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The House of Strange Stories
‘The morgue had no electricity, just a kerosene lamp… I had not been sitting there for long when the lamp…went out, and something moved very softly and quietly past me… Something cold and icy touched one of my hands and felt its way up towards my neck and throat. It was behind me, then it was before me. Then it was over me. I was in the arms of the corpse!’With The House of Strange Stories, celebrated writer Ruskin Bond brings forth a collection of some of the most blood-curdling tales ever written. Featuring Stacy Marie Belloc Lowndes’ ‘The Lodger’, Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘The Red-Headed League’, Wilkie Collins’ ‘The Duel’, Bram Stoker’s ‘The Sqaw’, Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Cask of Amontillado’, and several of Bond’s own, these tales of macabre, suspense, vampires, and haunted houses will leave even horror fans terrified.
212 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 27, 2018
280 people are currently reading
401 people want to read
About the author
Ruskin Bond
681 books3,565 followersRuskin Bond is an Indian author of British descent. He is considered to be an icon among Indian writers and children's authors and a top novelist. He wrote his first novel, The Room on the Roof, when he was seventeen which won John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957. Since then he has written several novellas, over 500 short stories, as well as various essays and poems, all of which have established him as one of the best-loved and most admired chroniclers of contemporary India. In 1992 he received the Sahitya Akademi award for English writing, for his short stories collection, "Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra", by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters in India. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 for contributions to children's literature. He now lives with his adopted family in Landour near Mussoorie.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 8, 2023
In a Nutshell: If not one story herein could terrify a scaredy-cat such as Yours Truly, it certainly doesn’t work as a horror collection. It is still somewhat entertaining if you go in with the right expectations.
“With The House of Strange Stories, celebrated writer Ruskin Bond brings forth a collection of some of the most blood-curdling tales ever written. […] these tales of macabre, suspense, vampires, and haunted houses will leave even horror fans terrified.”
Thus declares the blurb. And that’s what killed my experience because the tall promise doesn’t even come close to fulfilment.
I do not enjoy full-length horror novels, but have begun to relish short stories in this genre since a couple of years now. But I don’t consider myself an attuned horror reader. In other words, it is still possible to scare me and give me nightmares. So the blurb create some delicious expectations in my mind. However, only one of the stories sent a tiny shiver down the spine. (Albeit for the wrong reasons – animal brutality. 😢) The rest were mostly like mystery shorts, read quickly and forgotten easily, with very few memorable exceptions.
The collection contains twenty-one stories, of which fourteen are written by Ruskin Bond—also the editor of this anthology—and the remaining seven are by renowned classic writers such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker and Edgar Allan Poe.
Let’s talk about Bond’s stories first. Every avid Indian reader is aware of Ruskin Bond. Almost every Indian urban reader has read at least one Ruskin Bond work, whether a novel or a short story. Therefore, it is almost sacrilegious to say this: his short fiction is predictable after a point. Once you are familiar with a few of his stories, you can predict the pattern of most of his suspense tales much in advance. This doesn’t take away anything from the lushness of his prose; he is a master at bringing the hills of Mussoorie alive with his penchant for stringing words together. As is typical of Bond, he inserts himself in many of his stories, leaving us to wonder where the line blurs between fact and fiction. But a horror story needs a balance of suspense and spooks to make an impact, both of which were present only randomly in his stories of this collection.
The seven classics are much better in terms of impact, while being much longer in terms of word count. The classics take up about 60% of the book though they are only 33% of the index. Except for Bram Stoker’s work (The Squaw), none of the tales qualify as true horror. The stories again work much better as tales of crime and mystery.
I must highlight one thing here. The editor did not promise us a horror anthology. In his introductory note, Bond mentions that “strange” doesn’t necessarily indicate horror but that it is “the difference between real and imaginary which makes for strange territory.” In terms of strangeness, some of the stories do work decently. But the blurb ended up exaggerating the horror feature, and this resulted in a disappointment.
As always, I rated the stories individually. Initially, I tried to rate based on the ‘fear factor’, and when that didn’t work, I switched to rating in terms of strangeness. That also didn’t fix the problem. The stories remained adamantly and disappointingly impactless. Only five of the twenty-one tales managed to reach/cross the four star mark for me. These were my favourites:
A Job Well Done – Ruskin Bond – Where a haughty master gets his due. I always enjoy underdog stories. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
Eyes of the Cat – Ruskin Bond – Not scary as such, but I liked how it developed from normal to thrilling - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The perfect murder –Stacy Aumônier – Though long, well-written and entertaining. Enjoyed the ending. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
The Red-Headed League - Arthur Conan Doyle – Classic Sherlock! How can one go wrong with one of his most popular stories? - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Lodger - Marie Belloc Lowndes – Reminiscent of Jack the Ripper. The ending was a bit hurried, but the rest of the story was superb. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
That said, the Ruskin Bond stories might work better for those who don’t know his writing. Many of his stories in this collection were already familiar to me through other anthologies. (His publishers in India have a bad habit of printing the same stories in multiple anthologies, changing the book titles such that we don’t even realise which collection has which tales. For instance, four of the stories in this collection are also a part of The Room of Many Colours: A Treasury of Stories for Children, which is a children’s anthology!)
Still recommended, but not to horror aficionados. If you like reading mystery anthologies and are equally fond of classic and contemporary works, this might work for you.
3.1 stars, based on the average of my rating for each story.
For those interested, this collection is available to Amazon Prime subscribers.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
“With The House of Strange Stories, celebrated writer Ruskin Bond brings forth a collection of some of the most blood-curdling tales ever written. […] these tales of macabre, suspense, vampires, and haunted houses will leave even horror fans terrified.”
Thus declares the blurb. And that’s what killed my experience because the tall promise doesn’t even come close to fulfilment.
I do not enjoy full-length horror novels, but have begun to relish short stories in this genre since a couple of years now. But I don’t consider myself an attuned horror reader. In other words, it is still possible to scare me and give me nightmares. So the blurb create some delicious expectations in my mind. However, only one of the stories sent a tiny shiver down the spine. (Albeit for the wrong reasons – animal brutality. 😢) The rest were mostly like mystery shorts, read quickly and forgotten easily, with very few memorable exceptions.
The collection contains twenty-one stories, of which fourteen are written by Ruskin Bond—also the editor of this anthology—and the remaining seven are by renowned classic writers such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker and Edgar Allan Poe.
Let’s talk about Bond’s stories first. Every avid Indian reader is aware of Ruskin Bond. Almost every Indian urban reader has read at least one Ruskin Bond work, whether a novel or a short story. Therefore, it is almost sacrilegious to say this: his short fiction is predictable after a point. Once you are familiar with a few of his stories, you can predict the pattern of most of his suspense tales much in advance. This doesn’t take away anything from the lushness of his prose; he is a master at bringing the hills of Mussoorie alive with his penchant for stringing words together. As is typical of Bond, he inserts himself in many of his stories, leaving us to wonder where the line blurs between fact and fiction. But a horror story needs a balance of suspense and spooks to make an impact, both of which were present only randomly in his stories of this collection.
The seven classics are much better in terms of impact, while being much longer in terms of word count. The classics take up about 60% of the book though they are only 33% of the index. Except for Bram Stoker’s work (The Squaw), none of the tales qualify as true horror. The stories again work much better as tales of crime and mystery.
I must highlight one thing here. The editor did not promise us a horror anthology. In his introductory note, Bond mentions that “strange” doesn’t necessarily indicate horror but that it is “the difference between real and imaginary which makes for strange territory.” In terms of strangeness, some of the stories do work decently. But the blurb ended up exaggerating the horror feature, and this resulted in a disappointment.
