What do you think?
Rate this book
Weird Woods: Tales From the Haunted Forests of Britain
Woods play a crucial and recurring role in horror, fantasy, the gothic, and the weird. They are places in which strange things happen, where it is easy to lose your way. Supernatural creatures thrive in the thickets. Trees reach into underworlds of pagan myth and magic. Forests are full of ghosts.
Lining the path through this realm of folklore and fear are 12 stories from across Britain, telling tales of whispering voices and maddening sights from deep in the Yorkshire Dales to the ancient hills of Gwent and the eerie quiet of the forests of Dartmoor.
Immerse yourself in this collection of classic tales celebrating the enduring power of our natural spaces to enthrall and terrorize our senses.
Listening Length: 7 hours and 26 minutes.
Lining the path through this realm of folklore and fear are 12 stories from across Britain, telling tales of whispering voices and maddening sights from deep in the Yorkshire Dales to the ancient hills of Gwent and the eerie quiet of the forests of Dartmoor.
Immerse yourself in this collection of classic tales celebrating the enduring power of our natural spaces to enthrall and terrorize our senses.
Listening Length: 7 hours and 26 minutes.
238 pages, Paperback
First published August 27, 2020
323 people are currently reading
2899 people want to read
About the author
John Miller
13 books4 followersJohn Miller is Senior Lecturer in Nineteenth-Century Literature at the University of Sheffield.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
August 6, 2023
At the moment the British Library are publishing a series of books collectively titled Tales of the Weird. There are over thirty of them at the moment and they are thematic. Some are collections of stories by one author others have themes like this one. There are a couple of Christmas volumes, a polar one, one on women writers, one based on Churches (inevitably called Holy Ghosts), several on the seas and coastlines, some on science and so on. This one has stories related to the forests of Britain. There are twelve stories from a variety of writers including M R James, Algernon Blackwood, Marjorie Bowen, Edith Nesbit, Walter de la Mare and Mary Webb among others.
As the introduction says:
“Woods play an important and recurring role in horror, fantasy, the gothic and the weird. They are places in which strange things happen, where you often can’t see where you are or what is around you. Supernatural creatures thrive in the thickets. Trees reach into underworlds of earth, myth and magic. Forests are full of ghosts.”
‘’These are the aspects of our experience of nature that cannot be offset; the history of a place cannot be traded off against the history of another place; you can’t erase the history of one location and just put some more history somewhere else. Weird woods are singular places with very specific energies.’’
Inevitably some of the stories are stronger than others. The M R James is one of his lesser known ones. I found the one by Arthur Machen interesting, I’ve not read anything by him before:
““Come with me to Wales. I think you would like me place.’’
Charnock accepted; he knew that Blantyre lived in scenes of complete isolation in a remote valley, among the hills haunted by many a mysterious legend, the setting of some of the oldest tales of Europe, and this disturbed him, for he was very sensitive to the influences of the past; yet for Blantyre’s sake he went.
It was October; the strangest month in the year, Blantyre always said, culminating in the awful vigil of the last day which has some mystic meaning now lost.’’
The De la Mare is interesting and may be a reflection on Imperialism. They are not all about the supernatural, but try to unsettle and unnerve. The Webb story has a strong feminist undertone and links the land and what grows in it to passion and history.
An interesting collection overall and good for chilly winter nights.
As the introduction says:
“Woods play an important and recurring role in horror, fantasy, the gothic and the weird. They are places in which strange things happen, where you often can’t see where you are or what is around you. Supernatural creatures thrive in the thickets. Trees reach into underworlds of earth, myth and magic. Forests are full of ghosts.”
‘’These are the aspects of our experience of nature that cannot be offset; the history of a place cannot be traded off against the history of another place; you can’t erase the history of one location and just put some more history somewhere else. Weird woods are singular places with very specific energies.’’
Inevitably some of the stories are stronger than others. The M R James is one of his lesser known ones. I found the one by Arthur Machen interesting, I’ve not read anything by him before:
““Come with me to Wales. I think you would like me place.’’
Charnock accepted; he knew that Blantyre lived in scenes of complete isolation in a remote valley, among the hills haunted by many a mysterious legend, the setting of some of the oldest tales of Europe, and this disturbed him, for he was very sensitive to the influences of the past; yet for Blantyre’s sake he went.
It was October; the strangest month in the year, Blantyre always said, culminating in the awful vigil of the last day which has some mystic meaning now lost.’’
The De la Mare is interesting and may be a reflection on Imperialism. They are not all about the supernatural, but try to unsettle and unnerve. The Webb story has a strong feminist undertone and links the land and what grows in it to passion and history.
An interesting collection overall and good for chilly winter nights.
April 13, 2023
A real mixed bag of short stories!! Favourite would be The Tree by Walter de la Mare.
October 11, 2021
like a 3.6 but I'm rounding up.
full post here:
http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2021...
The stories in this book range from "tales of whispering voices and maddening sights from deep in the Yorkshire Dales to the ancient hills of Gwent and the eerie quiet of the forests of Dartmoor."
No teddy bears' picnics here; instead there are twelve tales which celebrate "the enduring power of our natural spaces to enthral and terrorise our senses."
The names listed in the table of contents are familiar to any aficionado of strange or ghostly tales from yesteryear, here ranging from the 1880s through the 1930s. Aside from Arthur Machen's "N" which I will gladly read any time, two stories top my list of favorites: E.F. Benson's "The Man Who Went Too Far" and Algernon Blackwood's beyond excellent "Ancient Lights." The first is set in the New Forest of Hampshire, where one "gets the sense that many presences and companions are near at hand." The people of the village of St. Faith's know well enough not to "willingly venture" there after dark since
"it seems that a man is not sure in what company he may suddenly find himself..."
