What do you think?
Rate this book
Man-Size in Marble
When a young pair of newlyweds settle down into a small cottage in a quiet village, they look forward to a pleasant, pastoral life of domestic bliss. The husband, a practical man, dismisses the superstitious maid's tale of an ancient curse about the local church's marble statues who come to life each year on All Saint's Eve to wreak revenge. But then, on the fateful night, he discovers that the stone slabs on which the knights rest are empty. Is his young bride in peril?
A gripping tale of suspense and terror which show a very different side of this famous children's book author, best-known for her Edwardian fantasies.
A gripping tale of suspense and terror which show a very different side of this famous children's book author, best-known for her Edwardian fantasies.
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1886
6 people are currently reading
245 people want to read
About the author
E. Nesbit
1,025 books994 followers
Edith Nesbit
(married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English author and poet; she published her books for children under the name of E. Nesbit.
She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later connected to the Labour Party.
Edith Nesbit was born in Kennington, Surrey, the daughter of agricultural chemist and schoolmaster John Collis Nesbit. The death of her father when she was four and the continuing ill health of her sister meant that Nesbit had a transitory childhood, her family moving across Europe in search of healthy climates only to return to England for financial reasons. Nesbit therefore spent her childhood attaining an education from whatever sources were available—local grammars, the occasional boarding school but mainly through reading.
At 17 her family finally settled in London and aged 19, Nesbit met Hubert Bland, a political activist and writer. They became lovers and when Nesbit found she was pregnant they became engaged, marrying in April 1880. After this scandalous (for Victorian society) beginning, the marriage would be an unconventional one. Initially, the couple lived separately—Nesbit with her family and Bland with his mother and her live-in companion Maggie Doran.
Initially, Edith Nesbit books were novels meant for adults, including The Prophet's Mantle (1885) and The Marden Mystery (1896) about the early days of the socialist movement. Written under the pen name of her third child 'Fabian Bland', these books were not successful. Nesbit generated an income for the family by lecturing around the country on socialism and through her journalism (she was editor of the Fabian Society's journal, Today).
In 1899 she had published The Adventures of the Treasure Seekers to great acclaim.
She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later connected to the Labour Party.
Edith Nesbit was born in Kennington, Surrey, the daughter of agricultural chemist and schoolmaster John Collis Nesbit. The death of her father when she was four and the continuing ill health of her sister meant that Nesbit had a transitory childhood, her family moving across Europe in search of healthy climates only to return to England for financial reasons. Nesbit therefore spent her childhood attaining an education from whatever sources were available—local grammars, the occasional boarding school but mainly through reading.
At 17 her family finally settled in London and aged 19, Nesbit met Hubert Bland, a political activist and writer. They became lovers and when Nesbit found she was pregnant they became engaged, marrying in April 1880. After this scandalous (for Victorian society) beginning, the marriage would be an unconventional one. Initially, the couple lived separately—Nesbit with her family and Bland with his mother and her live-in companion Maggie Doran.
Initially, Edith Nesbit books were novels meant for adults, including The Prophet's Mantle (1885) and The Marden Mystery (1896) about the early days of the socialist movement. Written under the pen name of her third child 'Fabian Bland', these books were not successful. Nesbit generated an income for the family by lecturing around the country on socialism and through her journalism (she was editor of the Fabian Society's journal, Today).
In 1899 she had published The Adventures of the Treasure Seekers to great acclaim.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
February 28, 2020
This was a very creepy tales about marble knights coming alive on Halloween. Those marble knights were laid to rest in a church (had to think about Temple Church in London) and an old lore has it that they regularly walk out to their former home. An artist and his wife live there now. Will the marble knights will do any harm to them? This is a very uncanny and compalling story. Couldn't put it down untill finished. Recommended!
December 21, 2024
If all you know of the author E. Nesbit is “The Railway Children”, you may be surprised to learn that she was extremely prolific. As well as about 40 other children’s books, she also wrote for adults, under her full name “Edith Nesbit”. This body of work includes eleven novels, short stories, poetry, and four collections of horror stories, all published under her full name “Edith Nesbit”. Man-Size in Marble by Edith Nesbit was first published in the December issue of “Home Chimes” magazine, in 1887. Her horror stories are particularly grim for the time; in fact the story formed part of her later collection in 1893, actually titled “Grim Tales”.
Edith Nesbit has a good feel for what makes an enjoyable ghost story, saying at the outset:
“Although every word of this story is as true as despair, I do not expect people to believe it.”
So we settle down to read a good yarn, and to have confirmation that there is no “rational explanation”, as our narrator calls it, for the events which follow. And our narrator, Jack, begins.
He and his young wife Laura are not very well off, he says, but he thinks that they would be able to make a living from his writing and her painting. On their honeymoon, they look for a charming cottage to complete their happiness, and find one which looks perfect. The cottage had been built on the ruins of an old house:
“Stripped of its roses and jasmine it would have been hideous. As it stood it was charming, and after a brief examination we took it.”
They move in. Life seems idyllic, and they are as happy as the day is long, with a “tall old peasant woman” to look after them, because as Jack says “Laura hated housekeeping as much as I loved folklore …
We had three months of married happiness, and did not have a single quarrel.”
However one day their perfect bliss seems to be at an end. Our hero arrives home to find his wife in floods of tears:
“I had never seen her cry before—we had always been so happy, you see—and I felt sure some frightful misfortune had happened.”
The dreadful calamity is the temporary loss of their indispensable housekeeper, Mrs. Dorman. She has given notice, and intends to leave in just a few days. She is adamant, but when pressed tells him the reason, which is to do with an old legend about the local church:
Mrs. Dorman will not be argued out of going, but will return the next week. Jack is relieved, comforting his wife:
“Never mind, Pussy,” I said; “whatever you do, don’t cry, or I shall have to cry too, to keep you in countenance, and then you’ll never respect your man again!”
Laura is “obedient” but complains a little that:
“I shall have to cook the dinners, and wash up the hateful greasy plates; and you’ll have to carry cans of water about, and clean the boots and knives.”
Nevertheless their contented blissful state continues, for although:
“She was very unreasonable, my Laura, ... I could not have loved her any more if she had been as reasonable as Whately.”
Anyone thinking even now that these two will stay as happy as sandboys must be seriously deluded. But the appointed day came, and Laura apparently “showed marked ability in the matter of steak and potatoes”, so all was well. Laura did not know of the legend of course; our narrator thought she might be troubled by the story :
“She was always nervous, as highly-strung natures are, and I felt that these tales about our house, told by this old peasant woman, with her impressive manner and contagious credulity, might have made our home less dear to my wife.”
The couple spend the day happily playing at domesticity, and take a walk in the afternoon. Walking back to the house, they:
“watched the deep scarlet clouds slowly pale into leaden grey against a pale-green sky, and saw the white mists curl up along the hedgerows in the distant marsh”.
Laura is uneasy, and shivers more than once, asking:
“Do you ever have presentiments of evil?”
It is clear from the start that this couple’s happiness must be doomed. Edith Nesbit’s “Grim Tales” are well named. Where there is a couple in a story by her, there is usually tension of some kind: perhaps possessiveness, or disapproval: perhaps there is a scandalous and ill-fated love affair. There is something traumatic: maybe an underlying sexual tension, with desire and passion, but perhaps also mistrust. Here we have none of that. We have an affectionate, charming, romantic couple, still in a happy, almost spellbound honeymoon frame of mind. Their relationship seems solid, with Jack using pet names like “wifie”, “pussy”, “dearest”, and, tellingly, “child”. In fact the cloying sweetness of the descriptions of these two lovebirds, such as:
“We were as happy as the summer was glorious” and worse:
“my little wife came running down, as sunny and sweet as the clear October morning itself”
might begin to turn the most sentimental old fool into a hardened old cynic! We know something is badly wrong here. There is an obvious ending, and this is the one which transpires. But is Edith Nesbit trying to tell us more, hidden in the subtext?
I admit I was surprised by the portrayal of the couple in this story. We begin with Jack explaining that he and Laura need to both earn a little money: he from writing, and she from painting. This was an unusual representation for a male to make at the time. More often, the female pursuit would be seen as a pastime, not a valuable addition to the household finances. However, this modern approach does not last long, as Jack continually talks about and to his wife as if she were a child, or even a pet, rather than his companion in life. In Victorian society, the social norm was for women to be concerned with the domestic sphere; and to be docile and humble in the presence of their superior husbands. Part of the husband’s job was seen as educating his wife in terms of what was expected.
We see this from Jack, who tempers his criticisms of his wife’s “unreasonableness” saying that she is pretty. His flattery is poorly disguised, as we see Laura’s submissiveness in allowing Jack to patronise and condescend to her. She allows him to trivialise her work, and the masterstroke is that Laura
This is a perfect example of an arrogant young man, too sure of his own “rational beliefs” to take heed of the housekeeper’s warnings, and dismissing all his wife’s anxieties by labelling her as “highly strung”. Mrs. Dorman had warned Jack to lock the door, but he ignores this, and leaves it on the latch. It seems symbolic that
The story can be read as a critique of Victorian masculinity, with the ignorant male wilfully ignoring all the signs before him, in maintaining his position as keeper of his wife. Just like the cottage, the construct may be framed by roses, but underneath it is hideous. The name “Mrs. Dorman” also gave me pause for thought. But the most significant motif for me came at the end. .
Read this as a straightforward ghost story if you prefer, but I take a clear message from Edith Nesbit here, about her views on the stifling power of Victorian patriarchy.
