Smee: A Short Story

by A.M. Burrage, Graeme Malcolm (Narrator)

Smee is a crackling ghost story about a guest in a haunted house telling other visitors of the death of a young girl, years ago, playing a game of hide-and-seek.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Audiobook, Fiction, Christmas, Classics, Holiday

Audiobook

First published January 1, 1927

About the author

Alfred McLelland Burrage (1889-1956) was a British writer. He was noted in his time as an author of fiction for boys which he published under the pseudonym Frank Lelland, including a popular series called "Tufty". Burrage is now remembered mainly for his horror fiction.

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!

boilerplate mission statement intro:

for the past two years, i’ve set december’s project aside to do my own version of a short story advent calendar. it’s not a true advent calendar since i choose all the stories myself, but what it lacks in the ‘element of surprise’ department it more than makes up for in hassle, as i try to cram even MORE reading into a life already overcrammed with impossible personal goals (live up to your potential! find meaningful work! learn to knit!) merry merry wheee!

since i am already well behind in my *regular* reviewing, when it comes to these stories, whatever i poop out as far as reflections or impressions are going to be superficial and perfunctory at best. please do not weep for the great big hole my absented, much-vaunted critical insights are gonna leave in these daily review-spaces (and your hearts); i’ll try to drop shiny insights elsewhere in other reviews, and here, i will at least drop links to where you can read the stories yourselves for free, which - let’s be honest - is gonna serve you better anyway.

HAPPY READING, BOOKNERDS!!

links to all stories read in previous years' calendars can be found at the end of these reviews, in case you are a person who likes to read stories for free:

2016: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2017: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

scroll down for links to this year’s stories which i will update as we go, and if you have any suggestions, send 'em my way! the only rules are: it must be available free online (links greatly appreciated), and it must be here on gr as its own thing so i can review it. thank you in advance!

DECEMBER 17



I wonder if any of you have ever played a game called “Smee”.

again, it’s a little churlish to, in 2018, call a ghost story written in 1927 “predictable.” (stage whisper - even if it is) still, it’s a good ‘un, and would probably be goosebump-making if read aloud under the right circumstances, say, a haunted hayride, slumber party, or ‘round the fire in the darkened drawing room of a big old house. the kind of house bougie enough to have a drawing room. funnily enough, this is the same author whose story One Who Saw was the first of the eleven books in seth’s ghost stories for christmas series that i read. wait, that’s not the funny part. the funny part is that One Who Saw has NOTHING to do with christmas, but this one DOES. (pause for laughter)

even though you know what’s going to happen because the narrator more or less gives away the ending in his opening statements, and additionally because this particular lead-and-reveal has become, since 1927, very common in ghostie stories, there’s a pretty wince-y womp womp style ending in which you can almost see burrage’s 1927 eyebrows doing that “didn’t see that coming, didja??” thing before cutting off abruptly, presumably for maximum spookage.

in any event, i liked it more than One Who Saw, and it reminded me of another very enjoyable short story about party games gone wrong - graham greene's The End of the Party, which you should also check out. for now,

read it for yourself here:

http://www.scaryforkids.com/smee/

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[Latasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A game of hide and seek with an extra player. This would have been a great episode for Are You Afraid of the Dark.

[Amirhosein Ghazi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read it fifteen times during my life. Great, simple, and frightening story.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐

The story takes place on Christmas Eve. It is a story within a story. Tony Jackson is forced to explain to his friends why he wishes not to partake in their post-dinner, hide-and-seek game. To explain his hesitancy, he relays a story of a Christmas Eve past, where, after dining, he and eleven friends play a game called “Smee!,” which is similar to hide-and-seek. The name is based on the phonetic similarities to the phrase “It’s me!” One person per game bares the title “Smee.” No one knows the identity of “Smee” except for the one that chooses the card that assigns that person the title. “Smee” then hides and the others seek. When a seeker encounters another player, s/he calls out “Smee?” If the other player replies with “Smee!”, the seeker moves on. When the real “Smee” is found, s/he is silent when asked about his/her identity. The finder then joins Smee in hiding and waits. Soon, all the players except for one will be hiding with Smee. The last player to find “Smee” (and the rest of the party) is the loser.

Poor Jackson had a frightening experience playing that game on that particular Christmas Eve. It just so happened that a ghost of the girl who had died ten years previously had joined in the game!

[Shabbeer Hassan · Rating 2 out of 5]

What happens when in a Victorian variation of hide-n-seek, you find someone who was never there to begin with! Nothing, for I, would rather sit, gossip/read and drink something nice than running around in haunted houses.

My Rating - 2/5

[Alex Sarll]

It may be bright and sunny out there, but I was impatient for the first Christmas ghost story of the year. Predictable now through all the things which have riffed on it, but still a fine little chiller about a country house game of a hide and seek variant, with one player too many.

[Catie Markesich · Rating 1 out of 5]

What did I just listen to? I mean, if this was the very first scary story you had ever heard, I would say it’s not bad. Otherwise… yikes. SO basic. Read this to get a bingo square. I need to not do bingo next time…

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

predictable, but still enjoyable

[Jake Stookey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was almost 5 stars. It is kind of the perfect scary story. Vivid. I had trouble understanding how a game like this could be played in a completely dark house, but the story was well written enough to maintain appropriate suspension of disbelief. This was one of the top few stories in The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories.

[S.M.S.]

This story is written in 1927--and the trope of a haunted house has been done so many times you know how things are going to go. But it's still very well-written, though I think I'd have enjoyed more of an image-rich prose.
It stayed with me, though. I had nightmares after reading this story. That speaks volumes about the horror and supernatural element being so effectively portrayed.
Rating: 4.5-5 stars!

[Gail DiVico · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short story I listened to on you tube from a collection called chilling tales for dark nights. It definitely is a scary tale about a group of people spending time at a old house with lots of secret stairways and rooms. It centers around a game of hide and seek they decide to play except it is called Smee, meaning everyone draws a piece of paper and whoever gets the word Smee is known as Smee but the others are not aware of who it is. There also has been some ghostly activity there due to an event that happened years ago when this game is played. This one is perfect for the Halloween season. I highly recommend.

[intoxicating_reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great and thrilling short story. Loved the vibe and definitely ran a chill through me as I read it. I’ve never read a Christmas ghost story before so didn’t know what to expect. This one really surprised me with how it captured me and drew me into the suspense. I think I’m going to make reading Christmas ghost stories a new holiday tradition.

[Kevin Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed a wonderful reading of this as a festive bonus from “The Secret History Of Hollywood” podcast. It’s a wonderfully spooky little tale, but will also feel slightly familiar nowadays to those who have enjoyed every episode of Inside No. 9 (as the very first tale, “Sardines”, is an obvious descendant).

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Christmastime ghost story. While on the predictable side it does make good use of the inherent spookiness of the pre-electricity era and the games people played to amuse themselves. This can be found on the Classic Ghost Stories podcast narrated by Tony Walker.

[Tim Pendry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid country house Christmas ghost story that has its atmospheric charms and even (if you look hard enough) a hint of interwar eroticism as well as some period stiff upper lip. Very British.

[Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smee..”It’s me.” It’s a predictable, yet interesting, story of grown adults playing hide and seek in a haunted house.

[Miloo · Rating 3 out of 5]

💜💜💜

[Cindy DeLong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange little story about a dead person randomly appearing in a game of hide and go seek that was played in a house in the dark.

[Stermaria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple but very effective short story ! It's genuinely frightening and the narrator - flawed, and a little egotistical - gives a unique charm to the tale.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very spooky. You can see the twist from a long way off, but that doesn't stop it being a chilling end.

[Patrick Ullmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy these old, classic ghost stories where the ghost is not a threat, mainly just a tragic character who wants to reach out to the living. Not scary, just sad when you think about it.

[Rachael Hobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I was feeling meh about this and then it ended abruptly. I was quite sore it did so! Wish there was a little bit more.

[youarebymyside · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not scary, went where I expected it to go. Alright as a story, the writing isn't bad.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sencillamente fabuloso.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chilling little short story.

[Gaby · Rating 2 out of 5]

its me!
Pequeño relato sencillo pero que entretiene

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 3.5 🌟 vintage read rounded ⬆️ to 4 🌟.

[doowopapocalypse · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those timeless stories that could be told and retold around a fire, huddled under blankets, handed down and passed around without losing its effectiveness.

[Flora · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little predictable but still plenty unnerving.