Indeed, it may be the ghost of a young artist, recently deceased, haunting a "certain house, the last of the village, where he lived." But this is not a haunted house story by any stretch; it seems that the artist, a certain Darcy, has been engaged in "the deliberate and unswerving pursuit of joy," but what starts out as an ode to the blissful wonders of the natural world soon takes a darker turn. Spending years communing with nature, it is his belief that will ultimately become one with it -- and then he hears the "sound of life," aka the pipes of Pan. At first fearful, he eventually comes around; now, as he tells his friend, there's one more step -- a "final revelation." Lots of covert subtext in this story, and it's truly one of the best in the book.
There is also much to discover in Blackwood's "Ancient Lights," which highlights one of the main themes in much of his work -- the insignificance of humans among the towering presence of nature. A surveyor's clerk looks forward to a "day of high adventure" as he enters a "copse of oak and hornbeam" near Southwater, Sussex, and gets that and more as well. The owner of that wood has decided to cut this area down for a "better view from the dining-room window," and the clerk is there ahead of the project. The trees, though, have other ideas.
As Miller notes in his introduction,
"Haunted woods are places where narrative and environment are merged, where the imagination and landscape are rooted together,"
and this theme as well as others runs through each and every story in this book. In some cases the idea of "woods" might seem a bit stretched, but it didn't matter to me. Just reading these tales brought back many moments I've spent in forests both day and night, remembering all of the creaks and groans of the trees, the crackle of hidden movement by woodland creatures, and the sense of being in an unworldly place where the sky is hard to see through the canopy.
Recommended mainly to those readers who, like me, love these older creepy stories from the past, and to those readers who are fans of the British Library Tales of the Weird series in general. Don't miss the introduction (but do save it until the end), and be sure to check out the cover art as well.
I'm now psyched for a cool day and a hike through the woods -- and for whatever I may encounter there.
full post here:
http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2021...
The stories in this book range from "tales of whispering voices and maddening sights from deep in the Yorkshire Dales to the ancient hills of Gwent and the eerie quiet of the forests of Dartmoor."
No teddy bears' picnics here; instead there are twelve tales which celebrate "the enduring power of our natural spaces to enthral and terrorise our senses."
The names listed in the table of contents are familiar to any aficionado of strange or ghostly tales from yesteryear, here ranging from the 1880s through the 1930s. Aside from Arthur Machen's "N" which I will gladly read any time, two stories top my list of favorites: E.F. Benson's "The Man Who Went Too Far" and Algernon Blackwood's beyond excellent "Ancient Lights." The first is set in the New Forest of Hampshire, where one "gets the sense that many presences and companions are near at hand." The people of the village of St. Faith's know well enough not to "willingly venture" there after dark since
"it seems that a man is not sure in what company he may suddenly find himself..."
Indeed, it may be the ghost of a young artist, recently deceased, haunting a "certain house, the last of the village, where he lived." But this is not a haunted house story by any stretch; it seems that the artist, a certain Darcy, has been engaged in "the deliberate and unswerving pursuit of joy," but what starts out as an ode to the blissful wonders of the natural world soon takes a darker turn. Spending years communing with nature, it is his belief that will ultimately become one with it -- and then he hears the "sound of life," aka the pipes of Pan. At first fearful, he eventually comes around; now, as he tells his friend, there's one more step -- a "final revelation." Lots of covert subtext in this story, and it's truly one of the best in the book.
There is also much to discover in Blackwood's "Ancient Lights," which highlights one of the main themes in much of his work -- the insignificance of humans among the towering presence of nature. A surveyor's clerk looks forward to a "day of high adventure" as he enters a "copse of oak and hornbeam" near Southwater, Sussex, and gets that and more as well. The owner of that wood has decided to cut this area down for a "better view from the dining-room window," and the clerk is there ahead of the project. The trees, though, have other ideas.
As Miller notes in his introduction,
"Haunted woods are places where narrative and environment are merged, where the imagination and landscape are rooted together,"
and this theme as well as others runs through each and every story in this book. In some cases the idea of "woods" might seem a bit stretched, but it didn't matter to me. Just reading these tales brought back many moments I've spent in forests both day and night, remembering all of the creaks and groans of the trees, the crackle of hidden movement by woodland creatures, and the sense of being in an unworldly place where the sky is hard to see through the canopy.
Recommended mainly to those readers who, like me, love these older creepy stories from the past, and to those readers who are fans of the British Library Tales of the Weird series in general. Don't miss the introduction (but do save it until the end), and be sure to check out the cover art as well.
I'm now psyched for a cool day and a hike through the woods -- and for whatever I may encounter there.
October 16, 2025
Enjoyable and varied collection of short stories about ‘haunted’ forests in Britain. The stories are a merging of history, folklore, ecology and narrative. Overall, the woods depicted here are no safe haven for humanity, they are the domains of evil.
Four stories stand out:
• ‘Man-size in marble’ by Edith Nesbit, in which a woman is killed by a living marble statue (this must be the most anti-feminist story I ever read),
• ‘The man who went too far’ by E.F. Benson, in which a man seeking pure joy in Nature is brought back to reality by the terrible creature Pan (half-man, half-goat)
• ‘The tree’ by Walter de la Mare, in which an exotic tree casts its deadly spell on a poor artist, who gradually takes on the properties of a tree as well,
• and ‘N’ by Arthur Machen, in which a perfect Kubla Kahn-vista is created in urban London.
This collection also enriched my vocabulary on phobias: never before had I heard of dendrophobia (the fear of trees), hylophobia (the fear of forests) and nyctohylophobia (the fear of forests at night).
Warmly recommended to avid readers of the weird and supernatural.
Four stories stand out:
• ‘Man-size in marble’ by Edith Nesbit, in which a woman is killed by a living marble statue (this must be the most anti-feminist story I ever read),
• ‘The man who went too far’ by E.F. Benson, in which a man seeking pure joy in Nature is brought back to reality by the terrible creature Pan (half-man, half-goat)
• ‘The tree’ by Walter de la Mare, in which an exotic tree casts its deadly spell on a poor artist, who gradually takes on the properties of a tree as well,
• and ‘N’ by Arthur Machen, in which a perfect Kubla Kahn-vista is created in urban London.
This collection also enriched my vocabulary on phobias: never before had I heard of dendrophobia (the fear of trees), hylophobia (the fear of forests) and nyctohylophobia (the fear of forests at night).
Warmly recommended to avid readers of the weird and supernatural.
September 8, 2021
Let's start with "full disclosure". This book is somewhat a victim of what I might call a reader's block that has plagued me for most of the year. I still read, and still enjoy reading, but I have tended to go slower and more erratically as of late bouncing from book to book and not really finishing up any. As we approach the end of the year my interest in deep diving into books has come back fairly strongly and so I'm trying to finish up all of these piecemeal books I've barely touched fully. The problem is, with anthologies like this, it can be hard to really remember individual bits and so it mostly comes across as a general mood.
The general mood for this one is a fair to good collection of short stories with several classics and a few lesser knowns. I have an affinity for stories set in the woods (I grew up in a place where neighbors were scarce and trees were plentiful) and so the theme of this collection really drew me in and overall it met expectations. The editor openly makes allowances for a few stories that do not quite fit the theme but mostly keeps it on point. Occasionally stories—such as "The Tree" or "An Old Thorn"—are about a particular tree while others—"The Man Who Went too Far"—are more about a forested area. That mix did not exactly bother me too much [though why go for James's "A Neighbour's Landmark" which has a no-longer-extant wooded place in passing when there is "The Ash-Tree" which is fairly about a particular tree?]. I was not even really bothered much by the stories that were shoe-horned in due to a single sentence or two about trees at night or some such. It seems a little funny to have such a straightforward theme taken in so many directions, but I've read plenty of Weird anthologies where some connections are truly tenuous.
Of the ones I did not previously know, I think Nesbit's "Man-Sized in Marble", Webb's "The Name-Tree", and Hudson's "An Old Thorn" were my favorites [even if Nesbit's inclusion is perhaps the biggest hand-wave to the theme with it being roughly a rural setting and there are trees in it]. Of the ones I did know I find de la Mare's "The Tree" and Benson's "The Man Who Went Too Far" to be my favorites. I've read both multiple times and continue to enjoy them.
Good collection overall that stays on point for most of it. I'm looking forward to reading more of these specific-theme collections in the series (though I assume all make such allowances).
The general mood for this one is a fair to good collection of short stories with several classics and a few lesser knowns. I have an affinity for stories set in the woods (I grew up in a place where neighbors were scarce and trees were plentiful) and so the theme of this collection really drew me in and overall it met expectations. The editor openly makes allowances for a few stories that do not quite fit the theme but mostly keeps it on point. Occasionally stories—such as "The Tree" or "An Old Thorn"—are about a particular tree while others—"The Man Who Went too Far"—are more about a forested area. That mix did not exactly bother me too much [though why go for James's "A Neighbour's Landmark" which has a no-longer-extant wooded place in passing when there is "The Ash-Tree" which is fairly about a particular tree?]. I was not even really bothered much by the stories that were shoe-horned in due to a single sentence or two about trees at night or some such. It seems a little funny to have such a straightforward theme taken in so many directions, but I've read plenty of Weird anthologies where some connections are truly tenuous.
Of the ones I did not previously know, I think Nesbit's "Man-Sized in Marble", Webb's "The Name-Tree", and Hudson's "An Old Thorn" were my favorites [even if Nesbit's inclusion is perhaps the biggest hand-wave to the theme with it being roughly a rural setting and there are trees in it]. Of the ones I did know I find de la Mare's "The Tree" and Benson's "The Man Who Went Too Far" to be my favorites. I've read both multiple times and continue to enjoy them.
Good collection overall that stays on point for most of it. I'm looking forward to reading more of these specific-theme collections in the series (though I assume all make such allowances).
October 31, 2025
Непогана збірка готичних оповідань англійських авторів, написаних переважно на початку ХХ століття. Усі ці оповідання мали би бути об'єднані тим, що в них відбувається щось незбагненне, і воно спричинене, як можна здогадатися із назви, рослинами, деревами зокрема. Ідея хороша, на практиці ж не всі оповідання зі збірки відповідають цьому опису: деякі з них - це звичайні містичні оповідання, де роль рослин максимум в тому, що вони там... ну... присутні як частина пейзажу🙃 І ніякого впливу на сюжет не мають (і не те щоб сильно й атмосфери додавали). На щастя, таких оповідань меншість.
Більшість із цих розповідей, як воно часто буває з рослинними + міфологічними елементами, не варто сприймати буквально, там можна знайти певні заховані сенси, і часто вони про дослідження людської сексуальності, в тому числі гомосексуальності. Не всі, але достатньо, щоб варто було про це сказати.
Оцінювати збірки оповідань завжди важко, тому щоб спростити собі задачу, я поставила оцінку кожній історії окремо і порахувала середнє значення - вийшло 3.7, що цілком відповідає моїм враженням. Та все ж цілком справедливо буде округлими це число до 4 не лише за правилами математики, а й щоб відзначити роботу укладача - він не лише дібрав доволі цікаві твори, а й написав таку передмову, яка мені сподобалась ледь не більше за самі оповідання)
Більшість із цих розповідей, як воно часто буває з рослинними + міфологічними елементами, не варто сприймати буквально, там можна знайти певні заховані сенси, і часто вони про дослідження людської сексуальності, в тому числі гомосексуальності. Не всі, але достатньо, щоб варто було про це сказати.
Оцінювати збірки оповідань завжди важко, тому щоб спростити собі задачу, я поставила оцінку кожній історії окремо і порахувала середнє значення - вийшло 3.7, що цілком відповідає моїм враженням. Та все ж цілком справедливо буде округлими це число до 4 не лише за правилами математики, а й щоб відзначити роботу укладача - він не лише дібрав доволі цікаві твори, а й написав таку передмову, яка мені сподобалась ледь не більше за самі оповідання)
February 7, 2021
If you go down to the woods today…
Set amidst the ancient woods and forests of Britain, these twelve tales take us into the realms of folklore and the supernatural. The book starts with a short introduction from the editor in which he discusses how woods have been seen as the home to all kinds of weirdness – hauntings, druids, evil things surviving from the ancient past. He suggests that modern people have become physically separated from the forest, and this has led to them learning to fear it.
The stories come from the usual mix of well-known and less familiar writers, and the occasional one who is perhaps better remembered for a different genre. EF Benson, Algernon Blackwood and MR James appear, along with Edith Nesbit, Marjorie Bowen and Walter de la Mare, and several others whose names weren’t familiar to me. I gave the bulk of the stories – seven of them – four stars, while two achieved the full five, and the rest were all threes. So not many real stand-outs, but no complete duds either. Overall, a solid collection.
Here’s a flavour of some of the ones I most enjoyed:
The Man Who Went Too Far by EF Benson – probably the most “weird” story in the book, this is a tale of narcissism, the search for joy and the god of nature, Pan. Lush descriptions of the beauties of nature soon give way to something much darker – a kind of morality tale on the dangers of hedonism.
The White Lady by Elliot O’Donnell – presented as a true story. When the narrator was a boy, he was fascinated by tales of a White Lady who was said to haunt a tree-lined avenue in the local laird’s estate. So one night he sneaks out and hides inside the bole of a tree. He does indeed see the White Lady but he also sees something more… This is a short story, but well-told.
The Name-Tree by Mary Webb – Laura has a deep passionate love of the cherry orchard owned by her father, especially of one tree, her name-tree. Her father has fallen on hard times, though, and sells the orchard, although the new owner allows them to stay on as tenants. But he develops a passion for Laura, and when she will not willingly give herself to him, he threatens that he will throw them out of their home and part her from her beloved cherry orchard for ever. But if she consents, the orchard will be hers forever. The intro tells us that Webb was a feminist writer, and the story certainly has strong feminist themes. Dark, disturbing and excellent.
The Tree by Walter de la Mare – this is a very weird story of a man who has become obsessed by a wondrous tree of a kind never before seen. For years, he draws and paints it again and again, and eventually his drawings begin to appear on the art market, until one day his long-estranged brother sees one. Thinking that now his brother must be making money from his art, he decides to visit him, but what he finds is not what he expects! No idea what this one was about, exactly, but it’s quite unsettling and very well written.
So plenty of variety and some new names for me to look out for in the future. Personally I’m more inclined to find that spookiness lies in alleyways and foggy days and Gothic buildings and the haunts of men, but I enjoyed my tramp though the woods, and I suspect the stories in this collection would have an even stronger appeal to people more in tune with nature and the world of folklore.
NB I received a free copy of the book without obligation to review from the publisher, the British Library.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Set amidst the ancient woods and forests of Britain, these twelve tales take us into the realms of folklore and the supernatural. The book starts with a short introduction from the editor in which he discusses how woods have been seen as the home to all kinds of weirdness – hauntings, druids, evil things surviving from the ancient past. He suggests that modern people have become physically separated from the forest, and this has led to them learning to fear it.
The stories come from the usual mix of well-known and less familiar writers, and the occasional one who is perhaps better remembered for a different genre. EF Benson, Algernon Blackwood and MR James appear, along with Edith Nesbit, Marjorie Bowen and Walter de la Mare, and several others whose names weren’t familiar to me. I gave the bulk of the stories – seven of them – four stars, while two achieved the full five, and the rest were all threes. So not many real stand-outs, but no complete duds either. Overall, a solid collection.
Here’s a flavour of some of the ones I most enjoyed:
The Man Who Went Too Far by EF Benson – probably the most “weird” story in the book, this is a tale of narcissism, the search for joy and the god of nature, Pan. Lush descriptions of the beauties of nature soon give way to something much darker – a kind of morality tale on the dangers of hedonism.
The White Lady by Elliot O’Donnell – presented as a true story. When the narrator was a boy, he was fascinated by tales of a White Lady who was said to haunt a tree-lined avenue in the local laird’s estate. So one night he sneaks out and hides inside the bole of a tree. He does indeed see the White Lady but he also sees something more… This is a short story, but well-told.
The Name-Tree by Mary Webb – Laura has a deep passionate love of the cherry orchard owned by her father, especially of one tree, her name-tree. Her father has fallen on hard times, though, and sells the orchard, although the new owner allows them to stay on as tenants. But he develops a passion for Laura, and when she will not willingly give herself to him, he threatens that he will throw them out of their home and part her from her beloved cherry orchard for ever. But if she consents, the orchard will be hers forever. The intro tells us that Webb was a feminist writer, and the story certainly has strong feminist themes. Dark, disturbing and excellent.
The Tree by Walter de la Mare – this is a very weird story of a man who has become obsessed by a wondrous tree of a kind never before seen. For years, he draws and paints it again and again, and eventually his drawings begin to appear on the art market, until one day his long-estranged brother sees one. Thinking that now his brother must be making money from his art, he decides to visit him, but what he finds is not what he expects! No idea what this one was about, exactly, but it’s quite unsettling and very well written.
So plenty of variety and some new names for me to look out for in the future. Personally I’m more inclined to find that spookiness lies in alleyways and foggy days and Gothic buildings and the haunts of men, but I enjoyed my tramp though the woods, and I suspect the stories in this collection would have an even stronger appeal to people more in tune with nature and the world of folklore.
NB I received a free copy of the book without obligation to review from the publisher, the British Library.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
June 16, 2022
power ranking:
1. a neighbour's landmark by m.r. james
have been slowly working my way through a james omnibus so this later story from him was an interesting window into my near future! i really love the way james implies what other (lesser?) authors of his time would attempt to describe and not in a lovecraftian The Things I See Are Indescribable Oh My Eyes way but more like the indescribable nature of past, forgotten suffering. this woman suffers eternally because of a crime she committed against two children whose names are lost to time... there is no way to give the children justice now they are nameless!!! idk much to think about
2. the name-tree by mary webb
quietly blisteringly angry story about the way one woman has her agency stripped away for the sake of her father's livelihood. and then she gets her own back as does her name-tree, so ya boo to the shitty landlord
3. ancient lights by algernon blackwood
just a good spooky tale about an estate agent getting lost in the woods, specifically because the woods themselves hate him and want him to suffer. good shit
4. man-size in marble by edith nesbit
the crushing despair of that last page is SO worth the waffling on the part of the protagonist. fascinating and scary concept for which i am clamouring for a ghost story for christmas adaptation
5. the striding place by gertrude atherton
would have been significantly improved by removing the approx. three pages of pontificating about the nature of the soul's attachment to the body. fantastic denouement and a spine chilling final line!
6. the man who went too far by e.f. benson
i liked this! it had more homoerotic ism than i expected and i think the message about the importance of accepting the whole truth about something is very well communicated. and i do love to imagine pan stomping people to death with his sweet little hooves. i'm picturing mr tumnus on a murder spree essentially
7. the whisper in the wood by anon
would be higher but the lack of an actual ghost dings it a bit for me. decently spooky and i love dartmoor so a story set there is always a good time for me. gorgeous descriptions of the setting!
8. and 9. the tree by walter de la mare/an old thorn by w.h. hudson
can't choose between these two but i enjoyed both! the contrast between a purely good tree ruined by the greed of one man versus a chaotic neutral tree which WILL delight in your unfair execution is a really fun juxtaposition that i love the book for creating
10. "He Made a Woman--" by marjorie bowen
this one has a strong concept but again the pontificating really does take one out of scary town. there's only so much philosophy about the nature of reality i can take when i'd rather be thinking about the beautiful welsh ghost lady!
11. the white lady by elliot o'donnell
this was fine but i think the proto true crime tone meant the horror element suffers. the narrator is quite intrusive which is enjoyable but does detract from the fact that the story is actually about a man seeing the ghost of the wife he may have murdered and dying from it, which i think would be more fun to read from that pov. Down to personal taste though and i may seek out more o'donnell when i'm in the mood for victorian crime
12. n by arthur machen
oh my GOD get to the POINTTTTTT
1. a neighbour's landmark by m.r. james
have been slowly working my way through a james omnibus so this later story from him was an interesting window into my near future! i really love the way james implies what other (lesser?) authors of his time would attempt to describe and not in a lovecraftian The Things I See Are Indescribable Oh My Eyes way but more like the indescribable nature of past, forgotten suffering. this woman suffers eternally because of a crime she committed against two children whose names are lost to time... there is no way to give the children justice now they are nameless!!! idk much to think about
2. the name-tree by mary webb
quietly blisteringly angry story about the way one woman has her agency stripped away for the sake of her father's livelihood. and then she gets her own back as does her name-tree, so ya boo to the shitty landlord
3. ancient lights by algernon blackwood
just a good spooky tale about an estate agent getting lost in the woods, specifically because the woods themselves hate him and want him to suffer. good shit
4. man-size in marble by edith nesbit
the crushing despair of that last page is SO worth the waffling on the part of the protagonist. fascinating and scary concept for which i am clamouring for a ghost story for christmas adaptation
5. the striding place by gertrude atherton
would have been significantly improved by removing the approx. three pages of pontificating about the nature of the soul's attachment to the body. fantastic denouement and a spine chilling final line!
6. the man who went too far by e.f. benson
i liked this! it had more homoerotic ism than i expected and i think the message about the importance of accepting the whole truth about something is very well communicated. and i do love to imagine pan stomping people to death with his sweet little hooves. i'm picturing mr tumnus on a murder spree essentially
7. the whisper in the wood by anon
would be higher but the lack of an actual ghost dings it a bit for me. decently spooky and i love dartmoor so a story set there is always a good time for me. gorgeous descriptions of the setting!
8. and 9. the tree by walter de la mare/an old thorn by w.h. hudson
can't choose between these two but i enjoyed both! the contrast between a purely good tree ruined by the greed of one man versus a chaotic neutral tree which WILL delight in your unfair execution is a really fun juxtaposition that i love the book for creating
10. "He Made a Woman--" by marjorie bowen
this one has a strong concept but again the pontificating really does take one out of scary town. there's only so much philosophy about the nature of reality i can take when i'd rather be thinking about the beautiful welsh ghost lady!
11. the white lady by elliot o'donnell
this was fine but i think the proto true crime tone meant the horror element suffers. the narrator is quite intrusive which is enjoyable but does detract from the fact that the story is actually about a man seeing the ghost of the wife he may have murdered and dying from it, which i think would be more fun to read from that pov. Down to personal taste though and i may seek out more o'donnell when i'm in the mood for victorian crime
12. n by arthur machen
oh my GOD get to the POINTTTTTT
July 2, 2021
A lovely collection of short stories about haunted, haunting, eerie, spooky and magical woodlands, woods, and sometimes just a single tree, with Arthur Machen’s rather brilliant story N about the magical woodland that lies beyond or hidden in the big city, a beautiful Hommage to William Blake who could see the golden trees of the heavenly city like the people in Machen’s story. The book has a very good introduction into the role of woods and woodlands in the creation of an English identity, weirdness and horror as forms to talk about ecological and social changes, making these stories, at least partly, into a form of early ecocriticm. Each story comes with a short, smart introduction, with tipps for further reading. I enjoyed reading it immensely, but if you are already a bit scared among trees or in the woods, this is not a book for you.
October 16, 2022
It's a great idea for an anthology but, man, these stories are all dusty af. Not one of them stands out as excellent.
Read
November 2, 2021The first full volume I've read in the British Library Tales Of The Weird collection – which, if the covers don't quite tug my heartstrings as instantly as the old transport ads &c repurposed for their Crime Classics imprint, are nonetheless very handsome books. The selection policy, on the other hand... It's not that any of the old stories of the strange in here are bad. But several concern solitary trees, rather than woods per se, and the book concludes with Arthur Machen's N. Which is about a park rather than a forest, and – worse – which also features in another volume in the series, Into The London Fog. Where it belongs better; and the introduction here mentions other Machen tales that could have fit; and surely they must know this is a series which invites collecting, so doubling up like that is a bit cheeky?
Set against which, it is probably my favourite story by one of my favourite writers, so I can't get all that angry. And I enjoyed the stories of solitary trees with sinister aspects or unnerving connections, too. And definitely the ones about strange creatures, terrible visions and dark secrets lurking deep in the woods. Authors range from the remembered, albeit sometimes not for their ghost stories (MR James, Edith Nesbit, EF Benson), through one still unknown (for the unsigned The Whisper In The Wood), to the more obscure likes of Elliot O'Donnell, Mary Webb, and the odious but not untalented Gertrude Atherton. It's a great read, especially if you have a suitable grove within which to seclude yourself. I just wish it had been called something slightly different – perhaps It's In The Trees.
Set against which, it is probably my favourite story by one of my favourite writers, so I can't get all that angry. And I enjoyed the stories of solitary trees with sinister aspects or unnerving connections, too. And definitely the ones about strange creatures, terrible visions and dark secrets lurking deep in the woods. Authors range from the remembered, albeit sometimes not for their ghost stories (MR James, Edith Nesbit, EF Benson), through one still unknown (for the unsigned The Whisper In The Wood), to the more obscure likes of Elliot O'Donnell, Mary Webb, and the odious but not untalented Gertrude Atherton. It's a great read, especially if you have a suitable grove within which to seclude yourself. I just wish it had been called something slightly different – perhaps It's In The Trees.
Read
February 25, 2023I'm going to leave this one unrated.
I have laboured through a couple of the stories and found them wanting so I've abandoned the book altogether. It's not for me I don't think. I don't think I've read enough of the content to give a fair rating however.
Off this goes to my library in the ongoing bookshelf cull.
I have laboured through a couple of the stories and found them wanting so I've abandoned the book altogether. It's not for me I don't think. I don't think I've read enough of the content to give a fair rating however.
Off this goes to my library in the ongoing bookshelf cull.
August 25, 2025
Цікава збірка розповідей, які об'єднані спільною темою - ліс, дерева та містика. Деякі з вказаних лісів, або ж просто місць, насправді існують. Кожна історія починається з короткої розповіді про автора і маленького синопсису самої історії.
Дуже легко читається.
Дуже легко читається.
December 31, 2023
wanted to finish the year on a 5 star book but unfortunately this was not 5 stars. i really liked the short stories ‘Ancient Lights’ and ‘The Name Tree’ but the others fell a bit short for me.
December 24, 2022
I tore through this!
Look out for the stories by Mary Webb and Algernon Blackwood.
Look out for the stories by Mary Webb and Algernon Blackwood.
December 21, 2025
And three years after I first picked this up... we are DONE! I always say I reach for anthologies when I just want to "dip in and out" but I maybe took that too far lol. Anyway, happy to report that my favourite story included here was by a woman, shoutout Mary Webb for the impeccable vibes on "The Name-Tree" <3
January 29, 2023
Not the strongest entry in the British Library’s ‘Tales of the Weird’ collection. Whilst Miller does attempt to transplant overarching themes that might tie the selected stories together - noticeably paying attention how they might appeal to contemporary ecological anxieties - at times the connections seem tenuous, and the choice of stories questionable.
‘The Whisper in the Woods’ is a suitably moody choice to start the collection, but it’s hint of esoteric, weird realities - accessible through trespasses of the woods that homes/hides them - is frustratingly absent in the bulk of the collection. ‘Man-size in Marble’ is a dull odd duck, despite somewhat clumsy attempts to justify its inclusion. The same can be said for ‘The Striding Place’. M.R. James’s ‘A Neighbour’s Landmark’ is an example of a master at his weakest: the writer’s trademark use of ambiguity, that normally smokes his stories in atmosphere, here merely concludes in uncharacteristically dull revelations.
On the other hand, there’s also choices to be grateful for. It would be odd for a collection on the theme of weird woods to not feature a Machen tale, but the choice of ‘N’ - a tale with an significantly urban setting - is an inspired decision, when the author provided more than enough material to put any reader off ever diverting too far from the beaten path of a Welsh forest. Yet anyone hungry for that Cymric kind of terror will be satisfied by the inclusion of Bowen’s ‘“He Made a Woman”’. The real highlight of the collection is ‘The Tree’ by Walter de le Mare, another testament to the writer’s claim to being the master of his own niche: eerie tales about approaching the front door of derelict buildings.
‘The Whisper in the Woods’ is a suitably moody choice to start the collection, but it’s hint of esoteric, weird realities - accessible through trespasses of the woods that homes/hides them - is frustratingly absent in the bulk of the collection. ‘Man-size in Marble’ is a dull odd duck, despite somewhat clumsy attempts to justify its inclusion. The same can be said for ‘The Striding Place’. M.R. James’s ‘A Neighbour’s Landmark’ is an example of a master at his weakest: the writer’s trademark use of ambiguity, that normally smokes his stories in atmosphere, here merely concludes in uncharacteristically dull revelations.
On the other hand, there’s also choices to be grateful for. It would be odd for a collection on the theme of weird woods to not feature a Machen tale, but the choice of ‘N’ - a tale with an significantly urban setting - is an inspired decision, when the author provided more than enough material to put any reader off ever diverting too far from the beaten path of a Welsh forest. Yet anyone hungry for that Cymric kind of terror will be satisfied by the inclusion of Bowen’s ‘“He Made a Woman”’. The real highlight of the collection is ‘The Tree’ by Walter de le Mare, another testament to the writer’s claim to being the master of his own niche: eerie tales about approaching the front door of derelict buildings.
April 29, 2024
Got this for Xmas from my partner. This is the first collection in the British Library 'Tales of the Weird' series that I've read.
It was greatly enjoyable, including several stories/authors I hadn't read previously (I read a lot of ghost stories and anthologies and I often find that they cull the same old predictable authors/tales), so this was refreshing!
I would recommend if you like folk horror/weird lit/supernatural tales, and will be definitely acquiring more volumes from this series!
🍄
Favourite stories: The Tree (Walter de la Mare), The Man Who Went Too Far (E.F. Benson), Man-Size in Marble (E. Nesbit)
• The Whisper in the Wood, Anon (1880) ⭐⭐⭐
• Man-Size in Marble, E. Nesbit (1887) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Striding Place, Gertrude Atherton (1896) ⭐⭐⭐
• The Man Who Went Too Far, E. F. Benson (1904) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• An Old Thorn, W. H. Hudson (1911) ⭐⭐⭐
•The White Lady of Rownam Avenue, Near Stirling, Elliott O'Donnell (1911) ⭐⭐⭐
• Ancient Lights, Algernon Blackwood (1912) ⭐⭐⭐
• The Name-Tree, Mary Webb (1921) ⭐⭐⭐
• The Tree, Walter de la Mare (1922) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• "He Made a Woman—", Marjorie Bowen (1923) ⭐⭐⭐
• A Neighbour's Landmark, M.R. James (1924) ⭐⭐⭐
• N, Arthur Machen (1936) ⭐⭐⭐
It was greatly enjoyable, including several stories/authors I hadn't read previously (I read a lot of ghost stories and anthologies and I often find that they cull the same old predictable authors/tales), so this was refreshing!
I would recommend if you like folk horror/weird lit/supernatural tales, and will be definitely acquiring more volumes from this series!
🍄
Favourite stories: The Tree (Walter de la Mare), The Man Who Went Too Far (E.F. Benson), Man-Size in Marble (E. Nesbit)
• The Whisper in the Wood, Anon (1880) ⭐⭐⭐
• Man-Size in Marble, E. Nesbit (1887) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Striding Place, Gertrude Atherton (1896) ⭐⭐⭐
• The Man Who Went Too Far, E. F. Benson (1904) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• An Old Thorn, W. H. Hudson (1911) ⭐⭐⭐
•The White Lady of Rownam Avenue, Near Stirling, Elliott O'Donnell (1911) ⭐⭐⭐
• Ancient Lights, Algernon Blackwood (1912) ⭐⭐⭐
• The Name-Tree, Mary Webb (1921) ⭐⭐⭐
• The Tree, Walter de la Mare (1922) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• "He Made a Woman—", Marjorie Bowen (1923) ⭐⭐⭐
• A Neighbour's Landmark, M.R. James (1924) ⭐⭐⭐
• N, Arthur Machen (1936) ⭐⭐⭐
June 12, 2021
There are some really interesting insights into the authors and places they describe - a sort of collection of essays like Parnell’s wonderful Ghostland - but what struck me was how some of the tales didn’t quite get where I wanted: as if the form dictated a somewhat predictable ending, or maybe where the author was caught between too many narrative demands. Fascinating notes from a lit crit perspective, and some interesting stories, but nothing to make me want to keep the light on.
May 30, 2023
Very good concept overall, and lots of creativity to be found within each of the stories.
However, most of them lacked a solid ending, and a fair few suddenly just ended. There were some stand-out stories among them, 'The Man Who Went Too Far' was my favourite of them all as it had both an interesting storyline and a good conclusion.
However, most of them lacked a solid ending, and a fair few suddenly just ended. There were some stand-out stories among them, 'The Man Who Went Too Far' was my favourite of them all as it had both an interesting storyline and a good conclusion.
September 9, 2022
Some interesting ideas, but mostly just a bit dull
July 2, 2025
Como siempre con estas colecciones de la British Library, gran antología. Desde su gran selección de autores (Anon, Edith Nesbit, Gertrude Atherton, E. F. Benson, W. H. Hudson, Elliot O´Donnell, Algernon Blackwood, Mary Webb, Walter de la Mare, Marjorie Bowen, M. R. James y, por supuesto, Arthur Machen) hasta un prólogo bastante interesante e iluminador, donde John Miller --además de proponer el término weird woods-- reflexiona sobre el papel de la naturaleza en el terror: "En la mayoría de los relatos, los árboles no son un refugio seguro. Son, más bien, lugares de violencia, desconcierto y muerte: la mayoría de las historias incluyen la muerte de una persona relacionada con los árboles. En los bosques ocurren cosas malas. ¿Cómo conciliamos entonces las energías contrarias que operan en nuestra imaginación de los bosques? ¿Cómo podemos reivindicar la importancia cultural de los bosques cuando gran parte de nuestra historia literaria y cultural nos enseña a verlos como espacios antihumanos?"
June 20, 2024
This is a good way to experience the eerie and weird. Put together by the British Library this is a collection of short stories set amidst the ancient woods and forests of Britain in 'Weird Woods: Tales from the Haunted. As you delve into the realms of folklore and the supernatural journeying through twelve tales, each offering a unique and haunting perspective. This eclectic selection of stories features a mix of well-known and lesser-known writers, including EF Benson, Algernon Blackwood, MR James, Edith Nesbit, Marjorie Bowen, Walter de la Mare, and more. Whether you're a fan of the supernatural or just appreciate a good story, this solid collection is sure to captivate and intrigue.
February 5, 2022
I enjoyed the different dark enterpretations of the woods and trees of Great Britain. Some of the imagery stuck with me for days, where as I had a difficult time remembering others.
'Man-Size in Marble', 'The Striding Place' and 'The Man Who Went Too Far' are the stories from the collection that struck me the most. They are very abrupt in their endings but they made an impression. The description of the bodies was gruesome and hard hitting but definitely necessary.
I wish to read more of the books from the 'Tales Of The Weird' collection
'Man-Size in Marble', 'The Striding Place' and 'The Man Who Went Too Far' are the stories from the collection that struck me the most. They are very abrupt in their endings but they made an impression. The description of the bodies was gruesome and hard hitting but definitely necessary.
I wish to read more of the books from the 'Tales Of The Weird' collection
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 22, 2021
As uneven as most of the anthology titles in this BL series, this nevertheless is graced by a thoughtful introduction, and contains several outstanding and difficult to find stories. Elsewhere the choices are less inspired, including tales that have been anthologized countless times, some within other BL Tales of the Weird anthologies! More rigorous general editing of the series might fix these ongoing issues.
September 12, 2022
Another high quality short story collection from the British Library - these guys know their classic weird and Gothic fiction, and always put together great collections of stories surrounding a single trope.
The haunted forest is a familiar trope to anyone interested in the supernatural, but it's also a trope I'm not as well versed in. These short stories are a great introduction, but they didn't 'get' me as strongly as some of the stories in other collections from this series of books.
To be clear, all of these short stories are great reads, and I got a lot of value out of every single one of them. But there are no stories here that really 'wow' me, and as a result, the collection feels like something is missing. Mostly, I felt like a lot of these stories were great first chapters of a larger piece of fiction, rather than great complete stories in their own right.
Even so, this is still a high quality collection as are all British Library collections, and one that I fully enjoyed reading. I recommend it if you're interested in the titular theme.
The haunted forest is a familiar trope to anyone interested in the supernatural, but it's also a trope I'm not as well versed in. These short stories are a great introduction, but they didn't 'get' me as strongly as some of the stories in other collections from this series of books.
To be clear, all of these short stories are great reads, and I got a lot of value out of every single one of them. But there are no stories here that really 'wow' me, and as a result, the collection feels like something is missing. Mostly, I felt like a lot of these stories were great first chapters of a larger piece of fiction, rather than great complete stories in their own right.
Even so, this is still a high quality collection as are all British Library collections, and one that I fully enjoyed reading. I recommend it if you're interested in the titular theme.
November 26, 2023
These stories were hit and miss for me. I really enjoyed half of them but didn't take to the rest. It started with the strongest ones which had great imagery and spookiness. But there were just too many stories where it was a group of men chatting in a room about a peculiar thing that they heard someone may or may not have seen in a forest a long time ago.
June 11, 2025
I didn’t really rate this. I think it was as of when I read it rather than it’s contents but nonetheless I didn’t have a fun. I’ll probably read it again when I’m excited to read it but yeah, not my thing really
August 20, 2023
El tema común de los relatos de esta antología es interesante, pero ninguno me ha parecido demasiado memorable. La calidad, la extensión y el tono son bastante desiguales. Los tres que más me han gustado son bien normalitos, nada excepcional.
October 1, 2022
very good 😋 i did skip all the stories with bigoted authors idc if it was the 1910s, im not reading it ✊🏾
Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews