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Six Ghost Stories
'Tell me strange things’ the dandified clergyman and vampirologist Montague Summers was wont to say. With this volume, Summers’ enthusiastic contribution to the tradition of ghostly and gothic fiction, readers can at last encounter a full-fledged collection of his own strange tales. Unpublished during his lifetime, despite its exquisite quality, which was attested to by the author and medievalist M. R. James, Six Ghost Stories displays a range from the gruesome to the grotesquely comic, presenting posthumous vendettas, a bibliophile who unwittingly seeks domestic help from an unusual location, a toy theatre that affords its new owner a glimpse into the bloodiest tragedy of the Victorian stage, and other spectral intrusions. These pieces showcase Summers’ love of scandal, diablerie and the theatre, as well as offering a fascinating glimpse into the creative process of one of the most colourful men of Edwardian letters.
220 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 2019
102 people want to read
About the author
Montague Summers
182 books107 followersAugustus Montague Summers was an Anglican priest and later convert to Roman Catholicism known primarily for his scholarly work on the English drama of the 17th century, as well as for his studies on witches, vampires, and werewolves, in all of which he professed to believe. He was responsible for the first English translation, published in 1928, of the notorious 15th-century witch hunter's manual, the Malleus Maleficarum.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 23, 2019
contents:
009 introduction by Daniel Corrick
015 - a note on the texts
017 - Preface by the author
023 - "The House Agent"
054 - "Governess"
100 - "Toy Theatre"
136 - "The Grimoire"
166 - Romeo and Juliet"
190 - "The Man On the Stairs"
Wormwoodiana states -Six Ghost Stories has ceased being a bibliographical ghost and become an actual book, published by Snuggly Books. This edition is based on a hand-written manuscript in the Georgetown archive. It includes the two Summers stories mentioned above ("The Grimoire" and "The Man on the Stairs") and four more which have never been published before, and a short introduction by Summers. Being based on manuscript versions, the texts of the two previously published stories are thus slightly different. (A "Note on the Text" rather confusingly circles around these facts, but I think I've got it sorted out correctly. The Note reads, in part, "The current versions of those stories, therefore, presented in the current volume, have been significantly amended, comparing the previously published versions to the original hand-written version and, in the case of 'The Man on the Stairs', to an existing typescript as well.")
four newly published stories have some fine moments, as well as some exasperating ones (e.g., some instances of run-on dialogue, like one passage stretching out over four pages in "The Governess") but none challenge "The Grimoire" in terms of quality. It's good to have the chance to read this volume at last, though some modern readers might find the prose a bit too Victorian. Summers's own introduction notes his preference in stories against the beneficent ghost and for Spirits that are "no kindly commonplace apparitions but veritable powers of darkness, grisly evil things of terror and dread and doom."
The title of the second forthcoming volume is given as The Bride of Christ and Other Fictions, and the title story is subsequently described as a "Catholic symbolist novella" without the additional information found in O'Sullivan's article that its sixty pages of holograph manuscript "appears to be unfinished because it lacks a signed and dated colophon page," something found in other Summers manuscripts. The introduction also notes that "Six Ghost Stories does not represent the entirety of Summers' ghost oeuvre." One wonder if some other organization of the two volumes of Summers's fiction might have been better.
Probably Summers expected Six Ghost Stories to be published by the Fortune Press, who had published his second and third ghost stories anthologies in 1933 and 1936. Summers first met R.A. Caton, the niggardly and eccentric owner of the Fortune Press, in February 1927, and through 1940 he published seven books with the Fortune Press, but he had planned or even completed other volumes for the press that never appeared (like Summers's edition of A Discourse on the Damned Art of Witchcraft, by William Perkins, which Summers had similarly and optimistically listed as published in 1934 in his Who's Who entry for 1935.) Presumably after his failure with getting the Fortune Press to publish Six Ghost Stories, Summers is known to have offered it in late March 1939 to the very short-lived firm Laidlaw and Laidlaw (initially Laidlaw and Butchart), an eccentric publisher of fantasy and modernism that managed to release eleven books in 1938 and early 1939 before dissolving. (My article on Laidlaw and Laidlaw is forthcoming.) After the Second World War began, Summers apparently kept the manuscript to himself.
The UK edition has 38 stories, the US edition 36. They have thirty stories in common, with eight appearing only in the UK edition, and six appearing only in the US edition.
Snuggly Books
009 introduction by Daniel Corrick
015 - a note on the texts
017 - Preface by the author
023 - "The House Agent"
054 - "Governess"
100 - "Toy Theatre"
136 - "The Grimoire"
166 - Romeo and Juliet"
190 - "The Man On the Stairs"
Wormwoodiana states -Six Ghost Stories has ceased being a bibliographical ghost and become an actual book, published by Snuggly Books. This edition is based on a hand-written manuscript in the Georgetown archive. It includes the two Summers stories mentioned above ("The Grimoire" and "The Man on the Stairs") and four more which have never been published before, and a short introduction by Summers. Being based on manuscript versions, the texts of the two previously published stories are thus slightly different. (A "Note on the Text" rather confusingly circles around these facts, but I think I've got it sorted out correctly. The Note reads, in part, "The current versions of those stories, therefore, presented in the current volume, have been significantly amended, comparing the previously published versions to the original hand-written version and, in the case of 'The Man on the Stairs', to an existing typescript as well.")
four newly published stories have some fine moments, as well as some exasperating ones (e.g., some instances of run-on dialogue, like one passage stretching out over four pages in "The Governess") but none challenge "The Grimoire" in terms of quality. It's good to have the chance to read this volume at last, though some modern readers might find the prose a bit too Victorian. Summers's own introduction notes his preference in stories against the beneficent ghost and for Spirits that are "no kindly commonplace apparitions but veritable powers of darkness, grisly evil things of terror and dread and doom."
The title of the second forthcoming volume is given as The Bride of Christ and Other Fictions, and the title story is subsequently described as a "Catholic symbolist novella" without the additional information found in O'Sullivan's article that its sixty pages of holograph manuscript "appears to be unfinished because it lacks a signed and dated colophon page," something found in other Summers manuscripts. The introduction also notes that "Six Ghost Stories does not represent the entirety of Summers' ghost oeuvre." One wonder if some other organization of the two volumes of Summers's fiction might have been better.
Probably Summers expected Six Ghost Stories to be published by the Fortune Press, who had published his second and third ghost stories anthologies in 1933 and 1936. Summers first met R.A. Caton, the niggardly and eccentric owner of the Fortune Press, in February 1927, and through 1940 he published seven books with the Fortune Press, but he had planned or even completed other volumes for the press that never appeared (like Summers's edition of A Discourse on the Damned Art of Witchcraft, by William Perkins, which Summers had similarly and optimistically listed as published in 1934 in his Who's Who entry for 1935.) Presumably after his failure with getting the Fortune Press to publish Six Ghost Stories, Summers is known to have offered it in late March 1939 to the very short-lived firm Laidlaw and Laidlaw (initially Laidlaw and Butchart), an eccentric publisher of fantasy and modernism that managed to release eleven books in 1938 and early 1939 before dissolving. (My article on Laidlaw and Laidlaw is forthcoming.) After the Second World War began, Summers apparently kept the manuscript to himself.
The UK edition has 38 stories, the US edition 36. They have thirty stories in common, with eight appearing only in the UK edition, and six appearing only in the US edition.
Snuggly Books
November 12, 2019
4.5 rounded up
https://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/201...
In the author's preface to these six ghostly tales, he writes the following:
"When like Owen Glendower we 'call Spirts from the vasty deep,' let us be sure that the Spirits are no kindly commonplace apparitions but veritable powers of darkness, grisly evil things of terror and dread and doom, able to send a cold shiver through the reader who sits alone at eleven o'clock on a winter night, and perhaps even to make him hesitate a moment before he switches out the light in bed."