NOTE: I am reposting this review, on learning that Mark Gatiss's annual ghost story for BBC 2 on Christmas Eve 2024 is to be based on this story.
Edith Nesbit has a good feel for what makes an enjoyable ghost story, saying at the outset:
“Although every word of this story is as true as despair, I do not expect people to believe it.”
So we settle down to read a good yarn, and to have confirmation that there is no “rational explanation”, as our narrator calls it, for the events which follow. And our narrator, Jack, begins.
He and his young wife Laura are not very well off, he says, but he thinks that they would be able to make a living from his writing and her painting. On their honeymoon, they look for a charming cottage to complete their happiness, and find one which looks perfect. The cottage had been built on the ruins of an old house:
“Stripped of its roses and jasmine it would have been hideous. As it stood it was charming, and after a brief examination we took it.”
They move in. Life seems idyllic, and they are as happy as the day is long, with a “tall old peasant woman” to look after them, because as Jack says “Laura hated housekeeping as much as I loved folklore …
We had three months of married happiness, and did not have a single quarrel.”
However one day their perfect bliss seems to be at an end. Our hero arrives home to find his wife in floods of tears:
“I had never seen her cry before—we had always been so happy, you see—and I felt sure some frightful misfortune had happened.”
The dreadful calamity is the temporary loss of their indispensable housekeeper, Mrs. Dorman. She has given notice, and intends to leave in just a few days. She is adamant, but when pressed tells him the reason, which is to do with an old legend about the local church:
Mrs. Dorman will not be argued out of going, but will return the next week. Jack is relieved, comforting his wife:
“Never mind, Pussy,” I said; “whatever you do, don’t cry, or I shall have to cry too, to keep you in countenance, and then you’ll never respect your man again!”
Laura is “obedient” but complains a little that:
“I shall have to cook the dinners, and wash up the hateful greasy plates; and you’ll have to carry cans of water about, and clean the boots and knives.”
Nevertheless their contented blissful state continues, for although:
“She was very unreasonable, my Laura, ... I could not have loved her any more if she had been as reasonable as Whately.”
Anyone thinking even now that these two will stay as happy as sandboys must be seriously deluded. But the appointed day came, and Laura apparently “showed marked ability in the matter of steak and potatoes”, so all was well. Laura did not know of the legend of course; our narrator thought she might be troubled by the story :
“She was always nervous, as highly-strung natures are, and I felt that these tales about our house, told by this old peasant woman, with her impressive manner and contagious credulity, might have made our home less dear to my wife.”
The couple spend the day happily playing at domesticity, and take a walk in the afternoon. Walking back to the house, they:
“watched the deep scarlet clouds slowly pale into leaden grey against a pale-green sky, and saw the white mists curl up along the hedgerows in the distant marsh”.
Laura is uneasy, and shivers more than once, asking:
“Do you ever have presentiments of evil?”
It is clear from the start that this couple’s happiness must be doomed. Edith Nesbit’s “Grim Tales” are well named. Where there is a couple in a story by her, there is usually tension of some kind: perhaps possessiveness, or disapproval: perhaps there is a scandalous and ill-fated love affair. There is something traumatic: maybe an underlying sexual tension, with desire and passion, but perhaps also mistrust. Here we have none of that. We have an affectionate, charming, romantic couple, still in a happy, almost spellbound honeymoon frame of mind. Their relationship seems solid, with Jack using pet names like “wifie”, “pussy”, “dearest”, and, tellingly, “child”. In fact the cloying sweetness of the descriptions of these two lovebirds, such as:
“We were as happy as the summer was glorious” and worse:
“my little wife came running down, as sunny and sweet as the clear October morning itself”
might begin to turn the most sentimental old fool into a hardened old cynic! We know something is badly wrong here. There is an obvious ending, and this is the one which transpires. But is Edith Nesbit trying to tell us more, hidden in the subtext?
I admit I was surprised by the portrayal of the couple in this story. We begin with Jack explaining that he and Laura need to both earn a little money: he from writing, and she from painting. This was an unusual representation for a male to make at the time. More often, the female pursuit would be seen as a pastime, not a valuable addition to the household finances. However, this modern approach does not last long, as Jack continually talks about and to his wife as if she were a child, or even a pet, rather than his companion in life. In Victorian society, the social norm was for women to be concerned with the domestic sphere; and to be docile and humble in the presence of their superior husbands. Part of the husband’s job was seen as educating his wife in terms of what was expected.
We see this from Jack, who tempers his criticisms of his wife’s “unreasonableness” saying that she is pretty. His flattery is poorly disguised, as we see Laura’s submissiveness in allowing Jack to patronise and condescend to her. She allows him to trivialise her work, and the masterstroke is that Laura
This is a perfect example of an arrogant young man, too sure of his own “rational beliefs” to take heed of the housekeeper’s warnings, and dismissing all his wife’s anxieties by labelling her as “highly strung”. Mrs. Dorman had warned Jack to lock the door, but he ignores this, and leaves it on the latch. It seems symbolic that
The story can be read as a critique of Victorian masculinity, with the ignorant male wilfully ignoring all the signs before him, in maintaining his position as keeper of his wife. Just like the cottage, the construct may be framed by roses, but underneath it is hideous. The name “Mrs. Dorman” also gave me pause for thought. But the most significant motif for me came at the end. .
Read this as a straightforward ghost story if you prefer, but I take a clear message from Edith Nesbit here, about her views on the stifling power of Victorian patriarchy.
NOTE: I am reposting this review, on learning that Mark Gatiss's annual ghost story for BBC 2 on Christmas Eve 2024 is to be based on this story.
April 22, 2024
4⭐️
Classic horror short story.
Classic horror short story.
December 26, 2024
When I went looking for my annual Christmas ghost story, I did not expect to find it in Edith Nesbit. Horror and supernatural stories were not the genre I associated with the author of middle grade and children’s books. But the yearly BBC show, A Ghost Story For Christmas, had me looking for this tale, which is originally set at Halloween time. But any-time-of-the-year ghostly happenings work for me, so let’s on with it.
The short story begins with a man describing what happened to him and his wife when they had found the perfect little home for themselves in a little village set on a hill over against the southern marshes while honeymooning by the sea. After they move in, they hire an old peasant woman to tend the house and cook for them. Everything goes well for them over the first three months when suddenly the housekeeper tells them she has to go away for a spell, supposedly because of a sick niece. But the husband comes to realize that something else is at play.
They do say, as on All Saints' Eve them two bodies sits up on their slabs, and gets off of them, and then walks down the aisle, in their marble and as the church clock strikes eleven they walks out of the church door, and over the graves, and along the bier-balk, and if it's a wet night there's the marks of their feet in the morning.
Okay, if an elderly villager tells you that something out-of-the-ordinary happens once-a-year, wouldn’t you think, hey let’s not be here when the scary thing happens! But no, the husband leaves the wife alone and goes to the haunted church by himself. This is why I choose to live in a metropolitan area.
It's an absorbing tale, one which still had me on tenterhooks, even though I thought I knew where the story was going. Oh, and if you rely on the BBC productions to be completely faithful to the original short stories….beware.
Book Season = Autumn (dead leaves in woodland paths)
The short story begins with a man describing what happened to him and his wife when they had found the perfect little home for themselves in a little village set on a hill over against the southern marshes while honeymooning by the sea. After they move in, they hire an old peasant woman to tend the house and cook for them. Everything goes well for them over the first three months when suddenly the housekeeper tells them she has to go away for a spell, supposedly because of a sick niece. But the husband comes to realize that something else is at play.
They do say, as on All Saints' Eve them two bodies sits up on their slabs, and gets off of them, and then walks down the aisle, in their marble and as the church clock strikes eleven they walks out of the church door, and over the graves, and along the bier-balk, and if it's a wet night there's the marks of their feet in the morning.
Okay, if an elderly villager tells you that something out-of-the-ordinary happens once-a-year, wouldn’t you think, hey let’s not be here when the scary thing happens! But no, the husband leaves the wife alone and goes to the haunted church by himself. This is why I choose to live in a metropolitan area.
It's an absorbing tale, one which still had me on tenterhooks, even though I thought I knew where the story was going. Oh, and if you rely on the BBC productions to be completely faithful to the original short stories….beware.
Book Season = Autumn (dead leaves in woodland paths)
October 9, 2016
9 OCT 2016 - a different side of the author of 5 Children and It. This was a suspense-filled read based on superstition. And, while one can see the ending coming, it is still a fun read for this Hallowe'en season.
You may download a copy here: http://m.feedbooks.com/book/1314/man-...
Enjoy!
You may download a copy here: http://m.feedbooks.com/book/1314/man-...
Enjoy!
January 27, 2025
A nifty compact horror tale, somewhat reminiscent of M.R. James but more streamlined and less fussy (and no bemused academics, just an unlucky newlywed couple). Great ending and a chilling final image.
May 25, 2025
audiobook by Simone stanhope
احب روايات تلك الفترة هدوء و اناة وقلم قوي ووصف شامل غير ممل
حركة قليلة ووصف كثير وادرينالين لا يرتفع لكن التشويق يرتفع
نحن جيل فقد القدرة على الوصف دون حشو او إطالة أو ان يصيب قارئه بملل
جيلنا جيل فقد جمالية الكتابة
احب روايات تلك الفترة هدوء و اناة وقلم قوي ووصف شامل غير ممل
حركة قليلة ووصف كثير وادرينالين لا يرتفع لكن التشويق يرتفع
نحن جيل فقد القدرة على الوصف دون حشو او إطالة أو ان يصيب قارئه بملل
جيلنا جيل فقد جمالية الكتابة
June 8, 2014
From BBC Radio 4 - The Female Ghost:
Two newlyweds reject their housekeeper's dread of All Saints' Eve, until it arrives. With Carolyn Jones and Stephen Critchlow.
Two newlyweds reject their housekeeper's dread of All Saints' Eve, until it arrives. With Carolyn Jones and Stephen Critchlow.
June 19, 2023
2.5 rounded up to a 3
The narrator Tony Walker did a great job of keeping me interested in the story and the author also does a wonderful job of building the suspense to it's conclusion. Unfortunately I did find the ending of the story underwhelming to say the least.
The narrator Tony Walker did a great job of keeping me interested in the story and the author also does a wonderful job of building the suspense to it's conclusion. Unfortunately I did find the ending of the story underwhelming to say the least.
May 6, 2017
A nice little creeper for a cold day.
June 21, 2023
I like this short folk horror story. I’ve read it a few times now. Perhaps the style is a bit melodramatic, but I love the images and the mood it creates. A good story for Halloween.
September 4, 2025
Nesbit's fame as an author of children's works has overshadowed her supernatural tales. This story, despite its gothic excesses n terms of description, is a classic example. It's utterly chilling.
If you haven’t read it yet, rectify the fault ASAP.
If you haven’t read it yet, rectify the fault ASAP.
May 20, 2019
Your typical victorian horror, which makes it not so scary, haha. Though I AM creeped out by lifesize statues!
November 5, 2024
2.75 STARS
CW: death (of loved ones)
It was fine. I must admit, ghost stories are not my favorite, I think they are pretty formulaic and I feel like I've read a story like this one so many times before. Still, the writing was easy to read and I liked how suspense built throughout the story and went a little back and forth in the middle.
CW: death (of loved ones)
It was fine. I must admit, ghost stories are not my favorite, I think they are pretty formulaic and I feel like I've read a story like this one so many times before. Still, the writing was easy to read and I liked how suspense built throughout the story and went a little back and forth in the middle.
August 29, 2023
I listened to this as part of the Classic Tales of Horror - 500+ Stories. It was very entertaining 2023
March 14, 2014
I remember reading a couple of years ago that J.K. Rowling loved Edith Nesbit's books. It's easy to see why, and Nesbit's detailed, vivd descriptions pleasantly reminded me of Rowling's prose.
In well-crafted Gothic stories the setting needs to be its own character. Nesbit wastes no time describing atmospheric moonlit scenes, which set the perfect creepy tone. The story opens with a newly married couple who buy a cottage in the English countryside. After settling in and hiring a local woman to be their servant, the husband discovers that their property was once part of a larger estate that belonged to pair of evil lords. The men were commemorated as marble knights and their statues lie on top of their coffins in the local church. However, local legend says that every All Saint's Eve the effigies leave their coffins and return to their old place of residence.
Wish there could've been a little bit more hinting at the backstory of the lords and their devious past, but all in all this a Gothic treat.
April 25, 2016
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00njj2kDesacription: When a young pair of newlyweds settle down into a small cottage in a quiet village, they look forward to a pleasant, pastoral life of domestic bliss. The husband, a practical man, dismisses the superstitious maid's tale of an ancient curse about the local church's marble statues who come to life each year on All Saint's Eve to wreak revenge. But then, on the fateful night, he discovers that the stone slabs on which the knights rest are empty. Is his young bride in peril?
More like 2.5* NEXT!
July 1, 2023
A young pair of newlyweds settle down into a small cottage in a quiet village. The husband, a practical man, dismisses Mrs. Dorman, their superstitious maid's tale of an ancient curse about the local church's, two knights in full plate armor, marble effigies that come to life and walk about once a year on All Saint's Eve to wreak revenge and woe to the person whom they catch. But then, on the fateful night, the husband discovers that the stone slabs on which the knights rest are empty. Is his young bride in peril?
December 22, 2008
An English type ghost story. It is not all that frightening and not all that great a ghost story. But it is a short read and worth it little time it takes to read. You don't really meet the ghosts but one of the four characters in the book does with a startling result.
May 22, 2023
This was a decent little short story. It was ‘visually’ appealing the way it described the scenery. The concept was scarier than the actual execution, however. Some of the language was strange and off putting but this was published in the 1800s so that wasn’t too surprising.
March 6, 2024
See below for Man-Size in Marble.
1. The Ebony Frame
Instead of his finance, Mr. Devigne prefers another woman, from his past, who appears in a supernatural ebony picture frame from historical times.
The picture frame is in his house in Chelsea.
His fiance is called Mildred and she is a sweet if rather superficial in keeping with the traditional upbringing of wealthy young ladies of the time.
2.John Charrington's Wedding - Geoffrey recounts how a woman he likes, May Forster, marries John, in a supernatural wedding ceremony in a small village Brixham.
Geoffrey worries about May, in part, because John, an Oxford graduate, is less than responsive to his future wife’s feelings and wishes before their marriage.
3.Uncle Abraham’s Romance -
Susannah Kingsnorth d. 1713 is unable to keep up her supernatural appearance in a graveyard, when Abraham, as a young man, is not able to return from Bath (for health reasons) for a rendez-vous that Susannah had stipulated had had to take place before a new moon in 1813.
Susannah had been betrothed to an ancestor but had died before the wedding. This story is related by Abraham, in his old age, to his niece.
4. Semi-detached.
A young man is suspicious about a semi-detached house near Crystal Palace where his fiance is living.
He had seen something suspicious at the house while he was waiting for her one evening and the doors had been left open. Noone takes him seriously and his fiance thinks the front door was left open by the servants.
Later on he marries his fiance and moves away. He warns the subsequent tenants, a stockbroker and his daughter of a frightening supernatural occurrence that is to occur on October 21.
5. From the Dead
Ida Helmot goes to Apinshaw Farm, Mellor, Derbyshire without telling her husband where she is, after a misunderstanding about a letter between her husband (Arthur) and herself. The letter is purportedly from Arthur’s former girlfriend, Elvire, to Ida’s brother, Oscar Helmot.
Ida brings the letter to Arthur’s attend while they are at a seaside lodging . Ida had formerly lived on Gower Street in Hampstead, London. Arthur is distraught about her disappearance, as is her brother Oscar, and Arthur tries to locate her, to no avail.
Ida notifies her husband of her whereabouts after she has had their baby at the isolated farmstead. Arthur is haunted by his wife’s loving nature, in his extreme sadness.
6. .Mass for the Dead
A women, Kate, who marries her true love, a studen in Germany, is happy when her former fiance in an arranged marriage (Mr. Benoliel) doesn’t require a dowry to be repaid.
Mr. Benoliel had been on his way to where their honeymoon would have been in Devonshire, and Kate and her husband subsequently attend a mass for the dead.
7. Man-size in Marble
This story is about the supernatural marble statues that are in the church in Brenzett.
The statues are of two men who had formerly lived in the manor house where Laura and her husband have taken up residence in what remains of the men’s house, a small cottage.
1. The Ebony Frame
Instead of his finance, Mr. Devigne prefers another woman, from his past, who appears in a supernatural ebony picture frame from historical times.
The picture frame is in his house in Chelsea.
His fiance is called Mildred and she is a sweet if rather superficial in keeping with the traditional upbringing of wealthy young ladies of the time.
2.John Charrington's Wedding - Geoffrey recounts how a woman he likes, May Forster, marries John, in a supernatural wedding ceremony in a small village Brixham.
Geoffrey worries about May, in part, because John, an Oxford graduate, is less than responsive to his future wife’s feelings and wishes before their marriage.
3.Uncle Abraham’s Romance -
Susannah Kingsnorth d. 1713 is unable to keep up her supernatural appearance in a graveyard, when Abraham, as a young man, is not able to return from Bath (for health reasons) for a rendez-vous that Susannah had stipulated had had to take place before a new moon in 1813.
Susannah had been betrothed to an ancestor but had died before the wedding. This story is related by Abraham, in his old age, to his niece.
4. Semi-detached.
A young man is suspicious about a semi-detached house near Crystal Palace where his fiance is living.
He had seen something suspicious at the house while he was waiting for her one evening and the doors had been left open. Noone takes him seriously and his fiance thinks the front door was left open by the servants.
Later on he marries his fiance and moves away. He warns the subsequent tenants, a stockbroker and his daughter of a frightening supernatural occurrence that is to occur on October 21.
5. From the Dead
Ida Helmot goes to Apinshaw Farm, Mellor, Derbyshire without telling her husband where she is, after a misunderstanding about a letter between her husband (Arthur) and herself. The letter is purportedly from Arthur’s former girlfriend, Elvire, to Ida’s brother, Oscar Helmot.
Ida brings the letter to Arthur’s attend while they are at a seaside lodging . Ida had formerly lived on Gower Street in Hampstead, London. Arthur is distraught about her disappearance, as is her brother Oscar, and Arthur tries to locate her, to no avail.
Ida notifies her husband of her whereabouts after she has had their baby at the isolated farmstead. Arthur is haunted by his wife’s loving nature, in his extreme sadness.
6. .Mass for the Dead
A women, Kate, who marries her true love, a studen in Germany, is happy when her former fiance in an arranged marriage (Mr. Benoliel) doesn’t require a dowry to be repaid.
