When I Was Dead

by Vincent O'Sullivan

Alistair, a wealthy eccentric, tests one of his strangest beliefs - he fancies that he can summon a ghostly apparition through sheer concentration. Soon, however, Alistair discovers the dangers of paranormal dalliance when he's trapped in an ethereal nightmare from which he can't escape.

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Classics, Fiction

Unknown Binding

About the author

Vincent O'Sullivan was an American short story writer, poet and critic. Born in New York City to Eugene and Christine O'Sullivan, he began his education in the New York public school system and completed it in Britain. He lived comfortably in London, traveling often to France, until in 1909 he lost his income from the family coffee business when his brother Percy made a spectacularly mistimed futures gamble at the New York Coffee Exchange. The entire family was ruined, and Vincent was destitute for the remaining years of his life.

His works dealt with the morbid and decadent. He was a friend of Oscar Wilde (to whom in his disgrace he was often generous), Leonard Smithers, Aubrey Beardsley and other fin-de-siècle figures. O'Sullivan produced his first collection of supernatural fiction, A Book of Bargains, in 1896. It contains the pact-with the devil story "The Bargain of Rupert Orange", and The Business of Madame Jahn and "My Enemy and Myself", which both feature reanimated corpses. "When I Was Dead" (1905), "Verschoyle's House" (1915) and "The Burned House" (1916) are ghost stories, while "Will" is a tale of psychic vampirism.

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

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Reviews

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ghost story in which a reclusive man’s occult experiment traps him in a nightmare of his own making blurring hallucination, haunting, and madness until he realizes too late that he has effectively become a ghost in his own life.

The tale follows Alistair, a wealthy, hypersensitive recluse living alone in the oppressive gloom of Ravenel Hall. The house’s atmosphere consisting of dark corridors, funereal décor, and storm‑ridden nights feeds his morbid imagination. Alistair firmly believes he can summon a spectral figure by placing drops of human blood near him and concentrating intensely. He insists this is a scientific experiment, though his last visitor, Wilvern, warns him he is slipping into madness. His experiment succeeds, at least in his mind. A ghastly old woman appears repeatedly with her hair parted down the middle with one side white, the other black and no eyes. Whenever Alistair tried to imagine her eyes into existence she would shrivel up and rot away.

This figure becomes a constant presence, haunting him day and night. As the haunting intensifies, Alistair’s sense of self erodes. He begins to feel disconnected from the living, unseen and unheard. His isolation deepens until he realizes with horror that he has crossed a threshold where he is “dead” in the eyes of the world, a ghost wandering through his own life.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining horror listening🎧

I listened to this as part of Classic Tales of Horror - 500+ Stories. This story is very interesting with will developed characters.

I would recommed this individual story and box set to readers of horror stories. 2023

[Rhys Causon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing style was bad and the story didn’t outstay it’s welcome. It’s just a shame the title gave away the twist that could have been done a little better.

But I’m not sure how long you could have made that last either

[Mayda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmmmm, if you just refuse to admit you are dead, does that make alive again? That’s the quandary in which this protagonist finds himself. It’s not a good place to be. A creepy story.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

[Katie Kuntz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man I hate when that happens