He goes on to say that
"unless the stage is well set and the situation made intensely real, ground-work which save in very exceptional cases entails fairly ordinary and not too romantic surroundings with everyday characters, the ghost story goes for naught."
I mention these bits of Summers' preface since they make clear what will be going on between these covers. There will be no "beneficent" ghosts to be found here, and most of the haunting that goes on takes place in rather ordinary circumstances, happening to rather ordinary people.
There are two things potential readers may wish to know before plunging into this book. First, Summers seems to take his time in more than a few of these stories setting the scene prior to the actual appearance of the "veritable powers of darkness." While this is a necessary step, he tends to be a bit long winded at times, especially in terms of dialogue. Second, I found that there were a couple of instances in which I found the outcomes predictable, but I chalk that up to having read a large number of ghost stories in my time. While they're valid concerns, these minor flaws did not at all detract from my enjoyment of this book, since these are not at all your average ghost stories, and I have to applaud Snuggly for publishing this volume which may otherwise have never actually been put into print.
recommended, most certainly.
https://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/201...
In the author's preface to these six ghostly tales, he writes the following:
"When like Owen Glendower we 'call Spirts from the vasty deep,' let us be sure that the Spirits are no kindly commonplace apparitions but veritable powers of darkness, grisly evil things of terror and dread and doom, able to send a cold shiver through the reader who sits alone at eleven o'clock on a winter night, and perhaps even to make him hesitate a moment before he switches out the light in bed."
He goes on to say that
"unless the stage is well set and the situation made intensely real, ground-work which save in very exceptional cases entails fairly ordinary and not too romantic surroundings with everyday characters, the ghost story goes for naught."
I mention these bits of Summers' preface since they make clear what will be going on between these covers. There will be no "beneficent" ghosts to be found here, and most of the haunting that goes on takes place in rather ordinary circumstances, happening to rather ordinary people.
There are two things potential readers may wish to know before plunging into this book. First, Summers seems to take his time in more than a few of these stories setting the scene prior to the actual appearance of the "veritable powers of darkness." While this is a necessary step, he tends to be a bit long winded at times, especially in terms of dialogue. Second, I found that there were a couple of instances in which I found the outcomes predictable, but I chalk that up to having read a large number of ghost stories in my time. While they're valid concerns, these minor flaws did not at all detract from my enjoyment of this book, since these are not at all your average ghost stories, and I have to applaud Snuggly for publishing this volume which may otherwise have never actually been put into print.
recommended, most certainly.
January 12, 2024
So here, then, is a collection of short fiction by noted supernatural anthologist (I did an extensive review of The Supernatural Omnibus: Being a Collection of Stories of Apparitions, Witchcraft, Werewolves, Diabolism, Necromancy, Satanism, Divination, Sorcery, Goetry, Voodoo, Possession, Occult, Doom and Destiny) and expert on the creepy (The History of Witchcraft and Demonology, The Vampire: His Kith and Kin, etc.) Montague Summers - a bit of an oddball. Here we get to ask the age-old (and ultimately frustrating) question: "does a highly regarded editor and expert in a particular sub-genre 'have the stuff' to actually write examples of that sub-genre" - which has been answered in every way imaginable through time and the history of edited anthologies and writing.
Before we get there, though, a bit about provenance. This is the first volume of two collecting Summers' fiction. Two of the stories - the two strongest - had seen previous publication, while the remaining four were slated for a collection that was promised but never materialized, and have been rescued from Summers' personal archive (with some small corrections being done on the previously published ones as well).