As always, I rated the stories individually. Initially, I tried to rate based on the ‘fear factor’, and when that didn’t work, I switched to rating in terms of strangeness. That also didn’t fix the problem. The stories remained adamantly and disappointingly impactless. Only five of the twenty-one tales managed to reach/cross the four star mark for me. These were my favourites:
A Job Well Done – Ruskin Bond – Where a haughty master gets his due. I always enjoy underdog stories. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
Eyes of the Cat – Ruskin Bond – Not scary as such, but I liked how it developed from normal to thrilling - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The perfect murder –Stacy Aumônier – Though long, well-written and entertaining. Enjoyed the ending. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
The Red-Headed League - Arthur Conan Doyle – Classic Sherlock! How can one go wrong with one of his most popular stories? - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Lodger - Marie Belloc Lowndes – Reminiscent of Jack the Ripper. The ending was a bit hurried, but the rest of the story was superb. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
That said, the Ruskin Bond stories might work better for those who don’t know his writing. Many of his stories in this collection were already familiar to me through other anthologies. (His publishers in India have a bad habit of printing the same stories in multiple anthologies, changing the book titles such that we don’t even realise which collection has which tales. For instance, four of the stories in this collection are also a part of The Room of Many Colours: A Treasury of Stories for Children, which is a children’s anthology!)
Still recommended, but not to horror aficionados. If you like reading mystery anthologies and are equally fond of classic and contemporary works, this might work for you.
3.1 stars, based on the average of my rating for each story.
For those interested, this collection is available to Amazon Prime subscribers.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
July 10, 2025
not 'horror' . strange stories.. good .one time read.
February 12, 2020
The Book of strange stories.
The house of strange stories, is an anthology of short stories by Ruskin Bond, and a few classics by other well known writers. The book contains stories that are eerie, weird and even Gruesome. A perfect blend for a horror fan.
The writing in this book was impeccable. As always Ruskin Bond is at his story telling best. The stories at the start were by Ruskin Bond, and a few at the end were by other writers. The Ruskin Bond stories were fun to read, but the ones by the others seemed a little slow and Incomprehensible. Some of my favourites from this book were - From the primeval past, Eyes of the cat, Some hill station Ghosts and A job well done. The stories were not very scary, but they were eerie and fun. Recommended for horror fans.
The house of strange stories, is an anthology of short stories by Ruskin Bond, and a few classics by other well known writers. The book contains stories that are eerie, weird and even Gruesome. A perfect blend for a horror fan.
The writing in this book was impeccable. As always Ruskin Bond is at his story telling best. The stories at the start were by Ruskin Bond, and a few at the end were by other writers. The Ruskin Bond stories were fun to read, but the ones by the others seemed a little slow and Incomprehensible. Some of my favourites from this book were - From the primeval past, Eyes of the cat, Some hill station Ghosts and A job well done. The stories were not very scary, but they were eerie and fun. Recommended for horror fans.
June 30, 2020
This is the collection of 21 stories. Stories are selected and compiled by Ruskin Bond. The stories of authors include Andrew Long, Stacy Aumonier, Arthur Conan Doyle, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Wilkie Collins, Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker apart from stories of Ruskin Bond.
July 4, 2021
"Okay-ish Collection of Stories by Ruskin Bond and Other Famous Writers"
It is a collection made by Ruskin Bond of stories authored by him and the other famous writers like Bram Stoker and Arthur Canon Doyle's famous story titled "The Red-Headed League". That is a lot of different styles of writing in one book!
I liked the stories written by Ruskin Bond especially The Wind on Haunted Hill. They are not really that scary but will keep you interested. But, some of the other stories bored me and more than once I found myself checking and sighing over the number of pages.
It is a collection made by Ruskin Bond of stories authored by him and the other famous writers like Bram Stoker and Arthur Canon Doyle's famous story titled "The Red-Headed League". That is a lot of different styles of writing in one book!
I liked the stories written by Ruskin Bond especially The Wind on Haunted Hill. They are not really that scary but will keep you interested. But, some of the other stories bored me and more than once I found myself checking and sighing over the number of pages.
May 26, 2021
Not a bad book but if you are like me, who isn't that interested in Anthologies or any kind of collection of short stories, this book would be inherently boring. I knew what I was getting into when I picked the book. I enjoyed the first couple of stories though they were not terrifying at all. These are stories with the presence/mention of ghosts that didn't scare me. The last half of the book has stories from different and prominent authors (Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker) but these aren't ghost stories.
I think it's best if this book isn't read at a stretch, like I did. If taken time by reading 2 or 3 short stories a day, it would've been more enjoyable than it was for me.
