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Earth-Bound and Other Supernatural Tales
Originally published in 1924, the nine tales that comprise Earth-Bound were written by Dorothy Macardle while she was held a political prisoner in Dublin’s Kilmainham Gaol and Mountjoy Prison. The stories incorporate themes that intrigued her throughout her life; themes out of the myths and legends of Ireland; ghostly interventions, dreams and premonitions, clairvoyance, and the Otherworld in parallel with this one. It is so easy to dismiss them, as some have, merely as part of the narrative of “Irish nationalism” of the time, but it is the supernatural elements that make them much more. She would revisit these themes in later works such as her classic haunted house novel The Uninvited (1941). To this new edition of Macardle’s debut collection, reprinted for the first time in ninety years, we have added four more tales of the supernatural.
Contents:
“Introduction” – Peter Berresford Ellis
“Earth-Bound”
“Samhain”
“The Brother”
“The Prisoner”
“The Return of Niav”
“De Profundis”
“By God’s Mercy”
“The Portrait of Roisin Dhu”
“A Story Without an End”
“Escape”
“The Curlew’s Call”
“The Black Banks”
“The Venetian Mirror”
“Acknowledgements”
Contents:
“Introduction” – Peter Berresford Ellis
“Earth-Bound”
“Samhain”
“The Brother”
“The Prisoner”
“The Return of Niav”
“De Profundis”
“By God’s Mercy”
“The Portrait of Roisin Dhu”
“A Story Without an End”
“Escape”
“The Curlew’s Call”
“The Black Banks”
“The Venetian Mirror”
“Acknowledgements”
134 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1924
About the author
Dorothy Macardle
22 books65 followersDorothy Macardle was born in Dundalk, Ireland in 1889 into a wealthy brewing family, famous for their Macardle's Ale, and was raised Roman Catholic. She received her secondary education in Alexandra College, Dublin – a school under the management of the Church of Ireland – and later attended University College, Dublin. Upon graduating, she returned to teach English at Alexandra.
Macardle was a member of the Gaelic League and later joined Cumann na mBan in 1917. In 1918 (during the War of Independence), Macardle was arrested by the RIC while teaching at Alexandra; she was eventually dismissed in 1923, towards the latter end of the Irish Civil War, because of her anti-Treatyite sympathies and activities.
When the republican movement split in 1921-22 over the Anglo-Irish Treaty, MacArdle sided with Éamon de Valera and the anti-Treaty Irregulars. She was imprisoned by the fledgling Free State government in 1922, during the Civil War, and served time in both Mountjoy and Kilmainham Gaols.
While working as a journalist with the League of Nations in the 1930s she acquired a considerable affinity with the plight of pre-war Czechoslovakia. Consequently she differed with official Irish government policy on the threat of Nazism, Irish neutrality during World War II, compulsory Irish language teaching in schools, and deplored what she saw as the reduced status of women in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland.
Macardle recounted her Civil War experiences in Earthbound: Nine Stories of Ireland (1924). Macardle became a playwright in the next two decades. In her dramatic writing she used the pseudonym Margaret Callan. During this time she worked as a journalist at the League of Nations.
She also researched her mammoth book The Irish Republic which was first published in 1937. Her political opponents and some modern historians consider her to be a hagiographer for de Valera's political views. Murray considers that: "..de Valera’s ambitious scheme was eventually implemented by Dorothy Macardle, his devoted follower and lifelong apologist, whose book The Irish Republic conforms closely to the overall plan outlined by de Valera in prison, and even incorporates many of its details. The outline originally proposed by de Valera was extremely detailed, incorporating a carefully planned chronology and headings from which the chapters were to be developed."
She died in 1958 at the age of 69 of cancer in hospital in Drogheda. Though she was somewhat disillusioned with the new Irish State (in particular, regarding its treatment of women), she left the royalties from The Irish Republic to her close friend Éamon de Valera, who wrote the foreword to the book. De Valera visited her when she was dying.
Macardle was a member of the Gaelic League and later joined Cumann na mBan in 1917. In 1918 (during the War of Independence), Macardle was arrested by the RIC while teaching at Alexandra; she was eventually dismissed in 1923, towards the latter end of the Irish Civil War, because of her anti-Treatyite sympathies and activities.
When the republican movement split in 1921-22 over the Anglo-Irish Treaty, MacArdle sided with Éamon de Valera and the anti-Treaty Irregulars. She was imprisoned by the fledgling Free State government in 1922, during the Civil War, and served time in both Mountjoy and Kilmainham Gaols.
While working as a journalist with the League of Nations in the 1930s she acquired a considerable affinity with the plight of pre-war Czechoslovakia. Consequently she differed with official Irish government policy on the threat of Nazism, Irish neutrality during World War II, compulsory Irish language teaching in schools, and deplored what she saw as the reduced status of women in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland.
Macardle recounted her Civil War experiences in Earthbound: Nine Stories of Ireland (1924). Macardle became a playwright in the next two decades. In her dramatic writing she used the pseudonym Margaret Callan. During this time she worked as a journalist at the League of Nations.
She also researched her mammoth book The Irish Republic which was first published in 1937. Her political opponents and some modern historians consider her to be a hagiographer for de Valera's political views. Murray considers that: "..de Valera’s ambitious scheme was eventually implemented by Dorothy Macardle, his devoted follower and lifelong apologist, whose book The Irish Republic conforms closely to the overall plan outlined by de Valera in prison, and even incorporates many of its details. The outline originally proposed by de Valera was extremely detailed, incorporating a carefully planned chronology and headings from which the chapters were to be developed."
She died in 1958 at the age of 69 of cancer in hospital in Drogheda. Though she was somewhat disillusioned with the new Irish State (in particular, regarding its treatment of women), she left the royalties from The Irish Republic to her close friend Éamon de Valera, who wrote the foreword to the book. De Valera visited her when she was dying.
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June 3, 2016This is copy 27 of 100 numbered copies which includes an associated post card also numbered, of a print run of 350 copies.
December 4, 2020
Earth-Bound and Other Supernatural Tales by Dorothy Macardle is a remarkable collection, many of the stories were written while Macardle was a political prisoner in Ireland during the 1920s, and are dedicated to fellow inmates of hers. This creates a unique atmosphere of urgency and hopefulness. The stories mostly deal with Irish rebels, often aided by ghosts of fallen comrades, or of spectres out of Irish or Catholic mythology lending a hand to the Irish cause. Usually, I’m not too interested in the notion of benevolent ghosts, but the context of when and why these were written sets them apart from other uncanny tales of the period. I found most of the stories intriguing, but there were a few choice ones for me:
"The Return of Niav": A strange story steeped in the pagan myths of Ireland, of the lure of the spirits of the forest. Beautifully written, this reminded me quite a bit of Arthur Machen's folkloric narratives.
"The Prisoner": An Irish rebel is cast into seemingly never-ending isolation, but in the damp, desolate darkness he suddenly sees the shape of another man. Eerie, atmospheric, and quite sad, not so much about supernatural events as it is about remembering those who lost their lives in the struggle for Irish independence.
"The Venetian Mirror": A beautiful Venetian mirror, and the sombre story of its origin. This is one of the few tales in the collection that doesn’t actively deal with Ireland and reminded me more of the French decadents of the 1890s.
This edition from Swan River Press has a wonderful introduction by Peter Berresford Ellis which goes into some depth about Macardle’s life and the background of the stories, which provides a very interesting read. This collection of unique supernatural stories are steeped in the wondrous mysteries of Ireland, set against the backdrop of the struggle for Irish independence and deeply embedded in the tragic circumstances of its author.
"The Return of Niav": A strange story steeped in the pagan myths of Ireland, of the lure of the spirits of the forest. Beautifully written, this reminded me quite a bit of Arthur Machen's folkloric narratives.
"The Prisoner": An Irish rebel is cast into seemingly never-ending isolation, but in the damp, desolate darkness he suddenly sees the shape of another man. Eerie, atmospheric, and quite sad, not so much about supernatural events as it is about remembering those who lost their lives in the struggle for Irish independence.
"The Venetian Mirror": A beautiful Venetian mirror, and the sombre story of its origin. This is one of the few tales in the collection that doesn’t actively deal with Ireland and reminded me more of the French decadents of the 1890s.
This edition from Swan River Press has a wonderful introduction by Peter Berresford Ellis which goes into some depth about Macardle’s life and the background of the stories, which provides a very interesting read. This collection of unique supernatural stories are steeped in the wondrous mysteries of Ireland, set against the backdrop of the struggle for Irish independence and deeply embedded in the tragic circumstances of its author.
November 8, 2016
I admit I was attracted to this book initially because of its relationship to what I feel is one of the best “haunted house” movies ever made, The Uninvited. That movie was based on a novel written by Dorothy Macardle, the author of this book. While the stories in Earth-Bound also involve spirits, they are primarily politically motivated tales.
Many of the tales in Earth-Bound are short accounts of fictional events during the Irish War of Independence in the early 20th century, for which the author’s involvement caused her to be held as a political prisoner. These stories were written while she was incarcerated.
The supernatural element in most of these stories is ghosts. Their involvement in the stories is subtle and often of a benign, if not helpful, nature. The main focus of the stories is the struggle of the protagonists, as they fight for Ireland’s independence from Britain. Being familiar with the Anglo-Irish war is not necessary to follow these stories, which primarily focus on its effects on individuals and families, though it might add to the appreciation of each tale.
Not all of the stories are war related. The setting of one story that I especially liked, Samhain, was the Irish Potato Famine, and the devastation it wrought on families. Perhaps I connected more with this story than the others because the famine is what brought my ancestors to America.
Earth-Bound, to be sure, is a collection of supernatural tales, but it is not a collection of horror stories. Look elsewhere if that is what you are after. These are tales of Irish nationalism, of Ireland’s political struggles and the effects on its people. The inclusion of the supernatural brings an added element to these tales that I feel enhances them. Definitely worth reading, especially if you are of Irish descent.
Many of the tales in Earth-Bound are short accounts of fictional events during the Irish War of Independence in the early 20th century, for which the author’s involvement caused her to be held as a political prisoner. These stories were written while she was incarcerated.
The supernatural element in most of these stories is ghosts. Their involvement in the stories is subtle and often of a benign, if not helpful, nature. The main focus of the stories is the struggle of the protagonists, as they fight for Ireland’s independence from Britain. Being familiar with the Anglo-Irish war is not necessary to follow these stories, which primarily focus on its effects on individuals and families, though it might add to the appreciation of each tale.
Not all of the stories are war related. The setting of one story that I especially liked, Samhain, was the Irish Potato Famine, and the devastation it wrought on families. Perhaps I connected more with this story than the others because the famine is what brought my ancestors to America.
Earth-Bound, to be sure, is a collection of supernatural tales, but it is not a collection of horror stories. Look elsewhere if that is what you are after. These are tales of Irish nationalism, of Ireland’s political struggles and the effects on its people. The inclusion of the supernatural brings an added element to these tales that I feel enhances them. Definitely worth reading, especially if you are of Irish descent.
April 21, 2025
I read this as part of my annual public domain reads for Pseudopod, I buzzed through this collection of stories from 1924. Interesting, because they are Macardle essentially writing gentle ghost stories (mostly), set In Ireland during the height of "the Troubles" and resonant with/directly informed by them.
So there's prophetic dreams ("A Story Without an End" - whose end I didn't understand), ghostly aid ("By God's Mercy"), influenza and guilt ("De Profundis"), Changelings and the fae (the truly spectacular "The Return of Niav"), political prisoners ("The Prisoner"), IRA operations ("The Brother"), religious responsibility and the ghosts of the dead ("Samhain") and a variation of Poe's "The Oval Portrait" with an artist draining his subject of life ("The Portrait of Roisin Dhu"). Vedry enjoyable ready, but not for those seeking genre thrills, as the genre elements are mostly window dressing for real world concerns. Macardle has exceptional ability at bringing the Irish speaking voice across without resorting to dialect
So there's prophetic dreams ("A Story Without an End" - whose end I didn't understand), ghostly aid ("By God's Mercy"), influenza and guilt ("De Profundis"), Changelings and the fae (the truly spectacular "The Return of Niav"), political prisoners ("The Prisoner"), IRA operations ("The Brother"), religious responsibility and the ghosts of the dead ("Samhain") and a variation of Poe's "The Oval Portrait" with an artist draining his subject of life ("The Portrait of Roisin Dhu"). Vedry enjoyable ready, but not for those seeking genre thrills, as the genre elements are mostly window dressing for real world concerns. Macardle has exceptional ability at bringing the Irish speaking voice across without resorting to dialect
January 4, 2024
A beautiful, haunting and important collection of gothic stories
February 19, 2025
This is a 1924 collection written by Dorothy Macardle while she was held as a political prisoner in Dublin's Kilmainham Gaol and Mountjoy Prison. Those politics certainly weave into the themes throughout this book. This is a book that was locked *just* behind the public domain wall for ages, and has been slow for rediscovery.
These succeed well when we get a blend of the Irish Weird and Irish revolution. The best first example is “The Prisoner” where we have an incarcerated revolutionary who is haunted figuratively and possibly literally by the past ghosts of the prison. I really liked the descriptions of incarceration and the comparison to being kidnapped to faery. “Earth-Bound” is a sentimental ghost story about two convicts escaping from the law across the snowy hills. When lost, the ghost leads them around a search party and to warm safety. In “The Brother” and “By God's Mercy“ operations of the Irish Resistance are saved by ghosts.
