estos autores.

Todos sus cuentos se encuadran en el relato gótico, de terror y misterio. La mayoría siguen una estructura similar en la que un personaje narra unos hechos que le resultaron misteriosos o sobrenaturales. Aunque muchos de ellos tienen una conclusión que claramente no tiene explicación, en muchos otros sí que sorprende al lector con un final que explica los elementos sobrenaturales, algo que recuerda a lo que ya hace el autor en muchos de los casos de Sherlock Holmes.

Como en toda recopilación de cuentos hay algunos que gustan más y otros que menos. En la siguiente lista están todos los cuentos de la recopilación (ordenados por fecha de publicación) con una nota del 1 al 5. Entre los que más me han gustado puedo destacar: El capitán del Polestar, John Barrington Cowles, el Lote nº 249, El anillo de Thoth o El gato brasileño.

1. La historia del americano 2/5
2. El capitán del Polestar 5/5
3. El disparo ganador 3,5/5
4. Declaración de J. Habakuk Jephson 3/5
5. John Barrington Cowles 4,5/5
6. La casa del tío Jeremy 3/5
7. El anillo de Thoth 4,5/5
8. El cirujano del páramo de Gaster 3/5
9. Un horror bucólico 3/5
10. De profundis 2/5
11. El lote nº 249 5/5
12. El fiasco de Los Amigos 2,5/5
13. El caso de lady Sannox 2/5
14. El señor de Chateâu Noir 3/5
15. La tercera generación 2/5
16. El arcón de rayas 3/5
17. El demonio de la tonelería 3,5/5
18. El cazador de escarabajos 3/5
19. La habitación sellada 3,5/5
20. El gato brasileño 5/5
21. La nueva catacumba 3/5
22. El retiro del signor Lambert 3/5
23. La mano morena 3,5/5
24. Jugar con fuego 4/5
25. El embudo de cuero 4/5
26. El tarro de caviar 2/5
27. El espejo de plata 2/5
28. El terror de la cueva de Blue John 3/5
29. A través del velo 2,5/5
30. Cómo ocurrió 1/5
31. El horror de las alturas 1/5
32. El matón de Brocas Court 2/5
33. Un saloncito de pesadilla 2,5/5
34. EL ascensor 3/5

[Rishabh Sinha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good collection

[Cooper Renner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hefty collection of Doyle’s “weird” stories—some with supernatural elements, others merely “Gothic” or creepy

[Nicole Bergen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t realise Arthur Conan Doyle had ever written gothic stories, but they’re as much fun as I expected them to be, though, as with The Lost World, I could have done without the racism.

[C.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Top-hole, wot.
Or, otherwise and less colloquially: Doyle is a fantastic yarn-weaver, and his eye for detail and ear for the sound of the narrative isn't often matched.

[Manuel Moro · Rating 4 out of 5]

600 páginas y 34 relatos
Amplio abanico de historias y personajes, que nos adentran en la idiosincrasia de un autor y su época. Perfectamente descritos como "cuentos góticos", representan un mundo de dualidades y contradicciones netamente decimonónicas: empirismo/espiritismo, campo/cuidad, civilización/barbarie, humano/animal, razón/locura...

[Marcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is known best for his Sherlock Holmes stories. I, for one, am a big fan of the books and the television series. This past year I read another book, Conan Doyle For The Defense, which piqued my interest and made me want to read more of his work. I purchased a copy of Gothic Tales and around the same time was offered a review copy of the audiobook. I, of course, accepted, and here we are.

Gothic Tales is narrated by Gary Furlong. He is a wonderful narrator. There are a multitude of characters and accents that he performs so well. He made each story's voice unique and interesting. He has quite a few credits to his name on audible, so I expect others have recognized his talent as well.

This book is quite lengthy. The audiobook is a little over 19 hours long. It took me about a month and a half to complete. However, I didn't listen to this book exclusively at the time. While this book was interesting, it wasn't thrilling. After listening to the introduction, I could see how Doyle's personal life heavily influenced his literary writings. This book deals with things you'd expect in a Gothic novel such as haunting, the unknown, the undiscovered, but also mental illness, his travels, and medical mysteries. Doyle was also heavily influenced by spiritualism, which also influences his works.

These stories were published in the 1800s and with that comes some negative aspects. There are many stories that contain racism and slurs. Although Doyle was an abolitionist, I still cringed when hearing certain words read out loud. But I wonder if like Mark Twain his purpose was to make people see how ridiculous their prejudices were. Nevertheless, it still made me uncomfortable.

Overall, the collection of stories does open up a window into the author's soul. You get the impression of how much his father's mental illness weighed upon his mind. How his travels at sea fueled his imagination. How his love of spiritualism made him wonder 'what if'. I don't think these tales would fit into the modern interpretation of Gothic, but I'm glad to have widened my Conan Doyle horizon by reading/listening to them.

Read more at https://www.toreadornottoread.net/201...

[Nuria Carreras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cuentos Góticos Completos (1880-1922)
Arthur Conan Doyle
@albaeditorial 2020
Traducción de Catalina Martínez
Selección, introducción y notas de Darryl Jones

Sin duda, Conan Doyle demuestra una vez más su dominio de la trama, del tiempo narrativo y genera angustia, terror y miedo a partes iguales.

#viajandoporlainglaterravictoriana con @undine.von.reinecke

Destaco los que me han parecido más interesantes, pero la selección es fantástica de principio a fin.

«El anillo de Thoth» (The Ring of Thoth): Cornhill Magazine, enero de 1890.
Tras un extenuante viaje para visitar el museo del Louvre, un arqueólogo se queda dormido en su interior y descubre el terrible secreto que une a un extraño vigilante y una momia.

«El lote n.º 249» (Lot No. 249): Harper’s, septiembre de 1892.
Un estudiante de Oxford utiliza magia egipcia para lograr que una momia se encargue de sus pequeñas venganzas personales

«La nueva catacumba» (The New Catacomb): The Sunlight Yearbook, 1898, con el título de «Burger’s Secret».
Dos arqueólogos, Kennedy y Burger, comparten la pasión por explorar las catacumbas romanas y ambos se enamoran, en diferente grado de la misma mujer. Tras el abrupto fin del romance entre ella y Kennedy, su amigo Burger le lleva de exploración a una nueva catacumba desconocida

«El tarro de caviar» (The Pot of Caviare ): Strand Magazine, marzo de 1908.
Durante la insurrección Bóxer en China, en un pequeño enclave cercano a la costa, la guarnición británica resiste a duras penas el asedio de las tropas enemigas. Esperan ansiosamente la llegada de tropas de refuerzo, pero llega la noticia de su caída y su comandante tomará una drástica decisión final.

«A través del velo» (Through the Veil): Strand Magazine, noviembre de 1910.
Un joven matrimonio visita las ruinas de un antiguo asentamiento romano. De repente, la mujer cae en una especie de trance y atraviesa el velo para presenciar la sangrienta batalla que tuvo lugar allí hace miles de años

#arthurconandoyle #cuentosgoticoscompletos #leeresvivir #leermola #libros #britishclassic #octorror #literaturavictoriana #literaturagótica

[Brooksie Fontaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every author chronicles their time and culture, wittingly and unwittingly. This is a collection where you really FEEL that, as it so pointedly represents the prejudices, terrors, and aspirations of a colonial empire on the precipice of an unprecedented modern era.

Narratively, the stories are episodic in a way that's almost Twilight Zone-esque, especially in terms of their commentary on technological developments, consequences of the past, and occasional playfulness. Which of course makes sense, as these sorts of episodic stories very much filled a similar role to episodic television.

Though so many of these stories are far removed from the infallible logic of Holmes, it's unsurprising that Doyle was prolific in Gothic literature. One of the more famous Holmes stories, The Hound of the Baskervilles, stops just shy of being a Gothic story, and Holmes himself was inspired by the king of the Gothic, Edgar Allan Poe, and his detective protagonist Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin.

H.P. Lovecraft was also inspired by the work of Doyle (among many other influences) and it's interesting to see cosmic horror elements make an appearance in some of Doyle's stories. There's also a good bit of racism in many of Doyle's stories, though nothing quite as egregious as Lovecraft, which isn't saying much.

In any case, this collection is narratively very good, and a fascinating window into the promise, flaws, and profound limitations of the past.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with many short story collections, some of the tales were more appealing than others. This collection shows a broad range of topic and tone, and I was surprised to see this level of versatility from a single author. Some were beautiful. A few used humor. Some of the stories are atmospheric and subtle, and one in particular seems to be a response to a story by Edgar Allan Poe. Other stories involve such gruesome body horror that they felt more like tales from Stephen King. I kept reminding myself that these stories of surgical mutilation were written by a doctor! They didn't all appeal to me, but it was still a mostly pleasant reading experience overall. Most readers would find something here to like.

As with other short story collections, this was hard to rate. The quality varied a bit, but overall, the writing was pretty solid. This one gets bonus points for including such variety. Even though the book was long, the stories covered a multitude of topics and styles and always felt fresh.

[Paulo García · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al principio se presenta una introducción sobre la vida y obra de Arthur Conan Doyle. Esto me gustó porque permite ver al autor más allá de su famoso personaje de Sherlock Holmes.

El libro reúne los 34 cuentos góticos que escribió Conan Doyle desde 1880 a 1922. En ellos nos trasporta a diferentes épocas y escenarios (casas lúgubres, lugares solitarios, abandonados, navíos, etc) creando una atmósfera misteriosa e inquietante.
Hay una diversidad de temáticas presentes: fantasmas, invocación de espíritus, superstición y venganza, entre otros. El desenlace en algunas ocasiones resulta distinto a lo esperado.