I think it's best if this book isn't read at a stretch, like I did. If taken time by reading 2 or 3 short stories a day, it would've been more enjoyable than it was for me.
December 5, 2021
I liked the first half very much in sense of spookiness. You'll encounter some spine-chilling short stories which happen to be my favourite of all ❤️ But I didn't quite like the second half with relatively bigger stories which didn't scare me at all, didn't even feel a shred of excitement as such 😕 Then the last story had some calibre to do so.
So yeah, I expected more spookiness from it.
So yeah, I expected more spookiness from it.
April 29, 2024
The House of Strange Stories is an anthology of a bunch of haunting, mysterious, and funny short stories. Some of the first set of stories are penned by our own Mussorie storyteller Ruskin Bond, and the others are stories curated by him by other famous foreign writers. This collection includes The House of Strange Stories by Andrew Lang, From the Primaeval Past, Some Hill Station Ghosts, Pret in the House, A Traveller's Tale, The Chakrata Cat, A Dreadful Gurgle, The White Pigeon, He Who Rides a Tiger, The Wind on Haunted Hill, A Job Well Done, A Face Under the Pillow, A Demon for Work, The Overcoat, Eyes of the Cat by Ruskin Bond himself. The others are The Perfect Murder by Stacy Aumonier, The Red-Headed League by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes, The Duel by William Wilkie Collins, The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe and The Squaw by Bram Stoker.
All the stories by Bond have elements of horror, supernatural, and eerie content, of which I liked Eyes of the Cat the most. Among others, I had a chance to read again my favorite Sherlock Holmes investigating the peculiar case of The Red-Headed League. Two more stories will stay in my mind forever - The Perfect Murder, which is a very intriguing story of two brothers planning to murder their wealthy spinster aunt, and the chilling tale from the horror maestro Bram Stoker, The Squaw, which tells us about the revenge of a cat with an American who killed her kitten, in the Nurnberg Torture Tower.
Overall, this is an excellent collection of stories that gives the reader some level of haunting experience. Once again, Thanks to Bond for picking the best!
All the stories by Bond have elements of horror, supernatural, and eerie content, of which I liked Eyes of the Cat the most. Among others, I had a chance to read again my favorite Sherlock Holmes investigating the peculiar case of The Red-Headed League. Two more stories will stay in my mind forever - The Perfect Murder, which is a very intriguing story of two brothers planning to murder their wealthy spinster aunt, and the chilling tale from the horror maestro Bram Stoker, The Squaw, which tells us about the revenge of a cat with an American who killed her kitten, in the Nurnberg Torture Tower.
Overall, this is an excellent collection of stories that gives the reader some level of haunting experience. Once again, Thanks to Bond for picking the best!
May 14, 2024
Diverse Themes
One of the standout features of 'The House of Strange Stories' is its exploration of a wide range of themes within the realm of speculative fiction. For example, in the story 'The Forgotten Room,' Smith delves into the concept of memory and its impact on identity, weaving a tale of a protagonist who uncovers long-buried secrets within the walls of an old mansion. This theme of memory serves as a powerful undercurrent throughout the narrative, adding depth and complexity to the story. Additionally, in 'The Time Traveler's Dilemma,' the author tackles the paradoxes of time travel, challenging readers to consider the implications of altering the past. By incorporating such diverse themes, Smith keeps readers engaged and intrigued, offering a rich tapestry of storytelling.
Atmospheric Writing
Smith's prose excels in creating atmospheric settings that immerse readers into the heart of each tale. In 'The Whispering Woods,' the author paints a vivid picture of a forest shrouded in mystery, where whispers in the wind hint at otherworldly secrets. This atmospheric writing not only sets the stage for the unfolding narratives but also evokes a sense of unease and wonder in readers, drawing them deeper into the story. By masterfully crafting these immersive environments, Smith enhances the reader's experience and creates a lasting impact.
One of the standout features of 'The House of Strange Stories' is its exploration of a wide range of themes within the realm of speculative fiction. For example, in the story 'The Forgotten Room,' Smith delves into the concept of memory and its impact on identity, weaving a tale of a protagonist who uncovers long-buried secrets within the walls of an old mansion. This theme of memory serves as a powerful undercurrent throughout the narrative, adding depth and complexity to the story. Additionally, in 'The Time Traveler's Dilemma,' the author tackles the paradoxes of time travel, challenging readers to consider the implications of altering the past. By incorporating such diverse themes, Smith keeps readers engaged and intrigued, offering a rich tapestry of storytelling.
