Tales of Mystery & the Macabre

by Elizabeth Gaskell, David Stuart Davies (contributor)

In the great mirror opposite I saw myself, and right behind, another wicked fearful self, so like me my soul seemed to quiver within me, as though not knowing to which similitude of body it belonged... Elizabeth Gaskell is better known today for her pioneering social novels such as Mary Barton (1848) but she also wrote some fascinating tales of the supernatural and the macabre, which are collected here in this volume. The real charm of this dark anthology is its variety. Unlike so many writers of this kind of material, Gaskell allows the story to fit the style rather than the other way around and as result there is a charming freshness to each tale. This remarkable author uses different voices, tones and topics to engage her readers and as you turn from one story to the next you cannot be quite sure what to expect.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Classics, Gothic, Fiction, Victorian, Historical Fiction

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 5, 2008

About the author

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson (29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to simply as Mrs. Gaskell, was an English novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of society, including the very poor, and as such are of interest to social historians as well as lovers of literature.

AKA:
Елізабет Гаскелл (Ukrainian)

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admire Gaskell's Mary Barton, a perceptive and compassionate account of the life of Manchester textile workers in the 1840's, and I was looking forward to this. I was disappointed.

In this substantial 120,000 word collection, there is not one first-rate tale, and the connection of most of these pieces with the mysterious and macabre is tangential at best, if not downright deceptive. (For example, "The Ghost in the Garden Room" has not a single ghost in it; however, a character in the frame story informs us that he heard the story narrated by a ghost!)

There are two effective short stories here--"The Nurse's' Story" and "The Squire's Story"--and only the former is a true ghostly tale. To make matters worse, many of the least effective and most discursive fictions are the longest: The novella "The Poor Clare" (beginning with an Irish mother's curse and ending inexplicably among cloistered nuns, widespread famine and Antwerp) and the short novel "Lois the Witch," a melodramatic exploitation of the Salem Witch Trial with an eye to the American audience.

I don't mean to imply that these works completely lack merit, for Gaskell is a perceptive woman with many interesting things to say about sex, class and regional distinctions in mid-nineteenth century England. However, I don't think these gems are worth slogging through the entire 120,000 words. If you want my advice, read Mary Barton instead.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really 3.5. Maybe even 3.75. 3.85?

This is, as with all short story collections, a mixed bag. Most are enjoyable; but the last four (starting with "The Ghost in the Garden Room") really dragged for me.

Overall, however, this is an enjoyable anthology of creepy stories. Many reviewers seem put out that there aren't a lot of ghosts in these stories. They're right; there aren't. However, the volume is titled Tales of Mystery and the Macabre, and to that end the stories contained are extremely effective: atmospheric, colorful, tightly plotted, with memorable and highly varied characters. Sometimes the "macabre" element is merely a misconception on the part of one character regarding another. Sometimes it is truly supernatural. Sometimes the story is simply a straight mystery. So, if you're looking for a collection of Victorian ghost stories, then this ain't it. But if you want a well-written bunch of spooky stories, look no further.

This book is my introduction to Gaskell. I look forward to reading more.

[Elentarri · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining, if mixed-bag, collection of shorter works featuring the mysterious and the macabre. These stories are different from Gaskell's longer "industrial" novels. While I didn't always find the subject of a story appealing, the writing is solid. My sometimes-spoilery thoughts of the stories collected in the book are listed in the spoiler tag.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Old Nurse's Story: This is a ghost story in which mistakes made in youth lead to a lifetime of regret. Gaskell can write atmosphere, everything from the mansion with the closed-off wing, the family "secret", the organ music being played on a broken organ, and the child with no foot-prints.

The Squire's Story: A tale of deception and highway robbery based on a local legend. Takes a bit long to get to the point. Interesting background for the story HERE: https://elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk/t...

The Poor Clare: This is a gothic ghost story involving a curse. Fairly entertaining and interesting.

Lois the Witch: More a novella or short novel, than a short story. This story is set in the times of the Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, and based on real people and events. On being orphaned, English lass Lois Barclay is sent to live with her uncle in Massachusetts, and gets accused of witchcraft by her younger cousin.

The Doom of the Griffiths: An entertaining, if sad, atmospheric, ancient-legend-flavoured, generational family curse story.

The Ghost in the Garden Room: Originally part of a "round-robin" type collection of ghost stories published in Charles Dickens' weekly journals, this tale was told to a lawyer by the ghost of the judge who presided over the case of a prodigal son, presumed to be dead, who returns to his parents' home in a less than welcome manner. The ghostly judge was apparently still haunted by the memory of the faithful, suffering mother. A well written, stirring tale.

The Grey Woman: This is a Gothic story of a young woman who escapes from the castle of her rich, but abusive, husband Monsieur de la Tourelle. Monsieru de la Tourelle is involved in many clandestine activities, for which he will kill even his wife to keep secret. Depressing story, but well written and evocative.

Curious, if True: The internet describes this as meta-fiction, which explains why I couldn't figure out what the point of the whole thing was. An Englishman journeys to France to research his Calvinist roots, and a case of mistaken identity gains him entry to to an unusual party… featuring fairytale characters. The fairytale element only dawned on me when Gaskell got to John/Jack the Giant-Killer. After that, I had a bit of fun trying to figure out the fairytales. The fairytales referred to in the story seem to be based on Andrew Lang's collection and/or the French/Charles Perrault versions. Some enterprising person helpfully provided links to the relevant fairytales in Elizabeth Gaskells story, so if you want to read the story and figure out the which fairytale character is involved, check HERE: https://exiw.wordpress.com/2017/01/16...

Disappearances: This is a non-fiction essay. Gaskell uses anecdotal missing-person stories to discuss how the newly formed London Detective Police could have provided solutions to these mysterious vanishing people if they existed back then. This is something of an exploration of the nature of police work, public policy, and the uses of a Detective Police force. A tad boring.

[Mafalda Fernandes · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

- The Old Nurse's Story - 4*
- The Squire's Story - 4*
- The Poor Clare - 5*
- Lois the Witch - 5*
- The Doom of the Griffiths - 4.5*
- The Ghost in the Garden Room - 3.5*
- The Grey Woman - 5*
- Curious, if True - 4.5*
- Disappearances - 4*

[Patrício · Rating 2 out of 5]

I seriously cannot finish this book.
Boring, torture, boring, torture, boring, torture, boring, torture, boring, torture...

[Frazer Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eclectic collection that imbues the everyday with a sense of mystery, and of dread. Anyone currently hung up on perceived modern day ‘witch hunts’ should read ‘Lois the Witch’ and hang his head in shame. ‘The Grey Woman’ is a powerful survivor’s story, with Gaskell’s social realism giving the tale a gritty edge. Even the seemingly throwaway ‘Disappearances’ has deep emotional resonance once the editor’s introduction is taken into account. Ponderous pacing, yes, but immerse yourself in this collection and you shall be richly rewarded.

[Sanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I loved reading more supernatural writing from "students" of Mary Shelley, it never quite felt like this was more than that: emulating one of the other greats. Gaskell writes tightly and she certainly has a knack for suspense and tension. Reading this did feel like a bit of a chore at times. I loved the recurring theme of the dark 'clone, other or mirror', but I don't know if I can recommend this to anyone who isn't interested in the Salem witch trials or Victorian horror. Very niche, and sadly not quite as gripping as I was hoping for.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Najbardziej przypadły mi do gustu Szara Dama i Uboga klaryska. Reszta w mniejszym bądź większym stopniu była okey, bądź rozczarowująca jak Opowieść dziedzica. Mam wrażenie, że Gaskell sprawdza się o wiele lepiej w dłuższych niż, krótszych opowiadaniach, dlatego też z chęcią sięgnę po jej powieści.

Opowieść starej piastunki - 3/5
Opowieść dziedzica - 2/5
Biedna klaryska - 3,5/5
Klątwa rodu Griffithsów - 3,5 /5
Szara dama -4/5

[Lyn Lockwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixed collection - The Old Nurses Story and The Poor Clare are genuinely moving and certainly creepy. Lois The Witch is an amazing tale of Salem and the hysteria around witchcraft. The Garden Room Ghost is a Dickens style tale of filial treachery with a David Copperfield style plot line. But the other stories are harder to enjoy and I got a bit bogged down with all the family trees and exposition.

[Deborah Sheldon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gaskell is certainly a masterful storyteller. I found each tale compulsively readable and, unlike some other writers from the same era, her style is surprisingly modern. Highly recommended, especially if you're just dipping your toe into nineteenth-century horror literature.

[Natasha M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm horrible at updating at the moment. Trying to do better (I have no excuse!) I picked up this book (fittingly) at the gift shop in Elizabeth Gaskell's house in Manchester. For being such a fan of her works I can only say I'm ashamed it took me so long to seek the premises out for a visit.

