The Corner Shop: A Ghost Story for Christmas

by Cynthia Asquith, Seth (Illustrator)

World-renowned cartoonist Seth returns with three new ghost stories for 2022.
Peter Wood enters a charming antiques shop owned by two young women one stormy evening. But after he returns a second time to a strange old man and a far gloomier atmosphere, and leaves with an unusual jade frog, Peter soon discovers that his purchase was worth more than he paid.

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Christmas, Fiction, Paranormal, Ghosts, Fantasy

58 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2022

About the author

Lady Cynthia Mary Evelyn Asquith was an English writer, now known for her ghost stories and diaries. She also wrote novels and edited a number of anthologies, as well as writing for children and on the British Royal family.

Her father was Hugo Richard Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss (1857 – 1937) and her mother Mary Constance Wyndham (see The Souls). In 1910, she married Herbert Asquith, son of H. H. Asquith, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916.

In 1913 she met D.H. Lawrence in Margate, and became a friend and correspondent.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is another spooky short story from 'Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost stories, almost 20 pages long. It's a fairly classic ghost story. I do love the atmosphere and the tone set up with the writing. It takes place in a antiques shop one stormy evening. The plot does revolve around a Jade Frog, which is pretty cool.

Knowing it's a ghost story makes it rather easy to figure out what's happening and it's still fun. This is not gory or scary, only spooky. There could be more here, but it's enough.

[Indieflower · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good old fashioned creepy little morality tale, satisfying and atmospheric, I enjoyed it.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

I really enjoyed the story—the crafting of it; the writing—but unusually (compared to the others I’ve read), I was disappointed by the illustrations. For one thing, they’re too similar to one another, excepting the frog that sits across from the title page. Maybe it should’ve been moved to the interior.

[Thomas Wagner | SFF180 · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the chapbooks in Biblioasis’ Ghost Stories for Christmas series, designed and illustrated by graphic novelist Seth. In this story from 1925, a young London barrister visits an antique shop, where he purchases a seemingly insignificant knick-knack that turns out to be a historical artifact worth a small fortune. He returns to the shop, intending to split the money with the owners, where Truths Are Revealed. Yes, it’s a bit of a morality play, and thanks to subsequent decades of revisiting old tropes, the ending isn’t such a surprise. But it’s all just so well told, evoking an often dreamlike mood.

[Plateresca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet ghost story, somewhat similar in mood to 'A Pair of Hands' by Q. Everybody is nice, nothing scary really happens, but there's a curiosity shop, and a ghost, and it's quite atmospheric.

[Lady Megan Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lady Cynthia Asquith's "The Corner Shop" begins with the recent death of a lawyer, Peter Wood. Among his personal belongings is a manuscript he had written, and in it lies a gentle, but nonetheless spooky, story of ghosts and fortunes.

In his younger years, Wood happens upon an antiques store. He is charmed by it. It is bright and lovely, with two sisters running it. He buys something and remembers the place fondly.

However, when he returns, he finds the shop nearly unrecognizable. Gone are the sweet sisters and the jolly atmosphere of the place. There is an old man there instead, and he fills Wood with a feeling of dread and sadness.

He again makes a small purchase, a frog, and then leaves. He does not yet know, but soon will, how this transaction will forever change his future.

I love this story. It has a sweet, rather than sinister, core, making it a perfect ghost story for the holidays. It would have made a great episode of The Twilight Zone.

[Daniel Myatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghosts don't always come back to upset us! Sometimes they come back to right their wrongs....

Another great entry into the Seth Ghost Story for Christmas series and also a wonderful introduction to Lady Asquith.

[Canavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

✭✭✭½

[Roger O · Rating 4 out of 5]

a classic

[Brette · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[John Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who says antiques shops are boring?

[Jaidin Sykes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun little ghost story!!!

I did enjoy this more than the last one. I think it followed a traditional ghost story pretty well, especially at the ending, so we love that!!

[Victor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this very “foggy” and atmospheric London ghost story. The wonderful Doug Bradley has a fantastic live to tape reading of this on YouTube and it is just a superb listen right before bed.

[Gael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little spooky story! I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't super annoyed by the writing style like I so often am with older ghost stories.

I was however disappointed by the artwork in this edition. Almost every single piece of art was just an outside image of the corner shop, all almost identical. Really?? No images inside? Images of the items bought? The people? It was a very weird artistic choice.

[Gilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful little story!

[Kath · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this tale of a man who is sold a priceless frog for half a crown and then finds it’s worth £2000. He’s a lovely guy and so goes back to the shop to share the wealth, only to find that he was sold it to appease a dead man’s last wish of finding someone decent who will ‘do the right thing’ when given the opportunity. Lovely, very fleshed out characters all, even the ghost. Beautiful descriptions of the shop and the oddities within, I could picture it all very clearly, and a perfect morale tale. I’m going to look out for more by this fascinating lady!

[Ron Kerrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually a four and a half star book. Uninspired sketches by Seth can't diminish the pleasure in this short story (only 39 pages long, the rest taken up by publisher information and the drawings, mostly of the same shop). Astute readers will grasp the slight twist coming in the last paragraph, but it's still well constructed and satisfying. (My favorite "wait until the last paragraph plot twist" remains that in James Hilton's Random Harvest.) Wish Biblioasis would include more information about their stories, such as when it was originally published.

[Harvey Vandal · Rating 2 out of 5]

3/10

I always feel a bit bad giving these stories from so long ago a low review, but this one just didn’t really land with me. Even the twist at the end, which normally is at least somewhat interesting, was a big miss. The mystery was not particularly interesting, and it somehow was simultaneously convoluted and too barebones at the same time.

I do dig jade frogs though.

[C.A. Simonsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic tale. I'm surprised it's not better known (at least to me). Difficult to comment on it without giving something away. If you're a fan of audiobooks, this one's read beautifully by Tony Walker online. Well done, Ms. Asquith!

[Mr L Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely atmospheric story about a mysterious antique shop and the innocent customer who enters on a foggy evening...

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cynthia Asquith's "The Corner Shop" is a ghost story about an antique shop that seems to not care if they make any money. I especially enjoyed this short story and not knowing anything about it, I loved being surprised.


Story in short - A writer tells of a strange happening that happened in a corner shop.


➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
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Peter Wood’s executors found their task a very easy one. He had left his affairs in perfect order. The only surprise yielded by his methodical writing-table was a sealed envelope on which was written: ‘Not wishing to be bothered by well-meaning Research Societies, I have never shown the enclosed to
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anyone, but after my death all are welcome to read what, to the best of my knowledge, is a true story.’ The manuscript which bore a date three years previous to the death of the writer was as follows. ‘I have long wished to record an experience of my youth. I won’t attempt any explanations. I draw no conclusions. I merely narrate certain events. ‘One foggy evening, at the end of a day of enforced idleness in my chambers — I had just been called to the Bar — I was rather dejectedly
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walking back to my lodgings when my attention was drawn to the brightly lit window of a shop. Seeing the word “Antiques” on its sign-boar, and remembering that I owed a wedding present to a lover of bric-à-brac, I grasped the handle of the green door. Opening with one of those cheerful jingle-jangle bells, it admitted me into large rambling premises, thickly crowded with all the traditional treasure and trash of a curiosity shop.
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Despite all the clutter, there was none of the dusty gloom one associates with such collections. Far from being dingy, the room was brightly lit and a crackling fire leaped up the chimney. In fact, the atmosphere was so warm and cheerful that after the cold dank fog outside it struck me as most agreeable. ‘At my entrance, a young woman and a girl — by

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their resemblance obviously sisters — rose from armchairs. Bright, bustling, gaily dressed, they were curiously unlike the type of people who usually preside over such wares. A flower or a cake shop would have seemed a far more appropriate setting. Inwardly awarding them high marks for keeping the place so clean, I wished the sisters good evening. Their smiling faces and easy manners made a very pleasant impression on me; but though they were most obliging in showing me
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all their treasures and displayed considerable knowledge as well as appreciation, they seemed wholly indifferent as to whether or not I made any purchase. ‘I found a small piece of Sheffield plate very moderately priced and decided that this was the very present for my friend. Explaining that I was without sufficient cash, I asked the elder sister if she would take a cheque. ‘“Certainly,” she answered, briskly producing pen and ink.

❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌spoiler alert


The manuscript tells how at a corner shop the writer bought a wedding present for a friend and how welcoming the owners, two sisters and he wanted to visit the shop again but when he came back the whole atmosphere had changed. It was cold and a little sinister with an old man working at the shop and selling him a curio for very little. The writer's friend sees the curio and tells of the great find and after the fortune made after the selling of the item. The writer seeing that he had been very lucky feels the curio shop was cheated, he wants to share his wealth with them but the sisters are surprised to hear that the old man that works for them sold him the curio. The writer sees a family album with the old man, and is surprised that he is one of the step sister's father and he died years ago. She tells of his deep regret after finding God in his knowingly cheating people because they didn't know the value of what he bought from them. The men had suffered poverty and he longed to make things right and did for 2 out of 3 cheated men, but died before he could fulfill all three, the ghost became happy after he achieved his goal in selling the item to the writer.

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“Will you please make it out to the ‘Corner Curio Shop’?” ‘It was with conscious reluctance that I left the cheerful precincts and plunged back into the saffron fog. ‘“Good evening, sir. Always pleased to see you at any time,” rang out the elder sister’s pleasant voice, a voice so engaging that I left almost with a sense of having made a friend. ‘I suppose it must have been a week later that, as I walked home one bitter cold evening — fine
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powdery snow brushing against my face, a cutting wind lashing down the streets — I remembered the welcoming warmth of the cheerful Corner Shop, and decided to revisit it. I found myself to be in the very street, and there — yes! — there was the very corner. ‘It was with a sense of disappointment out of all proportion to the event, that I found the shop wore that baffling, shut-eyed appearance, and read the uncompromising word CLOSED.
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‘An icy gust of wind whistled round the corner; my wet trousers flapped dismally against my chapped ankles. Longing for the warmth and glow within, I felt annoyingly thwarted. Rather childishly — for I was certain the door was locked — I grasped the handle and shook it. To my surprise it turned in my hand, but not in answer to its pressure. The door was opened from within, and I found myself looking into the dimly lit countenance of a very old and extremely frail-looking little man.
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‘“Please to come in, sir,” said a gentle, rather tremulous voice, and feeble footsteps shuffled away ahead of me. ‘It is impossible to describe the altered aspect of the place. I suppose the electric light had fused, for the darkness of the large room was thinned only by two guttering candles, and in their wavering light, dark shapes of furniture, formerly brightly lit, now loomed towering and mysterious, casting weird, almost menacing shadows. The fire was out. Only one faintly glowing

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ember told that any had lately been alive. Other evidence there was none, for the grim cold of the atmosphere was such as I had never experienced. The phrase “it struck chill” is laughably inadequate. In retrospect the street seemed almost agreeable. At least its biting cold there had been bracing. One way and another the atmosphere of the shop was now as gloomy as it had been bright before. I felt a strong impulse to leave at once, but the surrounding darkness thinned, and
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I saw the old man busily lighting candles here and there. ‘“Anything I can show you, sir?” he quavered, approaching, taper in hand. I now saw him comparatively distinctly. His appearance made an indescribable impression on me. As I stared, Rembrandt flitted through my mind. Who else could have given any idea of the weird shadows on that ravaged face? Tired is a word we use lightly. Never before had I known what it might mean. Such ineffable, patient weariness! Deep
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sunk in his withered face, the eyes seemed as extinct as the fire. And the wan frailty of the small tremulous bent frame! ‘The words “dust and ashes, dust and ashes,” strayed through my brain. ‘On my first visit, I had, you may remember, been surprised by the uncharacteristic cleanliness of the place. The queer fancy now struck me that this old man was like an accumulation of all the dust one might have expected to find distributed over such premises.
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In truth, he looked scarcely more solid than a mere conglomeration of dust and cobwebs that might be dispersed at a breath or a touch. ‘What a fantastic old creature to be employed by those well-to-do looking girls! He must, I thought, be some old retainer kept on out of charity. ‘“Anything I can show, sir?” repeated the old man. His voice had little more body than the tearing of a cobweb; but there was a curious, almost pleading insistence in it, and his eyes were fixed on
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me in a wan yet devouring stare. I wanted to leave, yes at once. The mere proximity of the poor old man distressed me — made me feel wretchedly dispirited; none the less, involuntarily murmuring, “Thank you, I’ll look round,” I found myself following his frail form, and absent-mindedly inspecting various objects temporarily illuminated by his trembling taper. ‘The chill silence broken only by the tired shuffle of his carpet slippers got on my nerves. ‘“Very cold night,” I hazarded.
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‘“Cold, is it? Cold? Yes. I dare say it is cold.” In his grey voice was the apathy of utter indifference. ‘For how many years. I wondered, had this poor old fellow been “incapable of his own distress”? ‘“Been at this job long?” I asked, dully contemplating a four-poster bed. ‘“A long, long, long time.” The answer came softly as a sigh, and as he spoke, time seemed no longer a matter of days, weeks, months, years, but a weariness that
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stretched immeasurably. Suddenly I began to resent the old man’s exhaustion and melancholy, the contagion of which so unaccountably weighed down my own spirits. ‘“How long, O Lord, how long?” I said as jauntily as I could manage, adding with odious jocularity, “Old age pension about due, what?” ‘No response. ‘In silence he drifted across the other side of the room. ‘“Quaint piece, this,” said my guide, picking up a grotesque
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little frog that lay on a shelf amongst various other odds and ends. It seemed to be made of some substance similar to jade — soapstone I guessed. Struck by its oddity, I took the frog from the old man’s hand. It was strangely cold. ‘“Rather fun,” I said. “How much?” “Half a crown, sir,” whispered the old man, glancing up at my face. Again his voice was scarcely more audible than the slithering of dust, but there was a queer gleam in his eyes. Was it eagerness? Could it be?

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Corner Shop” is a short ghost story that Cynthia Asquith first published in 1947 in her book This Mortal Coil. It has appealing gothic vibes, with the titular creepy shop in the middle of London taking the place of the traditional castle. The plot is rather predictable, yet manages to be spooky. I liked the “morality play” aspect at the heart of “The Corner Ship” - I always like a story to have a point or some kind of message to it.

Perhaps the best part is Asquith’s vivid descriptions of places. For example, the shop itself takes on a very different appearance at different points in the story. When our narrator first enters it on a foggy, miserable day he finds this:

“Opening with one of those cheerful jingle-jangle bells, it admitted me into large rambling premises, thickly crowded with all the traditional treasure and trash of a curiosity shop. Suits of armour, warming-pans, cracked, misted mirrors, church vestments, spinning-wheels, brass kettles, chandeliers, gongs, chess-men - furniture of every size and every period. Despite all the clutter, there was none of the dusty gloom one associates with such collections. Far from being dingy, the room was brightly lit and a crackling fire leaped up the chimney. In fact, the atmosphere was so warm and cheerful that after the cold dank fog outside it struck me as most agreeable.”

*
Later on, he returns on another miserable day to find this:

“It is impossible to describe the altered aspect of the place. I suppose the electric light had fused, for the darkness of the large room was thinned only by two guttering candles, and in their wavering light, dark shapes of furniture, formerly brightly lit, now loomed towering and mysterious, casting weird, almost menacing shadows. The fire was out. Only one faintly glowing ember told that any had lately been alive. Other evidence there was none, for the grim cold of the atmosphere was such as I had never experienced.”

*
“The Corner Ship” is a quaint and pleasant ghost story to spend an evening reading.


**

[Image: Book Cover]

Citation:
Asquith, C. (2022). The corner shop: A ghost story for Christmas. Biblioasis. (Original work published 1947)

Title: The Corner Shop
Author(s): Cynthia Asquith (1887-1960)
Year: 1947
Genre: Fiction - Short story: gothic horror
Page count: 58 pages
Date(s) read: 6/27/24 - 6/28/24
Book #127 in 2024
**

[Hitesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Deal Too Good to Be True: A Tale of Twists, Turns, and Fortune

This book tells a simple yet intriguing story with elements of the paranormal. It follows our protagonist, who stumbles upon a corner shop selling various items. After purchasing something at a dirt-cheap price, his luck dramatically changes.

Being the honest person he is, he returns to the shop to share a portion of his newfound fortune, only to uncover a story that completely turns his world upside down.

Now, while it may seem like I've revealed too much in this review, trust me, there’s a lot more to it. What I’ve mentioned isn’t really a spoiler, as most readers will likely anticipate the twists. The story has a classic feel, probably written during a time when there weren’t many like it.

The writing is gripping, and to pack such an engaging tale into so few pages is quite an accomplishment. I personally enjoy short stories, where the author has to say so much with so little space, and Cynthia Asquith masters this skill beautifully.

If you're expecting spine-chilling fear, sleepless nights, or hallucinations creeping into your mind as you climb the stairs after reading, you might be disappointed.

However, if you're after a story that sticks with you long after you've read it, then this is one you won’t want to miss.

This year has introduced me to many good authors, and Cynthia Asquith is definitely one of them. I look forward to reading more of her work.

PS: I've read another edition of this book, which was not illustrated but I never felt the need for it to be an illustrated edition.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lady Asquith’s “The Corner Shop” (1925) is a much anthologized ghost story by a writer who was once famous for writing them. This particular edition is part of the world-renowned Seth’s Christmas Ghost Story series, single stories elegantly illustrated in small book format.

This is a story-within-a-story tale where we read a manuscript from recently departed barrister Peter Wood about his having purchased a knickknack at a corner curiosity shop--a Jade Frog--that happens to be worth a fortune. He buys it from an old man he assumes is a butler.

Wood isn’t comfortable with his new fortune, feeling the shop didn’t know the worth of the frog, and so he writes a check to the shop for half of his earnings. He goes to the shop and talks to two women who are the owners.

So I won’t spoil it, though you already know it is a ghost story, but the tale has something of Dickens’s Christmas Carol about it in that it is a morality tale.

Some will find the prose somewhat stuffy, maybe, but it is carefully written, kind of sweet, not really creepy. Aclassic ghost story! I’d read it before in some anthology but was glad to read it again, thanks to Seth’s relentless nostalgia for literature and literary practices of the past.

[Anne Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I dove into The Corner Shop by Lady Cynthia Asquith, originally published in 1926. It tells the story of a young man, tired from a long day of work, finding refuge from the cold bitter night in an antiques shop. He relishes the warm fire and welcoming tone of the two sisters who own it, and leaves with a unique gift. A few weeks later he finds himself stuck in a snow storm, again looking for refuge, but the only person working in the shop is an incredibly old man, and the shop itself is changed: dark with no lights. Out of pity our narrator buys a weird little glass frog for half a crown, later discovering it was a rare artifact and worth thousands. Feeling guilty, he returns to the store to give the owners half the the profits, also learning the true identity of that sad old man from a few weeks ago.

This story moves quickly so there isn’t time to get bored, but I must admit the beginning isn’t scary at all – tension only grows about halfway through, and it falls into the genre of ‘mystery’ more than ‘ghost story’ for the majority of it. Still, the contrast between the store visits certainly gave me a chill, and the moral/warning of the story is a nice reminder for the holiday season, so I can see why it was chosen as a holiday ghost story.

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[Sudipta Nandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The way the storyteller proceeded, I felt that I was going to get a twisty cosmic horror or time-travel story, especially, the sudden changes in the Corner shop (inner) setting. However, I was a little disappointed.

But the ending had a philosophical vibe with the "Three Sins" and Alfred Wilson's resolution strategy. That kind of saved the story for me. Also, the green Jade frog of the Xia dynasty and Winter London night had a peculiar impression on me.

Overall an average read with an ending that was expected.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing scary like Stephen King. Yet this Christmas weird tale is very well-written by Lady Cynthia Asquith. The eerie atmosphere was palpable. Reader has expected nasty things, but not really. Yet it is unsettling in a subtle way. The manuscript written by a dead man relates a tale of curio shop lodged at an out-of-the-way street corner. He met up with strange curator and acquired a jade frog. Later, he discovered that the curator is not at all what he appeared to be. Read this and find out. Still, an entertaining piece.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Christmas ghost story that takes place in a dreary, foggy London, which adds to the atmosphere. It's a fun tale with some twists and turns that kept me in the dark until the end. A man frequents an antique shop that he passes on his way home. There he has some unusual encounters. This can be found in a ghost story compilation by Roald Dahl. It is also available on the Classic Ghost Stories podcast, narrated by Tony Walker who always does a great job as a reader.

[Pier-Luc Nadeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice short story. If evaluated by today's standards the story is quite predictable but if by early to mid 19th century, it would definitely be a solid one.

The drawings do add some flair to it! Would recommend

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful little supernatural story, set in a London antique shop. One of a series of 22 little stories, illustrated by Seth and designed to revive the tradition of Christmastime story-reading. Can’t wait to read (and own) the other 21 books.