Algunos me han gustado más que otros. Dentro de mis favoritos están: El Capitán Polestar, Declaración de J. Habakuk Jephson, El anillo de Thoth, El demonio de la tonelería y El embudo de cuero.

Un libro muy recomendable.

[Nichola · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a very difficult response to this.

Super racist. Let's start there. Its really hard to move past any of Doyle's works. There is just so much prejudice in here and it's hard to overlook or even claim that it was of its time. Because I have decided that is no longer a sufficient excuse.

Oh and did I mention the misogyny? Women are either useless or evil. There is pretty much no in-between.

But he really was a masterful storyteller. Some of these stories are just so damn good. He builds suspense and mythologies in the space of a few pages. It's really wild.

I mean aside from the sheer volume of generic white men in this narrative I found it really enjoyable.

[Kathleen Robson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It does exactly what it says on the tin. It's gothic tales written by a master of unsettling fiction. I also enjoyed how the stories reflect many of the preoccupations of the Victorians - the British Empire and exploration, Egyptology and mummies, spiritualism and the occult, madness and psychiatry. These tales brought to mind a group of men sitting comfortably in leather chairs in their gentlemen's club, a glass of port at their elbows, telling scary stories around a roaring fire.

I can thoroughly recommend this collection.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's no doubt ACD had chops as a writer and a storyteller — some of the strongest stories in here are quite entertaining yarns — but what I most like from Gothic tales is to be spooked and most of these are only spooky-adjacent. Some of them are rough, even gruesome EC-comics style tales of revenge or murderous madmen, some of them are more fanciful yarns that don't feel intended to be scary. A handful touch the uncanny (his mummy story, "Lot No. 249" is one of the good ones, as is "The Horror in the Heights").

[lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

i mostly enjoyed these, though they are very much of their era (referring to both the portrayal of classic victorian concerns and fears, and of course, the crazy racism and orientalism). i think the short story format seems to be where arthur conan doyle shines. i find his full-length novels to be pretty drawn out. i actually got to focus on his writing style, rather than his slightly hazy plot-work and characterisation. anyway, there's a whole lot to examine in conan doyle's work so it always makes for an interesting read, for better or worse. here, mostly for the better.

[Diego Vallejo · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all I must say the Gothic style is well engraned in this collection. I am a horror junkie and enjoy a good scare. Although I must add that while some stories are very interesting and sinister, some I found to be rather underwhelming and generic. Of course that might be because many of todays works are clearly inspired by this style. Overall, while there are some excellent stories, the abundance of stale ones makes me give it an overall of 3.5

[Kate Howe]

The American's Tale - ⭐⭐⭐ A funny quick one but lazy and stereotypical representation of Americans. Apparently we all lived in the wild west.
The Captain of the Pole Star - ⭐⭐⭐ I liked the desolate and isolated feel of the writing but this was a very slow going story.
The Winning Shot - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent ominous feel to this one! I was on the edge of my seat.
J. Habakkuk Jephson's Statement - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I like that he took real events (Mary Celeste ship being discovered abandoned) and made his own story. The representations of people of color in this story hasn't aged well but it was a captivating story.

[Gerry Grenfell-Walford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well this was a free offering on Audible, and though read very well it just didn't hold my interest. I appreciated the insightful introduction which nicely set out some of ACD's major concerns and issues. Now that bit was interesting. But the stories themselves were rambling and drawn out. I gave it to halfway before deciding to call time on it. I am unlikely to remember much from the experience- just not for me.

[Kathy Chapman · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Very dated. Unmistakably ACD’s voice but many of the stories are uncomfortable to read because of the racism, sexism and colonial attitudes of superiority that come through. Got as far as a story that kept referring to a woman from India as a ‘savage’ and decided I didn’t really want to waste any more brain cells on trying to excuse it as a book of its time. It should have stayed in its time. Has no relevance to today.

[Ash Hartwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of short, and not so short, tales. Although dated and therefore maybe predictable the collection is varied and well organised. If you like the gothic and strange, then this is for you. Arthur Conan Doyle was so much more than Sherlock Holmes, but that's elementary isn't it?

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

A lo largo de los años, había leído historias góticas sueltas de este autor. Pero en este libro estan reunidos todos ellos.

En los cuentos se ve marcado el gusto que tenía Conan Doyle con el antiguo Egipto y el misticismo de las momias. A la par que lo contrasta en escenarios con parajes desolados y fríos.

Sin duda, un compilado de cuentos que se disfruta mucho.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is interesting to me that ACD prided himself on these stories and felt that he was held back by Sherlock. In going through these stories, all I hear is Sherlock. ACD seems to be limited to a specific style: the journal entries, the narrator style, recounting of a past mystery, faint supernatural allusions... all standard to Sherlock. I don't think ACD ever moved past Sherlock Holmes.

[Paul Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remembered only for Sherlock Holmes Conan Doyle learned to hate his detective. His range included gothic tales and this collection brings them together in a single volume. The calibre of them is variable, leaving him as something of an "also ran" by comparison to the status of his Holmes stories.