If you are just a general fan of supernatural/ghost stories you can probably pass this up - although I'm not sure how easily available the two previously published stories are, at this point - and those are worth checking out. If you are a fan of the "Classic English Ghost Story", though, you might want to check this out. The first thing that's notable about Summers is that, at least in a number of these, he has a propensity to "write long" - and not usually in service of the supernatural aspect of the tale or the "moment of creepiness"/M.R. Jamesian "wallop". Which isn't necessarily a criticism - some people specifically enjoy the "Classic English Ghost Story" form BECAUSE of this complete immersion in the time, location and milieu. But for others, Summers penchant for extended, near stream-of-consciousness/one sided conversation sections - in which characters are sketched through class details and voice/near-dialect delivery flourishes - as well as careful attention to place descriptions, may be a bit too much, given some of the pay-offs. Another interesting aspect is that Summers reuses some familiar ideas (which may not yet have been cliches when he wrote them) - a real murder on stage (which the audience believes to be acting), and the "fake haunting hoax gone awry" - which seems very "of the time".
And now, the stories, roughly weakest to strongest:
"The Governess" - a frame relates for us the story of an unfortunate choice of Governess for a upper middle class family's daughter - a woman who did everything correctly, and seemed quite good at her job, but also was occasionally plagued by the sudden appearance of heavy moisture on her person or location. This all eventually plays out to its mysterious conclusion when she and her charge are on holiday, and her room seems visited by wet muddy footprints, following which she takes ill and disappears. At times this seems more interested in setting the social/class scene and sketching the characters (The "Mrs. Professor" is an especially well-captured type - the domineering matron who acts as if she is in control of nothing and constantly put upon, while the exact opposite is true, and the Landlady of the rental in the holiday town - along with her daughter - make for a nice contrast of "next level down" social class/voice) and the story is told in extended form (the longest one here, almost a novella) - with the problem being that the actual "haunting" itself, while present and ominous, is given very little attention (the whole is presented, as I said, in a "story from the past" framing, and thus is third person removed). It's not bad, but doesn't have the "gripping" moment of, say, James, although it reminded me a bit of Edith Wharton's "Afterward".
Similarly, "Romeo & Juliet" (in which a man tells of his long past friendship with a beautiful woman - a profoundly talented stage actress who left the profession unexpectedly - and the circumstances which led to that retirement: a story involving a romantic triangle, an onstage murder staged as an accident, and revenge from beyond the grave) - while more compact than "Governess" - spends very little time on its expected/familiar ending and more on setting up the characters, but is not particularly engaging or thrilling and kind of perfunctory.
But "The House Agent" and "A Toy Theatre" are stronger.
In "The House Agent" a young couple, motoring through the countryside, decide that the rural village/town they run across would be the perfect place for their summer/vacation home. They check with the local real-estate agent and are rather taken (or the wife is) with a long-untenanted place about mile outside of town, which the agent unsuccessfully attempts to warn them away from. The next day, they meet the real estate agent's representative, and are toured through the property (and its grim history), upon which the husband chooses to retire to their car, as the wife and agent stay inside... This is a nicely done little "English Ghost Story", perhaps more interesting for the class/human details of village life (and upper middle class house hunting) than for the actual "haunting" - but still effective for both the malignant ghost AND the way the story plays out the relevant details of the process captured in its central conception of haunting.
Meanwhile, "A Toy Theatre" features a distinguished guest at a country manor who finds, in a little out of the way oddments shop, a unique "Toy Theatre" hand-built by the owner's now deceased husband. And such a thing is just in his line of interest. But that night, he has a vivid dream of a murder committed on stage in the actual theatre represented by the toy, which research proves to have really occurred in the past. Again, much more time spent on the lead-up to the weird event, with very detailed attention paid to conveying the locale, class lifestyle and setting and other particulars. The murder scene, beheld in a fixated dream, is effective and nightmarish - but it oddly seems that Summers, who relished these kinds of stories, is more interested in the set-up and portraying local characters (the lower-class antique shop owner and a theater reporter, in this case - more stream of consciousness type dialogue) than conveying too much of the actual *weird*. Interesting, still (with some minor racial elements vis-a-vis black actors' limited roles at the time).