Anyway, out of all the stories in this collection, The Old Nurse's Story is by and far the nearest we'll get to a traditional ghost story. Yes it has the moral at the end (like most Victorian tales of this type) but it's fun. It has the haunted house with elderly caretakers, ghosts galore, phantom music, portraits turned to the wall, a bonnie child being lured outdoors by a ghost. Can't ask for much more really. It ticked all the boxes for me though the end is a bit abrupt.

The Squire's Story was a strange little tale. I went into it expecting more ghosts and came out ... perplexed. I guess it's about the outsider, mysterious wealth and he suspicions of an elderly spinster. I was amused at the fact finding towards the end. I can't say much more without spoiling.

The Poor Clare is a gothic little tale. It deals with a curse but at the heart of it is the tale of a mother's strength and obsession (fierce love may be a kinder term but I think obsession is still nearer the mark). This also didn't play out the way I expected. (Though to begin with it was reminded me a little of Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in tone. Maybe the fact that the narrator falls in love with one of the later characters in his tale.) With Gaskell's husband being a clergyman, it should be unsurprising that a theme presented here seems to (quite literally in this case) be the sins of the father on the child.

Lois the Witch I think I've reviewed separately as I bought it as it's own little novella. Firstly, I struggle reading "Lois" without thinking about Clark Kent/Superman (Sorry, Gaskell, I know your short story DID come first). So, once I put that distracting notion aside, we find ourselves in Salem, during the unfortunate witch trials. I think the title indicates how this story is going to go without me saying more. The image that stays with me most (from my first reading) is Lois in her last appearance in the tale.

The Doom of the Griffiths also deals with a, you guessed it, doom or curse upon the family. I think there may be some deeper, working class message regarding the son (something near and dear to Gaskell's heart) at work here but this also deals with the "sins of the father on the child" theme.

The Ghost in the Garden Room, in spite of the title, is not really about ghosts in the supernatural sense but in the fear-the-living-over-the-dead sense (I certainly do). Those left behind are haunted by the memory of their wishes and what they wanted to believe rather than the reality of what the prodigal son had actually become.

When I first read the Grey Woman, one scene towards the end particularly reminds me of Brothers Grimm tale "the Robber Bridegroom". The eponymous Grey Woman is truly pitiable as she is in a situation she never had any desire to be in. Anyway it starts off with a mysterious painting and a manuscript that requires translating AND a very trusting innkeeper who kindly lends said manuscript to the curious narrator (so kind, so trusting, so open with his family history!!). This is definitely more gothic in tone, think Anne Radcliffe.

Curious, If True is a strange, fairy tale like story, kind of about a traveller amidst a gathering of fairytales? At least a few were definitely hinted at. I don't really know how else to describe it.

Disappearances is honestly a review of detective work and a series of (unrelated) disappearances. I'm sure to the intended readers of her day this was all fairly novel but for more modern readers, with our abundance of detective fiction and true crime accounts this is fairly tame.

[denudatio_pulpae · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Niesamowite historie" to pięć opowieści, które łączy tajemnica, subtelna groza i klimat. Czyli właściwie wszystko to, co powinien zawierać zbiór takich opowiadań. Najbardziej urzekły mnie dwie z pięciu zamieszczonych w tej książce historii - Opowieść starej piastunki i Szara Dama. Pierwsza z nich to klasyczna ghost story, a druga opowiada o konsekwencjach zawarcia pewnego związku małżeńskiego, które okazały się zaskakująco makabryczne.

Głównym zadaniem takich opowiadań jest obecnie urzekanie czytelnika, bo przestraszyć raczej nikogo nie przestraszą. Elizabeth Gaskell poradziła sobie nie najgorzej, ale chyba jednak wolę ją w dłuższym i bardziej społeczno-obyczajowym wydaniu, dlatego oceniam książkę tylko 6/10.

[Miguel Troncão · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although in general the stories are interesting, and retain a little of suspence, especially "Poor Clare" and "Lois, the Witch", the building up of the stories takes too long and it loses some of its way. Too many times the climax of the story is just plain boring or uneventful, particularly in "The Grey Lady". Overall an agreeable book, but do not foresee rereading it ever.

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story collection was a wonderful re-introduction to Mrs Gaskell and her great writing. All of the stories were good and the narration and characters are surprisingly contemporary and vivid. The introduction was fascinating, here are the stories individually.

1) The Old Nurses Story
Based -allegedly- on a story told to her by Charlotte Bronte when Mrs Gaskell was interviewing her for the biography. A sweet little girl becomes an orphan and is taken to live in a isolated haunted house. The story is told by the nurse who cares for the little girl. This story is a rich, delightful combination of organ playing in the foyer, a weeping lady by and old thorn tree and a little ghostie girl who is trying to tempt or trick little Rosemond out to her doom. 5*

2) The Squires Story
Another one based around a house, a mysterious man moves into an old house, he marries a local heiress, and becomes part of the community but is ultimately revealed as a nefarious highway robber. Highways robbers must have been a big thing in Mrs Gaskell's world they appear a lot. 5*

3) The Poor Clare
A fine, strong story that just gets better and better as it goes on. This was a twisy, windy story which crosses countries and generations, passions and curses and overall, great stuff. Plus I go to learn what a Poor Clare is. 5*

4) Lois The Witch
This one takes place in the 'new world' of America starting on the wooden dock of Boston as an orphaned girl goes to stay with her mothers brother. This is the only one in which I DNFed, I was finding it slow, tedious, predictable ect ect. Of COURSE Lois is going to be accused of being a witch, because her aunt hates her and she won't marry her cousin... I stopped caring and reading less than half way through.

5) The Doom Of The Griffiths
This is a story of a curse, set upon the family of Griffith, when a man betrays his book brother. Based in Wales we trace the thrilling way in which the curse comes home to roost, with a man unknowingly killing his grandchild and a son unintentionally killing his father. Loved everything about it, great stuff. 5*

6) The Ghost In The Garden Room
Also published as 'The Crooked Branch' which is possibly more apt as it is largely about a boy that grows into manhood crooked and wrong, betraying his home and parents. Less of a ghost story - UNLESS you read the prologue, which I do recommend - but every bit a horror. 4*

7) The Grey Woman
Mysterious and Macabre, rather than supernatural this is a great story of a young woman married to a mysterious, scary, yet rich, man. Set in France during the Revolution this one gave me Bluebeard vibes at first but it ended up being so much more complex, rich and fascinating. Complete with a long eventful escape of foot and a fantastic ending. 5*

8) Curious If True
Is ahead of it's time. These days, fairy tale retellings are everywhere but Mrs Gaskell did this first, I believe and it is a real slow creeper. A man, lost in France in the dark is invited in to a ball in a country house. They were expecting him, it seems or at least they were expecting someone by the name of Richard Whittington...

9) Not really a 'story' as such. Once again, Mrs Gaskell is ahead of her time, preceding the True Crime trends today by listing a whole heap of real life, mysterious disappearances.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles Dickens was a great encourager of Elizabeth Gaskell, and all but two of the nine stories in this recent (2008) collection appeared first in Dickens periodicals. All nine are first-rate, by an author much more known for writing a number of classic and beloved C19 novels (notably “Mary Barton”; “North and South”; and “Cranford”).

It's a coherent collection in that all the stories do either deal in mystery or the macabre. Only three, however, involve the supernatural. One of these, “The Old Nurse’s Story” (probably the most famous piece here and often anthologised), features an actual ghost. It's a textbook Victorian ghost story, perfect in conception and execution. The other two, also very effective, involve a curse.

Of the remainder, the theme of two of the stories is deception by members of the upper class. Underneath their civilised veneer, these men are ruthless monsters, dealing in robbery and murder. The story in which this deception is practiced on, among others, an unwitting wife, is particularly brilliant - an exhilarating and chilling chase story.

Another story tells of a no-good son who repays the loving devotion of his parents with ingratitude and criminal cruelty; and finally, one is a historical piece about the 1692 witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. In my view, this latter story is the best one here. Running to nearly 80 pages, “Lois the Witch” almost qualifies as a novella. It's tale of the tragedy that overtakes one young and innocent girl, among many others unjustly accused of witchcraft, is genuinely heartbreaking; all the more so because it's based on fact. In this story I saw disturbing parallels with the modern culture of 'witch-hunting' (so well-facilitated by social media), fuelled by virtue-signalling, the need to self-aggrandise, and fear. Sadly, humans never change.

Of two lesser pieces here, one describes a vivid and whimsical dream (that we're not sure is a dream until we reach the end); and the other isn't a story at all, but a series of anecdotes about people who have mysteriously disappeared over the years (a piece probably influenced by the disappearance of Gaskell's own brother at sea on his way to India).

The quality in this collection surprised me. Something of the social consciousness of Gaskell's novels comes across here, but in a different form. I hadn't known Gaskell for a writer of this kind and it was something of a revelation to me that she was able to do it so well.

[Valgard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jako miłośnik literatury grozy lat 1800-1900 zdecydowanie nie mogłem przejść obojętnie
obok tego tytułu. Mam słabość do powieści grozy pisanych kobiecą dłonią tak też nie trzeba mnie
było przekonywać do tej książki.
W skład książki udostępnionej nam przez wydawnictwo C&T wchodzi 5 nowel
które są utrzymane w gotyckich, wiktoriańskich klimatach. Osobiście w moim odczuciu podczas
obcowania z recenzowanym tytułem nie odczułem efektu gęsiej skórki ani żadnych mrówek na
ciele (choć to lubię najbardziej ;D) nie mniej jednak każda z historii ma coś do opowiedzenia.
Styl pani Gaskell jest subtelny, delikatny i spokojny mógłbym powiedzieć że sama autorka
towarzyszyła mi podczas wędrówki z kartki na kartkę trzymając za rękę niejako ubezpieczając i
chroniąc od złego któremu sama nadała formę(tak obrazowo to odebrałem). To takie łagodne
opowieści grozy które nie rzucają nas na głęboką wodę tylko stopniowo wprowadzają czytelnika
krok po kroku coraz to głębiej w fabułę. Niestety nie podobały mi się zakończenia większości nowel.
Elizabeth Gaskell pokazuje że potrafi podnosić napięcie i radzi sobie z tym bardzo dobrze problem w tym że spodziewałem się jak by to powiedzieć bardziej "spektakularnych" zakończeń. Takich
zakończeń z "przytupem" jak robiła to Mary E Wilkins Freeman(uściślając jak do tej pory moja
autorka nr 1 old schoolowej powieści grozy).
Kończąc powiem że książkę czyta się płynnie i wygodnie. Jestem zadowolony że posiadam ten tytuł
w swojej kolekcji. Zaryzykował bym stwierdzenie że autorka romansowała wręcz ze swoim
dziełem podczas spisywania kolejnych stron.

[Jakub · Rating 2 out of 5]

Więcej recenzji znajdziesz na www.jakeczyta.blogspot.com

Literatura Elizabeth Gaskell to już relikt czasu. Oczywiście pisarzy horroru gotyckiego, których dzieła sa ponadczasowe jest kilku, ale w przypadku autorki widać ten upływ bardzo wyraźnie. Zbiór zawiera 5 opowiadań, które nie do końca wpisują się w horror jako taki. W zasadzie jedynie pierwsza z historii, ta najbardziej znana i publikowana we wszelkich antologiach - 'Opowieść starej niani' zawiera w sobie element nadprzyrodzony. Ten element nie straszy, można powiedzieć, że bardziej wzbudza żal względem bohaterów. Gotyckość stylu charakteryzuje się typowymi cechami historii rodzących się w XIX wieku. Każde z pozostałych opowiadań to nie tyle horror, co bardziej historie skupiające się na rodzinnych dramatach i tragediach. tutaj też, zwłaszcza w 'Klątwie rodziny Griffithów' dominuje temat bardzo powszechny w latach, w których teksty powstawały, mianowicie ten o grzechach ojców przechodzacych na dzieci. Wszystkie teksty opierają się na motywie tragedii rodzinnych czy mrocznych charakterów ludzkich. Styl pisarski - bardzo przegadany i rozwleczony słabo wypada w obecnych czasach. Mozna by powiedzieć, że to teksty dla koneserów.

W przypadku autorki trafiłem już na lepsze teksty, a 'Niesamowite historie' nie zachwycają, momentami nudzą, a już z pewnością nie są takie niesamowite.

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

I love North and South by Gaskell. It is one of my favorite books and I'm looking forward to reading her other novels. But this was a slog to get through. Out of the 9 stories in here I gave one 4 stars, 2 3 stars, 5 2 stars, and 1 got a 1 star because I didn't complete it. The last 4 in the book were definitely the weakest, I also questioned if they should be included for the most part in a book titled 'Tales of Mystery & the Macabre.' Lois the Witch and The Room of the Griffiths were the most memorable for me, although the first few in the collection may be more difficult to remember because I started it in the end of October. Some of the stories also fell to the date that short stories often do where I don't figure out who the characters are and what is going on until the end and just leave feeling confused and let down because there was not enough time to establish the setting and cast. Overall I felt I was really pushing myself to read this instead of enjoying it.

[Charlotte Craddock · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was dreadful and dull. The stories lack any development and real characters. It's filled with fluff and details that aren't important to the stories. It was a chore to try and read this book. I bought it on a whim at my local bookstore, but I just wasted $5. I read another book in-between this one and then just skipped around the stories to see if there was any redeemable tale in this book. I understand that this was written in the Victorian Era, it shows so much the prejudice that this Era had towards independent and/or grieving women. That's the only interesting aspect was how the author depicted all the good women as the good little submissive church ladies they should behave as versus women who have doubts or troubles. This author definitely believed in these aspects of women in her time.

[Gosego · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this book hoping for a really good gothic read and I won't necessarily say that I was disappointed. It had all the elements of a gothic fiction. The stories however were a little less 'thriling' than they could have been. My top 3 from this anthology are Lois, the Witch; the Grey Woman and the Doom of the Griffiths. The setting for most of these stories is dark, mysterious and maybe sometimes gloomy which I really enjoyed. I also liked that Gaskell wrote about times that were way before her and managed to capture the tones of those times. Some of the characters from the stories were dramatic and I really liked that ( kind of one of the main reasons I like reading 19th century gothic novels).
Overall, it's a good read if you're looking for a gothic anthology to pass your time and not really get too invested in.

[ines · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish all the tales in this book. I would say that the title is a bit misleading because the stories aren't really scary. They're more a bit unsetteling or rather sad. Out of the stories I read I think only one had an actual ghost in it. Mostly the scary things are what people of that time period would consider, if not exactly scary, then just kind of socially unacceptable or unusual. To me, most of the stories have completely unnecessary paragraphs that don't benefit the story and are plain dull. Mind you, I know nothing really about the author or the literature of that time, I was just looking for interesting old timey ghost stories.
This would probably be an interesting read for someone who's already familiar with Elizabeth Gaskell or 19th century English literature and is interested in social problems of that time.

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an unexpected delight! Short stories of the horror variety can be a hit or miss situation, especially when they're older and what the author found scary could be... not something that aged very well. This, on the other hand, showed surprising foresight in its choice of horrors, and was in addition written wonderfully, leading to a great sense of suspense or just simple tension and unease. The stories were all great, and some were truly exceptional. I came to this book with no expectations and left excited to read more by the author, if she also shows such great choice of words and themes in her novels.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first book by Gaskell, and everyone who likes Trollope and Austen raves about her. But I think she aligns more with the Dickens camp. And that is the rub. I'm not a fan of Dickens.
This is a collection of spooky stories, but the problem was, they just weren't that spooky. There were a couple good ones, but it felt more like cobbling together a collection than an actual collection that belonged together.
Either that, or I just don't like her writing. I can't say for sure.
I could predict a couple of the endings, as standard Victorian fare, and that's okay, as I read this for #Victober. Safe to say I probably won't be picking up one of her novels any time soon.

[Sarak77 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book has a great cover but some of the stories are quite poor - plotlines meander out of control in several and one even turns out to be all a dream. Rising literacy in Victorian times evidently created a huge market for short stories and quality wasn't an issue.

The collection is worth reading for the range of settings and characters. It would have been improved though with the inclusion of A Dark night's work, one of Gaskell's better works.

[Ink Mind · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this book. Some stories were less exciting than others, sometimes a bit confusing or hard to follow because of the appearance of many characters in a short story. However, there were some stories I thoroughly enjoyed and would read again. I feel that the less exciting stories really make this book a mixed bag.

[Melissa Jacobson · Rating 3 out of 5]

So unfortunately this was a pretty big disappointment for me. For whatever reason none of the stories felt special or interesting to me. Certainly my least favorite Elizabeth Gaskell book. Not awful but pretty boring.

[Catherine van Zetten · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Old Nurse's Story - 4/5
The Squire's Story - 3/5
The Poor Clare - 4/5
Lois the Witch - 3/5
The Doom of the Griffiths - 2/5
The Ghost in the Garden Room - 1/5
The Grey Woman - 5/5
Curious, if True - 3/5
Disappearances - 2/5

[Tamara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this. I enjoyed the first story but the others were dry and slow.

[Chris Earls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each tale had such a different flavor and perspective. I write enjoyed it and look forward to reading since of her social works.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy all of the short stories in this collection, but it was a solid collection.