The Executor

by David G. Rowlands

David G. Rowlands had been writing ghost stories for the British small press for many years, and his supernatural fiction has won him a large following. Several of his tales have been published in anthologies of supernatural stories, including the Year’s Best Horror series edited by the late Karl Edward Wagner. David has written several ghost stories continuing the adventures of E.G. Swain’s Mr Batchel, Vicar of Stoneground, the most haunted parish in England. These are included in this collection, which reprints more than thirty of David’s tales, and contains several new stories written for this edition. The cover illustration is by Douglas Walters.

Contents: Introduction by David G. Rowlands; Father O'Connor Stories: 'A Graven Image'; 'The Apples of Sodom'; 'The Previous Train'; 'Tintinabula'; 'Sins of the Fathers'; 'Irene'; 'Wyntours'; 'The Whistling Stones'; 'A Fisher of Men'; 'Fairy Horse'; 'Unconsidered Trifles'; 'The Fifteenth Evening'; 'The Uncommon Salt'; 'The Executor'; 'Conkers'; 'Traveller's Fare'; 'The Elbow'; 'The Tears of Saint Agathé'; 'Gebal and Ammon and Amalek'; Mr Batchel Stories: 'From the Diggings'; 'One Man Went to Mow'; 'One Good Turn'; 'The Marsh Lights'; 'Providing a Footnote'; 'Off the Record'; 'Hic Dracones'; 'The Train of Events'; 'Vox Humana'; 'The Long Hundred'; 'On Information Received'; 'With This Ring'; 'The Codex'; 'The Saints Which Slept'; Ghost Tales of Eton College Choir School: 'Every Picture Tells A Story'; 'The Passage'; 'What's In a Name?'; 'The Greeter'; Other Stories: 'Truth Will Out'; 'On Wings of Song'; 'King John's Ditch'.

298 pages, Hardcover

First published May 17, 1996

Reviews

[Martin Cosby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, entertaining and consistent collection of MR James-type tales. Thoroughly entertaining, beautifully written and occasionally creepy.

[Jay Rothermel · Rating 3 out of 5]

David G. Rowlands' collection The Executor and Other Ghost Stories (Ash-Tress Press ebook 2012) is the largest available selection of the writer's work.

This is a good thing and a bad thing for a short story glutton like myself. I chewed through the book in the ten days preceding Halloween. Don't make my mistake: read no more than one per day.

I was tempted to start this note by complaining about Rowlands' uneven tone. But that is an unacceptable summation. Rowlands is a facile and energetic writer, delighted to be doing what he loves, and the tone of each story - whether solemn or mirthful - clearly conveys this....

Full review here:

https://jayrothermel.blogspot.com/201...