Finally, there's the two previously published stories, both of which are a bit more compact and all the more effective for it. In "The Grimoire" a doctor of literature buys a rare occult book (an area he collects) offered to him by a book dealer, though he's never heard of it before and its provenance is unknown. After translating a hand-written spell at the back, he finds himself haunted by a figure in black - ostensibly an obsequious "servant" - who inquires as to his desires, but who becomes more menacing as time passes and he is given no task to perform. Now, this is the stuff. The details of the life and friendships of the main character (and the class and setting of his life) are still there - but carved down into a narrative in which the malignant, insistent figure is featured quite heavily. The end may be a little weak (saved by a Franciscan!), but all in all this is a satisfying story and quite solid.
Fanshawe has just purchased a run down estate, Chariton, in "The Man On The Stairs", and being a 'modern man' he doesn't want to hear superstitious tommyrot about the notoriously wicked family that once owned it, or the supposed haunting. But a friend (who is down on his luck and would like to take advantage of Fanshawe's proffered wager on the appearance of ghosts) arranges for a theatrical manifestation when he's invited out for the weekend... This, while familiar, is very nicely done - the club scenes at the beginning especially do a nice job of both building ominous dread and giving us the class/society setting. And the ghost parts are suitably creepy. A good read.
Before we get there, though, a bit about provenance. This is the first volume of two collecting Summers' fiction. Two of the stories - the two strongest - had seen previous publication, while the remaining four were slated for a collection that was promised but never materialized, and have been rescued from Summers' personal archive (with some small corrections being done on the previously published ones as well).
If you are just a general fan of supernatural/ghost stories you can probably pass this up - although I'm not sure how easily available the two previously published stories are, at this point - and those are worth checking out. If you are a fan of the "Classic English Ghost Story", though, you might want to check this out. The first thing that's notable about Summers is that, at least in a number of these, he has a propensity to "write long" - and not usually in service of the supernatural aspect of the tale or the "moment of creepiness"/M.R. Jamesian "wallop". Which isn't necessarily a criticism - some people specifically enjoy the "Classic English Ghost Story" form BECAUSE of this complete immersion in the time, location and milieu. But for others, Summers penchant for extended, near stream-of-consciousness/one sided conversation sections - in which characters are sketched through class details and voice/near-dialect delivery flourishes - as well as careful attention to place descriptions, may be a bit too much, given some of the pay-offs. Another interesting aspect is that Summers reuses some familiar ideas (which may not yet have been cliches when he wrote them) - a real murder on stage (which the audience believes to be acting), and the "fake haunting hoax gone awry" - which seems very "of the time".
And now, the stories, roughly weakest to strongest:
"The Governess" - a frame relates for us the story of an unfortunate choice of Governess for a upper middle class family's daughter - a woman who did everything correctly, and seemed quite good at her job, but also was occasionally plagued by the sudden appearance of heavy moisture on her person or location. This all eventually plays out to its mysterious conclusion when she and her charge are on holiday, and her room seems visited by wet muddy footprints, following which she takes ill and disappears. At times this seems more interested in setting the social/class scene and sketching the characters (The "Mrs. Professor" is an especially well-captured type - the domineering matron who acts as if she is in control of nothing and constantly put upon, while the exact opposite is true, and the Landlady of the rental in the holiday town - along with her daughter - make for a nice contrast of "next level down" social class/voice) and the story is told in extended form (the longest one here, almost a novella) - with the problem being that the actual "haunting" itself, while present and ominous, is given very little attention (the whole is presented, as I said, in a "story from the past" framing, and thus is third person removed). It's not bad, but doesn't have the "gripping" moment of, say, James, although it reminded me a bit of Edith Wharton's "Afterward".
Similarly, "Romeo & Juliet" (in which a man tells of his long past friendship with a beautiful woman - a profoundly talented stage actress who left the profession unexpectedly - and the circumstances which led to that retirement: a story involving a romantic triangle, an onstage murder staged as an accident, and revenge from beyond the grave) - while more compact than "Governess" - spends very little time on its expected/familiar ending and more on setting up the characters, but is not particularly engaging or thrilling and kind of perfunctory.
But "The House Agent" and "A Toy Theatre" are stronger.
In "The House Agent" a young couple, motoring through the countryside, decide that the rural village/town they run across would be the perfect place for their summer/vacation home. They check with the local real-estate agent and are rather taken (or the wife is) with a long-untenanted place about mile outside of town, which the agent unsuccessfully attempts to warn them away from. The next day, they meet the real estate agent's representative, and are toured through the property (and its grim history), upon which the husband chooses to retire to their car, as the wife and agent stay inside... This is a nicely done little "English Ghost Story", perhaps more interesting for the class/human details of village life (and upper middle class house hunting) than for the actual "haunting" - but still effective for both the malignant ghost AND the way the story plays out the relevant details of the process captured in its central conception of haunting.
Meanwhile, "A Toy Theatre" features a distinguished guest at a country manor who finds, in a little out of the way oddments shop, a unique "Toy Theatre" hand-built by the owner's now deceased husband. And such a thing is just in his line of interest. But that night, he has a vivid dream of a murder committed on stage in the actual theatre represented by the toy, which research proves to have really occurred in the past. Again, much more time spent on the lead-up to the weird event, with very detailed attention paid to conveying the locale, class lifestyle and setting and other particulars. The murder scene, beheld in a fixated dream, is effective and nightmarish - but it oddly seems that Summers, who relished these kinds of stories, is more interested in the set-up and portraying local characters (the lower-class antique shop owner and a theater reporter, in this case - more stream of consciousness type dialogue) than conveying too much of the actual *weird*. Interesting, still (with some minor racial elements vis-a-vis black actors' limited roles at the time).
Finally, there's the two previously published stories, both of which are a bit more compact and all the more effective for it. In "The Grimoire" a doctor of literature buys a rare occult book (an area he collects) offered to him by a book dealer, though he's never heard of it before and its provenance is unknown. After translating a hand-written spell at the back, he finds himself haunted by a figure in black - ostensibly an obsequious "servant" - who inquires as to his desires, but who becomes more menacing as time passes and he is given no task to perform. Now, this is the stuff. The details of the life and friendships of the main character (and the class and setting of his life) are still there - but carved down into a narrative in which the malignant, insistent figure is featured quite heavily. The end may be a little weak (saved by a Franciscan!), but all in all this is a satisfying story and quite solid.
Fanshawe has just purchased a run down estate, Chariton, in "The Man On The Stairs", and being a 'modern man' he doesn't want to hear superstitious tommyrot about the notoriously wicked family that once owned it, or the supposed haunting. But a friend (who is down on his luck and would like to take advantage of Fanshawe's proffered wager on the appearance of ghosts) arranges for a theatrical manifestation when he's invited out for the weekend... This, while familiar, is very nicely done - the club scenes at the beginning especially do a nice job of both building ominous dread and giving us the class/society setting. And the ghost parts are suitably creepy. A good read.
November 22, 2019
This collection surprised me because its actually very good!
The books blurb tells us how these stories lay forgotten for decades until rescued by Snuggly and put into print. Often with 'lost' or 'forgotten' tales the reason they are so is that they are rubbish and/or incomplete drafts of unrealised ideas. This is not the case here, as Summers had completed the stories, written a (useful) introduction to them (included in this edition) and attempted to place them with a publisher prior to his death.
Though one assumes they were written sometime in the 1930s the style is very much of that of the Victorian/Edwardian. Le Fanu and M.R. James are the two obvious influences (an episode in 'The Grimoire' could almost be a knowing wink to James) but it is Le Fanu that is more perhaps the more dominant as Summers seems to have emulated Le fanus the slow build up to the events in his tales . However he has taken one of my least favourite 'Jamesian' traits, ye olde rustic/servant/barman etc who ramble on (in Summers case on and on and on) in what might be an attempt at mild amusement (it isn't) or as 'local colour' (at this distance in time grey and dull). That said, if one accept the 'classic ghost story' style and that you might need a dictionary (deipnosophist, excurision, stichomythia arent in my immediate lexicon) there is much to enjoy.
Two of the tales had previously seen the light of day, 'The Grimoire' and 'The Man on the Stair'. I've read these before - 'The Grimoire' is the archetypal 'bad book' story and is often anthologized- and is the better of the two. Dr. Hodsoll is a collector of occult literature but not a practitioner though even he should know you shouldn't try reading bits of such stuff out loud as nastiness is bound to ensue. It's possible that Summers might have some previous with such things in real life. He certainly had a library of such things.
'The Man on the Stair' is weaker. If your pal tells you a house is haunted then it probably is, and to effect a practical pleasantry on its owner could lead to some serious unpleasantness, which of course it does. The ending is telegraphed way before you get there.
The others are something of a mixed bag. 'The House Agent' is fairly pedestrian story in which the titular character attempts to let a property that shouldn't be let, and 'Romeo and Juliet' is also something of an unsophisticated tale of revenge albeit nicely structured.
'A Toy Theatre' and 'The Governess' are the most interesting. Summers owned a toy theatre himself and later became an expert in Restoration plays and this love is clearly shown in the tale. Once again it concerns a collector and book-man with wide interests who makes an interesting purchase and lives to rue the day. What makes this tale work is the back story leading to the main event (the shop keeper is a really well drawn character, Summers must have enjoyed writing her a lot) and the whole thing is quite neatly and tidily realised with a pleasing degree of restraint in the dialogue.
Sadly this is not the case for 'The Governess' which is seriously marred by an extremely long dialogue between a landlady and her servant that witters on for pages and serves no useful purpose, but in terms of ingenious plot and sheer creepiness it is, for me, the best story in the book as it has a few genuinely subtly disturbing moments and some suggestive phrasing of the horror that could have penned by M.R. James- that is high praise from me. But 'that dialogue' reduces the tale itself from five star to four stars and lost the whole book an extra star. What a shame! Ive marked the passage with a pencil so that I can skip it next time.
Despite its flaws, if you like the 'Jamesian' ghost story you'll like (possibly really like) this book. If you like Summers you'll want it anyway. I like both and am thus a happy bunny. Thank you Snuggly!
The books blurb tells us how these stories lay forgotten for decades until rescued by Snuggly and put into print. Often with 'lost' or 'forgotten' tales the reason they are so is that they are rubbish and/or incomplete drafts of unrealised ideas. This is not the case here, as Summers had completed the stories, written a (useful) introduction to them (included in this edition) and attempted to place them with a publisher prior to his death.
Though one assumes they were written sometime in the 1930s the style is very much of that of the Victorian/Edwardian. Le Fanu and M.R. James are the two obvious influences (an episode in 'The Grimoire' could almost be a knowing wink to James) but it is Le Fanu that is more perhaps the more dominant as Summers seems to have emulated Le fanus the slow build up to the events in his tales . However he has taken one of my least favourite 'Jamesian' traits, ye olde rustic/servant/barman etc who ramble on (in Summers case on and on and on) in what might be an attempt at mild amusement (it isn't) or as 'local colour' (at this distance in time grey and dull). That said, if one accept the 'classic ghost story' style and that you might need a dictionary (deipnosophist, excurision, stichomythia arent in my immediate lexicon) there is much to enjoy.
Two of the tales had previously seen the light of day, 'The Grimoire' and 'The Man on the Stair'. I've read these before - 'The Grimoire' is the archetypal 'bad book' story and is often anthologized- and is the better of the two. Dr. Hodsoll is a collector of occult literature but not a practitioner though even he should know you shouldn't try reading bits of such stuff out loud as nastiness is bound to ensue. It's possible that Summers might have some previous with such things in real life. He certainly had a library of such things.
'The Man on the Stair' is weaker. If your pal tells you a house is haunted then it probably is, and to effect a practical pleasantry on its owner could lead to some serious unpleasantness, which of course it does. The ending is telegraphed way before you get there.
The others are something of a mixed bag. 'The House Agent' is fairly pedestrian story in which the titular character attempts to let a property that shouldn't be let, and 'Romeo and Juliet' is also something of an unsophisticated tale of revenge albeit nicely structured.
'A Toy Theatre' and 'The Governess' are the most interesting. Summers owned a toy theatre himself and later became an expert in Restoration plays and this love is clearly shown in the tale. Once again it concerns a collector and book-man with wide interests who makes an interesting purchase and lives to rue the day. What makes this tale work is the back story leading to the main event (the shop keeper is a really well drawn character, Summers must have enjoyed writing her a lot) and the whole thing is quite neatly and tidily realised with a pleasing degree of restraint in the dialogue.
Sadly this is not the case for 'The Governess' which is seriously marred by an extremely long dialogue between a landlady and her servant that witters on for pages and serves no useful purpose, but in terms of ingenious plot and sheer creepiness it is, for me, the best story in the book as it has a few genuinely subtly disturbing moments and some suggestive phrasing of the horror that could have penned by M.R. James- that is high praise from me. But 'that dialogue' reduces the tale itself from five star to four stars and lost the whole book an extra star. What a shame! Ive marked the passage with a pencil so that I can skip it next time.
Despite its flaws, if you like the 'Jamesian' ghost story you'll like (possibly really like) this book. If you like Summers you'll want it anyway. I like both and am thus a happy bunny. Thank you Snuggly!
November 27, 2019
Enjoyable short fiction from our Monty.
December 18, 2019
This is cod M. R. James. It is entertaining enough but in many respects is a mere variation on the work of the most celebrated English ghost story writer. The Introduction is similar to that of James' Collected Ghost Stories of 1931; the story "A Toy Theatre" is similar to James' "The Haunted Dolls' House"; and the best story in Summers' collection, "The Grimoire", has echoes of James' "Mr Poynter's Diary".
Summers is good at dialogue and evoking a spooky atmosphere. So this is a fairly neat little collection but goes to show how influential James was in this genre of literature.
Summers is good at dialogue and evoking a spooky atmosphere. So this is a fairly neat little collection but goes to show how influential James was in this genre of literature.
May 31, 2025
Summers, Montague - Six Ghost Stories
My, what a delicious, if sadly brief, collection of treats.
In “The House Agent,” an impulsive, headstrong woman pressures her husband to do-do-do lease the long-empty country house. No matter that is has an unsavory reputation with villagers. She refuses to listen, won’t hear a word of it!
Summers must have possessed incredible hearing, as well as an organized memory. “The Governess,” a poor soul in service to a flighty, scattered gentry, is brought to life by an aristocratic dame.
“A Toy Theatre” and “Romeo And Juliet” are wicked forays into the uglier sides of theatre boards.
Let us not overlook the book collector, and his purchase of a possibly genuine / possibly fake rare grimore.
(Word to the wise. When translating Latin, do not do so aloud.)
These are all Jamesian tales, seasoned with naughty humor, similar to Reggie Oliver.
My, what a delicious, if sadly brief, collection of treats.
In “The House Agent,” an impulsive, headstrong woman pressures her husband to do-do-do lease the long-empty country house. No matter that is has an unsavory reputation with villagers. She refuses to listen, won’t hear a word of it!
Summers must have possessed incredible hearing, as well as an organized memory. “The Governess,” a poor soul in service to a flighty, scattered gentry, is brought to life by an aristocratic dame.
“A Toy Theatre” and “Romeo And Juliet” are wicked forays into the uglier sides of theatre boards.
Let us not overlook the book collector, and his purchase of a possibly genuine / possibly fake rare grimore.
(Word to the wise. When translating Latin, do not do so aloud.)
These are all Jamesian tales, seasoned with naughty humor, similar to Reggie Oliver.
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