Atmospheric Writing
Smith's prose excels in creating atmospheric settings that immerse readers into the heart of each tale. In 'The Whispering Woods,' the author paints a vivid picture of a forest shrouded in mystery, where whispers in the wind hint at otherworldly secrets. This atmospheric writing not only sets the stage for the unfolding narratives but also evokes a sense of unease and wonder in readers, drawing them deeper into the story. By masterfully crafting these immersive environments, Smith enhances the reader's experience and creates a lasting impact.
July 27, 2021
Quite a good selection of tales including some from Ruskin Bond himself. Includes a Sherlock Holmes story 'The Red Headed League', my favorite. I enjoyed reading all the tales. Only that I find the language of some of the authors of bygone times [Edgar Ellan Poe and Bram Stoker] a bit too convoluted and difficult. Overall a good collection for the horror afficionados.
December 17, 2023
Not bad. I knew that I was about to read a collection of stories from other authors and not Bond's own stories. However, as I read through some of the non-Bond stories, I yearned for Bond's simplistic and hope filled writing. Not the sordid and dark stuff that was in the stories like The Cask of Amontillado or The Squaw.
July 12, 2020
Wasn't looking for more from it, thus gave 5 stars. The stories, Ruskin, included from other writers are also of a palapable taste and well chosen. The stories by Ruskin himself are short, simple and sweet.
September 22, 2019
I have read so many of his books but can't get enough. Stories that talk about about Dehradun and Mussoorie makes me nostalgic.
August 16, 2020
3.5/5
The collection of short stories, by Ruskin Bond and some other Authors. I thoroughly enjoyed each word by Mr. Bond, the other stories are also not bad. Overall a good read.
The collection of short stories, by Ruskin Bond and some other Authors. I thoroughly enjoyed each word by Mr. Bond, the other stories are also not bad. Overall a good read.
April 23, 2021
Contains stories by Bond himself, Doyle and Lowndes. Great collection.
May 29, 2021
Book had mix of Ruskin Bond and few stories by other authors. Would have been better if it had only his stories.
May 25, 2022
I had this book but was again gifted it yesterday
May 30, 2022
Good novel
June 23, 2022
Very interesting
Want to read
November 10, 2022Nice
April 4, 2023
Awesome collection of strange stories.
April 13, 2023
As creepy as expected. The last story was the icing on the cake! Some of the stories were a bit dreary, but amazing for a quick and light read.
February 25, 2025
A nice collection of stories, not all of them written by Ruskin Bond, but authors like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle etc about the strange stories - ghosts, mystery etc.
January 11, 2026
S0me stories are really great and some are boring. The best story is about a vengeance of a cat, the guy deserved it lol
November 29, 2023
Another nice collection of some of the world's best horror stories, compiled by Bond.
Though he repeats some of the stories, I discover new stories every time a new compilation is released. So, thanks to him for the same.
Though he repeats some of the stories, I discover new stories every time a new compilation is released. So, thanks to him for the same.
June 24, 2022
Short stories by Ruskin bond were really good. But lost interest in the later part with relatively longer plots by other authors.
Opted this book for some eerie, horror stories (like the short stories) and ended up getting thriller and suspense genre (second part of the book).
If I wanted to read works from other authors, I wouldnt have selected a book that says Ruskin Bond on the title page.
Although being a fan of Sherlock Holmes, really enjoyed the red headed league.
Opted this book for some eerie, horror stories (like the short stories) and ended up getting thriller and suspense genre (second part of the book).
If I wanted to read works from other authors, I wouldnt have selected a book that says Ruskin Bond on the title page.
Although being a fan of Sherlock Holmes, really enjoyed the red headed league.
October 7, 2021
This book is a combination of ghost stories and gruesome murders. Some are written by Ruskin bond and some are classic short stories. Some stories gave me goosebumps, some gave me chills when I was reading nighttime.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews