Spectral Sounds: Unquiet Tales of Acoustic Weird

by Manon Burz-Labrande (Editor)

From the ringing of a disconnected bell to footsteps in the halls of an abandoned house and the whisper of an unexplained voice in the ear, uncanny sounds are often the heralds of danger and terror in Gothic and supernatural fiction. Yet, when examining the range of stories which best manipulate our aural sense it is clear that there is more room to explore how significant sound is to our experience of fear.

This new collection presents tales in which ghosts interact with the corporeal world through noise, bodiless voices wander through the ether, and the objects whose sounds we trust, like the telephone, betray us. Featuring obscure pieces alongside some of the pioneers of the weird including B M Croker, Algernon Blackwood, H D Everett and Sheridan Le Fanu.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Halloween, Gothic, Weird Fiction, Anthologies

315 pages, Paperback

First published September 22, 2022

Reviews

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

full post here:
http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2022...

it didn't really take 13 days to read this book as my reading dates suggest, but life gets in the way sometimes. In this anthology, as the editor of this volume says in her introduction, "unexplained noises take centre stage." I would think that at least once in someone's life, he/she/they would have experienced strange aural phenomena -- I know I have. When I was about seven, we had a heater in our house that made strange noises now and then which reminded me of footsteps and I would just lay there at night in bed frozen to my core from fear. I've been awakened at night more than once by someone distinctly calling my name, bolting straight up in bed, only to find my sweet spouse still snoring away. I could list others, but let me just say that compared with what happens in these stories, my experiences are minor.

Just a brief appetite whetter: Burz-Labrande divides this book into four thematic sections. The first is " 'I Heard a Noise, Sure Enough' : Living with Audible Presences" and you have to love an editor who starts her book with a selection from Florence Marryat (1833-1899), whose short stories, novellas and novels have given me hours of entertainment, especially her bizarre The Strange Transformation of Hannah Stubbs (1896) and The Blood of the Vampire (1897), republished in 2009 by Valancourt. I love her weird stuff so much that I bought the two-volume set of work from Leonaur, The Collected Supernatural and Weird Fiction of Florence Marryat and I always rejoice when I find a collection of ghostly tales and find one of her stories in the contents. Getting back to Spectral Sounds, the Marryat piece included here is "The Invisible Tenants of Rushmere" which made its debut in her The Ghost of Charlotte Cray and Other Stories published in 1883. A London doctor who believes he's on the edge of a breakdown and is looking for a few months of "complete quiet," finds a house "on the banks of the Wye, Monmouthshire" that promises "excellent fishing," rounds," and a nominal rent. It is, he thinks, "the very thing we want," and the family soon takes up residence in the place. It is a bit on the isolated side, and this worries his wife, but as time goes on there are more pressing matters to deal with as the family begins to experience some strange but unseen phenomena. In conversation with the landlord of a nearby pub, the doctor learns that "No one who lives at Rushmere lives there alone," but the doctor refuses to listen to "any such folly." As always, he probably should have taken the word of someone who knows. It is a fine opener, the perfect haunted house story to read at night by booklight during a noisy thunderstorm, which is how I did it.

The remainder of these stories range datewise from the 19th century on into the 1920s -- I love these spooky tales from yesteryear and I really enjoy the British Library Tales of the Weird Series, offering readers the opportunity to find authors and their works which they may not know, as well as incorporating more famous (and often anthologized) strange tales into the mix. Not all of these stories floated my boat but the ones that did provided several hours of enjoyment, chills up the spine and often left me thinking about them well into the night. I definitely recommend this volume as well as the complete series of books from the British Library. And since it's October, these stories are more than perfect for Halloween, but they can be enjoyed any time of year. I am truly in my element here, happy as a clam and wanting the show to go on long after the book is finished and the booklight goes off.

It's a big yes.

[Rissa (rissasreading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - A fun collection of short stories that feature weird noises and sounds. I feel like lots of the stories had similarities to each other which took away from my enjoyment of the total collection a little bit but the stories were still enjoyable. The last story about the hurricane was probably one of my favorites because of the writing and the descriptions.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second British Library tales of the weird collection and another top quality read. Didn't get along with the last section (the House of Sounds is very "Mum: we have the fall of the house of Usher at home" and the actual Edgar Allen Poe is a rare one of his duds) but everything else (mostly tales of auditory hauntings: some tragic, a couple comic and one very sentimental) is top draw.

[Alasdair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Right, look, in theory this is exactly the sort of British Library Tales of the Weird anthology that I'd be all in favour of: a strong concept that can actually explore some themes rather than just link stories with similar settings. And it's well edited too - the thematic subdivision is appropriate and the author bios are good. I was just left a little cold on the tales within. No obvious 5 star standouts in this one, most hovering around a 3 or 4, and only really one dud: I did not get on with The House of Sounds at all - the idea has something to it, but the purple prose is just crushingly interminable.

Highlights:
The Invisible Tenants of Rushmere (Written from the perspective of a quality idiot posho who assumes his auditory hallucinations are an echo from the foolish brain of a nearby poor)
A Case of Eavesdropping (Quel surprise, Algernon Blackwood is good at writing, but the plot isn't one of his best)
The Lady Maid's Bell (Vague and nebulous but like, in a good way)

Other loose thoughts:
The Spirit's Whisper (Another classic Chat: It's Fate headline: The Ghost of My Ex Bullied Me Into Being A Detective!!!)
Siope - A Fable (Edgar, you write well, but even I'm not depressed enough for this shit)
A Speakin' Ghost (Aggressively wholesome)
The Whispering Wall (Does a nice recontextualisation for the ending, even if I was wasn't the biggest fan of the overall delivery)

[p. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the British Library's most successful anthologies in the 'Tales of the Weird' series.

It does appear that in general their best entries are always the ones with very specific focus, especially when they centre around classic elements of the genre. A book focusing on "spectral sounds" - one of the primary senses manipulated by the weird - is ample ground for many a scary, mysterious and atmospheric tales. The book also strikes a good balance between familiar and less familiar names, purposefully avoiding the most famous works in the genre.

This makes for a great and engaging reading experience. So much so, that I struggle to pick my favourites among them. Trust me when I say, each of them is worth reading.

Favourite stories: 'The Invisible Tenants of Rushmere' by Florence Marryat, 'The First Comer' by B.M. Croker, 'The Day of My Death' by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, 'The Lady's Maid's Bell' by Edith Wharton, 'The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly' by Rosa Mulholland, 'Over the Wires' by H.D. Everett and 'The House of Sounds' by M.P. Shiel

[tinreads]

i was breezing through this book before i got to the last story, which i read (in other reviews) is a really tough one to get through. had it not been for that concluding piece by MP Shiel, i would have gladly given this anthology 4-5 stars. BUT thanks to this book, i learned a lot about using sound in a horror story, and the introduction before each one helped me appreciate the piece better

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent selection of late 19th and early 20th century ghost stories which feature sound as a main focal point. Most of the stories were fantastic but near the end there were a few duds. As usual with this series these are more obscure authors or stories and not your usual best of anthology.

1. The Invisible Tenants of Rushmere by Florence Marryat (1883) - This is the typical haunted hause story. A family moves into a new home and noises are heard in the night then the servants start to leave. Wonderfully written and well worth the read (5/5)

2. The First Comer by BM Croker (1896) - The maids get up in the night to the sound of the fire grate being cleaned but when they light a match nothing has been disturbed. Legend has it the first to enter will soon die. Very entertaining and engrossing story. Predictable but still fun. (4/5)

3. The Day of My Death by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (1868) - A family moves into a new house and soon hears knocks and raps. A cousin of the wife's comes to stay for the winter who is a medium and the haunting quickly turns more aggressive with dancing cutlery and floating tables. This was a lot of fun. Very well-told. Just when you think it should be over a second plot takes over. (5/5)

4. The Spirit's Whisper by Unknown (1868) - A man receives instructions from a voice near his ear and comes embroiled in a secret murder. Very good. Often credited to le Fanu. (5/5)

5. A Case of Eavesdropping by Algernon Blackwood (1906) - A man rents a room and is told the floor is empty except for a man at the end of the hall. Right away the man starts hearing loud Germans arguing next door to him but they ignore him when he knocks on the door to complain. The landlady's accent was silly and I didn't enjoy the writing. (3/5)

6. A Speakin' Ghost by Annie Trumbull Slosson (1890) - A lonely woman has a ghost visit her who is a young teen and asks her each time if she wants to hear his recitation piece. This is such a lovely, heart warming story. I loved it. (5/5)

7. The Whispering Wall by H.D. Everett (1916) - Just before WWI a young man is invited to his friend's home to hear their ghost. Just ok. It ends rather abruptly. (3/5)

8. No Living Voice by Thomas Street Millington (1872) - A man gets lost and spend the night at an inn. The ghostly voice he hears that night is terrifyingly inhuman. Decent story. (3/5)

9. The Lady's Maid's Bell by Edith Wharton (1902) - A lady's maid starts a new job where the bell to her room is not to be used instead the lady will ring the housemaid who will walk across the house to fetch her. This begins this paranormal mystery story which is very atmospheric and sneaky. (4/5)

10. The Case of Vincent Pyrwhit by Barry Pain (1902) - A man comes to stay with a friend whose wife has just died. They are smoking after dinner and the phone leading to her sick room rings but it has been disconnected. Short and sweet, as they say. Clever. (4/5)

11. The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly by Rosa Mulholland - (1866) - A strange looking little child-woman says the son of the estate has sent her to play the organ but he died 20 years ago. It is the organ that gives this story a place in this collection but it is a visual story in nature. The atmosphere is utterly terrifying. The descriptions are terrifyingly breathtaking. I loved this. (5/5)

12. Over the Wires by H.D. Everett (1920) - A man receives calls from his wounded fiance (WWI) and he tries to find out where she is. This is a typical ghost story and predictable but has lovely writing and isn't overwritten considering it's a romance. (3/5)

13. Siope - A Fable by Edgar Allan Poe (1837) - A Demon tells a story of a place where everything is very quiet where there is a yellowish river and white lilies on the banks. It's very boring. I love Poe but this does nothing for me. (2/5)

14. The House of Sounds by M.P. Shiel (1911) - This was long and densely written. I found it hard to read and understand. There were more descriptive passages than actual plot. The action came at the end and I followed it but it didn't pay off. Not for me at all. (1/5)

[Eraneh Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains 14 different stories by various writes all based on horror based on sounds in its different forms. Since it is a collection of stories I can't give it a collective rating, few stories clicked with me some didn't, I can't say that I hated any of the stories but few were there in which I couldn't get into the story, the ones which I loved are:
1) The invisible tenants of Rushmere: A family goes to spend some time in a house which is disconnected from the world, thinking they will have some peace and quiet, little did they know of the past of that house and what happened earlier!
2) "A Case of eavesdropping - In this tale, the ghostly nature of the voices is not straightforward: as hinted at by the title, they are only heard through a wall as the protagonist eavesdrops. This prevents any visual contact and thus strengthens the story's reliance on aurality, but it also simultaneously distorts the acoustic qualities of the scene; and both character and reader are left to wonder, as the voices continue to speak to each other.
3) A speaking ghost - This tells the tale of Mary Ann and her conversation with a friendly ghost who is a young boy that has a conversation with her every day.

[CB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Doorway to Dilemma, I found this British Library Tales of the Weird collection just as exciting (save a few stories, which can’t be avoided when there are so many different authors portrayed). Overall, I found the auditory theme intriguing but I was pleasantly surprised that it did not limit the stories. My only wish is that the whole thing felt more like the final chunk of the book (auditory weird not relating to ghosts), because as the first three parts were all ghost-related, many of the stories were very similar to one another, and didn’t show such a wide profile that this sub genre could present.

[Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing collection of lesser known gothic short stories.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent entry in this deeply fun series of Victorian and Edwardian weird tales. As with most other volumes, the quality of the stories varies, but none are awful.