“The Portrait of Roisin Dhu” is a beautiful, layered story that touches inspiration, home, aging, love, and sacrifice. “The Return of Niav” has excellent presentation of culture and nice slow burn of being drug away to faery. I put this up there with the best of Machen. This is possibly even better, as Machen’s stories tend to be focused on affecting women, but the language is well crafted but oblique. The perspective is subtly different with a female author.
The overlap between ghosts and the Catholic faith are also a recurring theme. In “Samhain” a local priest lives in a house built on an old path to a cemetery. Set during something evoking the potato famine, many fall ill including the priest. The dead come to pray for the priest's health during Samhain. In “De Profundis” a priest reminisces how his mother’s life was saved and he was called to serve the church by the apparition of a priest held in purgatory until he has delivered a mass.
These succeed well when we get a blend of the Irish Weird and Irish revolution. The best first example is “The Prisoner” where we have an incarcerated revolutionary who is haunted figuratively and possibly literally by the past ghosts of the prison. I really liked the descriptions of incarceration and the comparison to being kidnapped to faery. “Earth-Bound” is a sentimental ghost story about two convicts escaping from the law across the snowy hills. When lost, the ghost leads them around a search party and to warm safety. In “The Brother” and “By God's Mercy“ operations of the Irish Resistance are saved by ghosts.
“The Portrait of Roisin Dhu” is a beautiful, layered story that touches inspiration, home, aging, love, and sacrifice. “The Return of Niav” has excellent presentation of culture and nice slow burn of being drug away to faery. I put this up there with the best of Machen. This is possibly even better, as Machen’s stories tend to be focused on affecting women, but the language is well crafted but oblique. The perspective is subtly different with a female author.
The overlap between ghosts and the Catholic faith are also a recurring theme. In “Samhain” a local priest lives in a house built on an old path to a cemetery. Set during something evoking the potato famine, many fall ill including the priest. The dead come to pray for the priest's health during Samhain. In “De Profundis” a priest reminisces how his mother’s life was saved and he was called to serve the church by the apparition of a priest held in purgatory until he has delivered a mass.
June 24, 2018
I first read this book while working on a paper for an Irish literature course in college, when it had been so long out of print that I had to obtain a copy through interlibrary loan from another university. I immediately loved it - Macardle had managed to transubstantiate her own experiences as a political prisoner into a sublime collection of ghost stories and fairy tales. When I discovered it was back in print in a limited run, I snapped it up as quickly as I could and was not sorry - Swan River Press's edition is a lovely reprint that even includes a few additional stories not included in the original edition.
January 9, 2026
To be able to read this for uni has been a delight. I love Dorothy macardle and everything she stands for and the pain yet resilience that so clearly shows through her stories is incredible. The ghosts that return as reminders of everything she has lost or missed out on (from family life and her brothers dying to her falling in and out of fianna fail and de valeras politics and shitty woman hating constitution) still stand to help out the characters in the stories aw idk I have a very strong strong love for this book and it’s such an easy read of beautiful, mythological, Irish stories !!! Win win all round for me but my essay will still be SHITE
March 28, 2021
Great collection of Irish supernatural stories! Macardle’s tales of ghostly interventions, premonitions, and omens are distinguished by her political activism. Set against the turbulent backdrop of early twentieth-century Ireland, the stories have an urgency and realism to them. They aren’t particularly frightening - most stories feature protagonists who are aided by supernatural figures - but they remain poignant and affective in their simplicity.
Favorites include “The Return of Niav” (a mother must save her young daughter from a kind of malevolent wood nymph) and “Samhain” (a priest witnesses a strange bedside vigil).
Favorites include “The Return of Niav” (a mother must save her young daughter from a kind of malevolent wood nymph) and “Samhain” (a priest witnesses a strange bedside vigil).
March 9, 2026
Macardle is a new literary hero I love how she characterizes the revolution and Ireland. These stories were all written in prison and speak of literal and figurative imprisonment -- the condition of decades long colonialism and occupation. And yet, it's all grounded in the mysticism the land and people. Love love love!
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July 1, 2022DnF 06.30.2022
Not what I thought it would be... sadly. I tried 2 of the tales and didn't want to continue.
Not what I thought it would be... sadly. I tried 2 of the tales and didn't want to continue.
October 26, 2023
A beautiful, mournful, and intelligent collection of ghost stories, as told through the lens of the Irish Troubles. Macardle is an uncelebrated wonder.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews