The Wimbourne Book of Victorian Ghost Stories: Volume 8

by Alastair Gunn (Introduction)

Twenty ghost stories from the supernatural masters of the Victorian age. Wimbourne Books presents the eighth in a series of rare or out-of-print ghost stories from Victorian authors. With an introduction by author Alastair Gunn, Volume 8 in the series contains stories published anonymously in America and Britain between 1838 and 1895. Most of these tales are here anthologised for the very first time. Readers new to this genre will discover its pleasures; the Victorian quaintness, the sometimes shocking difference in social norms, the almost comical politeness and structured etiquette, the archaic and precise language, but mostly the Victorians’ skill at stoking our fears and trepidations, our insecurities and doubts. Even if you are already an aficionado of the ghostly tale there is much within these pages to interest you. Wait until the dark of the snowy night, lock the doors, shutter the windows, light the fire, sit with your back to the wall and bury yourself in the Victorian macabre. Try not to let the creaking floorboards, the distant howl of a dog, the chill breeze that caresses the candle, the shadows in the far recesses of your room, disturb your concentration.

Includes the stories; The Silver Lady (1838) – The Haunted Brig (1841) – A Night in a Haunted House (1848) – The Story of an Organ (1851) – The Sword of Mauley (1854) – The Miser’s Curse (1857) – The Alibi (1861) – Bolden Tower (1865) – Falconest (1868) – The Spirit’s Whisper (1868) – Doctor Feversham’s Story (1868) – The Ghost of Stanton Hall (1868) – A Spirit’s Tale; or Aunt Ella’s Story (1868) – Le Vert Galant (1870) – The Bridal of La Guillotiere (1875) – The Ghost of Aldrum Hall (1880) – Not Yet Solved (1886) – The Château de Keronel (1887) – The Weird Violin (1893) – The Last Saturday in August (1895).

Genres: Horror

310 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 8, 2018

About the author

ALASTAIR GUNN is an author, musician and professional astrophysicist based in the UK and is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. As well as an active scientist, Alastair is an experienced and popular public lecturer on astronomy and is known for his accessible (though challenging), light-hearted, and visually stunning lectures. He has made guest appearances on many TV and radio shows around the world and has hosted a regular astronomy program on radio. Alastair writes a regular column for BBC Science Focus magazine and has written for The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and The Guardian and is a contributor to many astronomy magazines including Astronomy Now, BBC Sky at Night and StarDate. His fiction includes ghostly short stories, a collection of supernatural stories called Ballymoon and his debut novel, The Bergamese Sect.

Reviews

[D J Rout · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is q collection of ghost stories from the Victorian era that were published anonymously.

The Victorian ghost story relies far more on inference than description, and might therefore be seen as the first instances of modernism in 19th century literature. The problem with this is that the reader, or listener, has to supply most of the work in the creation of a story from these stories.

The introductory piece, about the phenomenon of anonymously writing stories and the reasons for it, is quite interesting. The same is not true for the rest of the book.

Ah, well, on to The Wimbourne Book of Victorian Ghost Stories (Annotated): Volume 9.

[Charlene Morris]

All stories were written Anonymously

The Silver Lady (1838) –
The Haunted Brig (1841) –
A Night in a Haunted House (1848) –
The Story of an Organ (1851) –
The Sword of Mauley (1854) –
The Miser’s Curse (1857) –
The Alibi (1861) –
Bolden Tower (1865) –
Falconest (1868) –
The Spirit’s Whisper (1868) –
Doctor Feversham’s Story (1868) –
The Ghost of Stanton Hall (1868) –
A Spirit’s Tale; or Aunt Ella’s Story (1868) –
Le Vert Galant (1870) –
The Bridal of La Guillotiere (1875) –
The Ghost of Aldrum Hall (1880) –
Not Yet Solved (1886) –
The Château de Keronel (1887) –
The Weird Violin (1893) –
The Last Saturday in August (1895).

[Onorio Catenacci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, the stories themselves are somewhat uneven in quality. That said, though, in this collection the good stories outweighed the not so good by a significant margin hence I give it four stars.