Mr. Benoliel had been on his way to where their honeymoon would have been in Devonshire, and Kate and her husband subsequently attend a mass for the dead.
7. Man-size in Marble
This story is about the supernatural marble statues that are in the church in Brenzett.
The statues are of two men who had formerly lived in the manor house where Laura and her husband have taken up residence in what remains of the men’s house, a small cottage.
September 3, 2025
#Binge Reviewing my previous Reads #Horror Short Stories #Anthologies # Gothic & Classic Horror (1800s–early 1900s)
This one is an often-overlooked gem of Edwardian supernatural fiction, blending subtle gothic dread with elements of the uncanny. Unlike her more famous children’s stories, Nesbit here demonstrates an acute sense of atmosphere, suspense, and narrative pacing. The story follows a sculptor whose obsession with perfecting a marble figure draws him into mysterious, almost otherworldly consequences.
Compared with E. F. Benson’s The Room in the Tower, which leans on dreamlike inevitability, Nesbit’s tale is more tactile: the terror is embedded in physical objects and artistic creation. Like Le Fanu’s Schalken the Painter, the story emphasises artistry and visuality, with the marble figure functioning as both symbol and instrument of unease. Yet Nesbit adds a moral dimension: obsession and vanity invite their own retribution, making horror as much psychological as supernatural.
Placed alongside M. R. James’s antiquarian settings or Oliver Onions’s psychological spaces, Nesbit’s story is concise and elegant, relying on suggestion rather than extended exposition. Her horror is intimate and controlled, showing that menace can reside in domestic studios as much as in ancient crypts or haunted mansions.
Ultimately, Man-Size in Marble exemplifies Nesbit’s subtle genius: a finely tuned mix of gothic atmosphere, artistry, and moral tension. It reminds readers that Edwardian supernatural fiction could terrify without spectacle, using the everyday and the familiar to evoke lingering unease.
This one is an often-overlooked gem of Edwardian supernatural fiction, blending subtle gothic dread with elements of the uncanny. Unlike her more famous children’s stories, Nesbit here demonstrates an acute sense of atmosphere, suspense, and narrative pacing. The story follows a sculptor whose obsession with perfecting a marble figure draws him into mysterious, almost otherworldly consequences.
Compared with E. F. Benson’s The Room in the Tower, which leans on dreamlike inevitability, Nesbit’s tale is more tactile: the terror is embedded in physical objects and artistic creation. Like Le Fanu’s Schalken the Painter, the story emphasises artistry and visuality, with the marble figure functioning as both symbol and instrument of unease. Yet Nesbit adds a moral dimension: obsession and vanity invite their own retribution, making horror as much psychological as supernatural.
Placed alongside M. R. James’s antiquarian settings or Oliver Onions’s psychological spaces, Nesbit’s story is concise and elegant, relying on suggestion rather than extended exposition. Her horror is intimate and controlled, showing that menace can reside in domestic studios as much as in ancient crypts or haunted mansions.
Ultimately, Man-Size in Marble exemplifies Nesbit’s subtle genius: a finely tuned mix of gothic atmosphere, artistry, and moral tension. It reminds readers that Edwardian supernatural fiction could terrify without spectacle, using the everyday and the familiar to evoke lingering unease.
January 6, 2023
Man-Size in Marble is a short story by Edith Nesbit. It was first published in the December 1887 issue of the Home Chimes magazine. The story was later collected in Nesbit's 1893 anthology Grim Tales. This edition was published by Books of Wonder in 1997 in their Classic Frights series of short booklets with illustrations by Jeff White.
In it, a young newlywed couple seeking inexpensive lodging rent a small cottage that, unknown to them, comes with a mysterious curse. The husband hires a local housekeeper who tells him the legend of two man-size in marble prone statues of knights in a lonely country church nearby. She says on All-Hallows Eve at 11 pm the statues rise up and walk to their old home, which is the ruins on which their cottage was built. He dismisses the story as a local legend with no truth and decides to not worry his wife.
While a simple tale, it is well written in Nesbit's simple style that she developed as a children's author.
The text of the story is available in Wikisource at: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Grim_T...
In it, a young newlywed couple seeking inexpensive lodging rent a small cottage that, unknown to them, comes with a mysterious curse. The husband hires a local housekeeper who tells him the legend of two man-size in marble prone statues of knights in a lonely country church nearby. She says on All-Hallows Eve at 11 pm the statues rise up and walk to their old home, which is the ruins on which their cottage was built. He dismisses the story as a local legend with no truth and decides to not worry his wife.
While a simple tale, it is well written in Nesbit's simple style that she developed as a children's author.
The text of the story is available in Wikisource at: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Grim_T...
January 12, 2025
"Ye've been smoking too much and listening to old wives' tales"
super evocative natural descriptions that are reminiscent of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820). it was very enjoyable and spooky - YET - it fell flat in the ending, in my opinion.
a bare-bones final few sentences that are meant to be hauntingly simplistic are rendered less effective by, what seems to be, the author's wish to wrap things up in a quicker manner. i am, however, interested in the idea of examining this text in a lens focused on sexual corruption of the wifely body EVEN WHEN she is enclosed in the privacy of the pastoral (and man-less) home. the spooktacular image of the wife's cold hand grasping the marble finger is a thought-provoking one - would love to examine this aspect from an angle of phallic symbolism. i think there's a real argument to be made here about this scene being an allusion to rape, a threat to the domestic realm that occurs off-page.
excited to see what other people in my seminar thought!
super evocative natural descriptions that are reminiscent of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820). it was very enjoyable and spooky - YET - it fell flat in the ending, in my opinion.
a bare-bones final few sentences that are meant to be hauntingly simplistic are rendered less effective by, what seems to be, the author's wish to wrap things up in a quicker manner. i am, however, interested in the idea of examining this text in a lens focused on sexual corruption of the wifely body EVEN WHEN she is enclosed in the privacy of the pastoral (and man-less) home. the spooktacular image of the wife's cold hand grasping the marble finger is a thought-provoking one - would love to examine this aspect from an angle of phallic symbolism. i think there's a real argument to be made here about this scene being an allusion to rape, a threat to the domestic realm that occurs off-page.
excited to see what other people in my seminar thought!
September 30, 2025
Man-Sized in Marble is another story I read the book Weird Tales, a collection of short horror and spooky stories. It is set in the village of Brenzett in Romney Marsh in England mostly taking place around the local church of St. Eanswythe & in a cottage near the church just to give any would be readers a visual to look up.
The story itself follows a couple who decided, for what I believe was their honeymoon, to do a getaway to the quiet village of Brenzett and stay in the quaint little cottage near the church. The story gives a nice picturesque look at the land and what is shaping up to be a nice relaxing getaway ends in a tragedy. While I’d say the story’s ending is predictable, I still found it to be a good read and felt the writing did a great job immersing oneself into the story especially during its final moments.
I also think for anyone who read the book Between to Fires and recall the section in Paris with the killer statues, then this is for you. This story reminded me a lot of that. Good little horror story!
The story itself follows a couple who decided, for what I believe was their honeymoon, to do a getaway to the quiet village of Brenzett and stay in the quaint little cottage near the church. The story gives a nice picturesque look at the land and what is shaping up to be a nice relaxing getaway ends in a tragedy. While I’d say the story’s ending is predictable, I still found it to be a good read and felt the writing did a great job immersing oneself into the story especially during its final moments.
I also think for anyone who read the book Between to Fires and recall the section in Paris with the killer statues, then this is for you. This story reminded me a lot of that. Good little horror story!
October 19, 2025
Un cuento clásico de terror inglés, muy bien construido y con ese ritmo pausado que te va metiendo de a pocos en lo inquietante. Me gustó cómo se fue armando la trama, desde lo cotidiano hasta el misterio de las estatuas.
El final me dejó con ganas de un poco más —de entender mejor el mito o sentir un cierre más contundente—, pero en general fue una lectura rápida, entretenida y con esa atmósfera gótica que se disfruta.
El final me dejó con ganas de un poco más —de entender mejor el mito o sentir un cierre más contundente—, pero en general fue una lectura rápida, entretenida y con esa atmósfera gótica que se disfruta.
April 18, 2021
Een aardig verhaal, maar al vanaf het begin is duidelijk waar het heen gaat. Het is wel in een mooie schrijfstijl geschreven. Edith Nesbit is vooral bekend van haar kinderverhalen van rond 1900 (ze staat bij sommigen bekend als eerste 'moderne' Britse kinderboekenschrijfster), dus ook daar ben ik benieuwd naar (al trekken de ghost stories me meer).
June 24, 2025
This is a short story I ran into accidentally. It's quite clear-forward: a happy life is set out, a horror tale is told, the horror tale turns out to be true. There is little mystery to the story, yet in its conciseness, it still manages to create the creepy, tragic suspension. Absolute solid story.
October 27, 2025
Featuring murderous Gog-Magog/golem-like enigmatically expressionless stone effigies. Disturbingly, their impending locomotion isn’t seen - just a faintly perceived unwieldy scraping, an unsympathetic presence beyond darkened corners.
The ending is unforgettably, chillingly forlorn (for its time), so I’m bumping this up.
I feel compelled to rewatch Creepshow’s ‘Old Chief Wood’n head’.
The ending is unforgettably, chillingly forlorn (for its time), so I’m bumping this up.
I feel compelled to rewatch Creepshow’s ‘Old Chief Wood’n head’.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews