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Irish Ghost Stories
Over the centuries Ireland has preserved a magical, mystical aura that lends itself to tales of the supernatural-from leprechauns and fairies to ghosts and hauntings. Stories and storytelling have always been central to Irish folk culture, and this anthology of the best ghost stories from Ireland and Irish writers includes contributions from Sheridan Le Fanu, Bram Stoker, Patrick Kennedy, George Moore, and W. B. Yeats.
The result is a collection of tingling tales of poltergeists, supernatural experiences, haunted houses, death warnings, and banshees that will chill the blood of readers and listeners alike.
The result is a collection of tingling tales of poltergeists, supernatural experiences, haunted houses, death warnings, and banshees that will chill the blood of readers and listeners alike.
582 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
103 people are currently reading
427 people want to read
About the author
David Stuart Davies
185 books140 followersDavid Stuart Davies was a British writer. He worked as a teacher of English before becoming a full-time editor, writer, and playwright. Davies wrote extensively about Sherlock Holmes, both fiction and non-fiction. He was the editor of Red Herrings, the monthly in-house publication of the Crime Writers' Association, and a member of The Baker Street Irregulars and the Detection Club.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 22, 2021
My 500th book on Goodreads :)
I had a good time with this one. I have actually been unsure as to whether this should get three stars or four. Like any anthology of this sort, it will always be something of a mixed bag. The question is how many stories were weak, how many average, and how many amazing? Well, I guess I will quickly work that out now as I write this review so that I can decide at the end what rating to give it.
The Room in la Dragon Volant was an unusual opener. It had no ghosts to speak of. In fact, it was quite forgettable until the closing scene where things at least get suspenseful, if not exactly spooky. Being honest though, this one was only about average.
Madam Crowl's Ghost was short, shocking and more than a little frightening. Wouldn't say it was amazing, but it was certainly better than average.
Squire Toby's Will was another typical work of Le Fanu. The scares were subtle, refined, but had a way of really getting under your skin. I especially like the part when the woman cannot pray because every time she tries, she hears vulgar words being whispered in response to her holy words. Bloody chilling.
The Child That Went With the Fairies was probably the best and the creepiest in this book. An amazing story.
An Account of Some Strange Disturbances on Aungier Street was pretty average. Le Fanu stills tells it very well, but it's essentially pretty standard.
Ghost Stories of Chapelizod had three tales, one great, one good, and one boring. The fact that it is set in the same town as The House by the Churchyard makes it more interesting however.
Le Fanu's final story here, The Vision of Tom Chuff, would have been more frightening had I not read variations of the same story by other writers so many times before.
W.B. Yeats's The Curse and Hanraham's Vision. Hmmm. The former was good, the latter was boring. Quite similar to one of the stories in Le Fanu's Ghost Stories of Chapelizod, with a slight touch of Lovecraft (only he was not around yet).
I was very impressed, though not surprised, with Bram Stoker's two stories. The Judge's House in particular was very scary. Wouldn't expect anything less from the man who wrote Dracula, one of the scariest novels of all time, I think.
Oscar Wilde's classic The Canterville Ghost was refreshingly humorous. I liked it much more reading it a second time and expecting a comedy rather than a horror.
Not to be sexist, you know, but I thought both stories by Mrs J.H. Riddle were not very good. The writing was fine. I understood them okay. Just didn't find them particularly scary or interesting. The Old House in Vauxhall Walk was the stronger of the two, if I had to choose one.
Fitz-James O'Brien's story was another pleasure to read. His two stories were creepy and very original. And oh dear, he was also a man.
The Haunted Cellar was decent but short and so quite forgettable, and so I can't be bothered writing the author's name.
But then St. Martin's Eve by Jeremiah Curtin. He was not Irish, but an American writer well-read in the folklore of Ireland. And what better honour to bestow upon his favourite topic than to write one hell of a horror fable about neglecting to pay respect to the gods. This, like The Child That Went with the Fairies and The Judge's House, holds equal rights to being called the scariest story in the book.
The Eyes of the Dead was okay. Kind of boring. It reminded me of Stevenson's Kidnapped, but otherwise I haven't much to say about it.
And finally, Rosa Mulholland. Another female writer. Thank God, I really liked her. The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly was especially intriguing and disturbing. The Ghost of Rath was not quite as stand-out, but it still had some very strong moments of vivid evocation and creepy atmosphere.
And so looking back on all the stories, they weren't all amazing. But the good ones stand up high enough that I have decided to give the book four well-earned stars. I would easily recommend this to any reader who likes Gothic horror or Irish literature.
I had a good time with this one. I have actually been unsure as to whether this should get three stars or four. Like any anthology of this sort, it will always be something of a mixed bag. The question is how many stories were weak, how many average, and how many amazing? Well, I guess I will quickly work that out now as I write this review so that I can decide at the end what rating to give it.
The Room in la Dragon Volant was an unusual opener. It had no ghosts to speak of. In fact, it was quite forgettable until the closing scene where things at least get suspenseful, if not exactly spooky. Being honest though, this one was only about average.
Madam Crowl's Ghost was short, shocking and more than a little frightening. Wouldn't say it was amazing, but it was certainly better than average.
Squire Toby's Will was another typical work of Le Fanu. The scares were subtle, refined, but had a way of really getting under your skin. I especially like the part when the woman cannot pray because every time she tries, she hears vulgar words being whispered in response to her holy words. Bloody chilling.
The Child That Went With the Fairies was probably the best and the creepiest in this book. An amazing story.
An Account of Some Strange Disturbances on Aungier Street was pretty average. Le Fanu stills tells it very well, but it's essentially pretty standard.
Ghost Stories of Chapelizod had three tales, one great, one good, and one boring. The fact that it is set in the same town as The House by the Churchyard makes it more interesting however.
Le Fanu's final story here, The Vision of Tom Chuff, would have been more frightening had I not read variations of the same story by other writers so many times before.
W.B. Yeats's The Curse and Hanraham's Vision. Hmmm. The former was good, the latter was boring. Quite similar to one of the stories in Le Fanu's Ghost Stories of Chapelizod, with a slight touch of Lovecraft (only he was not around yet).
I was very impressed, though not surprised, with Bram Stoker's two stories. The Judge's House in particular was very scary. Wouldn't expect anything less from the man who wrote Dracula, one of the scariest novels of all time, I think.
Oscar Wilde's classic The Canterville Ghost was refreshingly humorous. I liked it much more reading it a second time and expecting a comedy rather than a horror.
Not to be sexist, you know, but I thought both stories by Mrs J.H. Riddle were not very good. The writing was fine. I understood them okay. Just didn't find them particularly scary or interesting. The Old House in Vauxhall Walk was the stronger of the two, if I had to choose one.
Fitz-James O'Brien's story was another pleasure to read. His two stories were creepy and very original. And oh dear, he was also a man.
The Haunted Cellar was decent but short and so quite forgettable, and so I can't be bothered writing the author's name.
But then St. Martin's Eve by Jeremiah Curtin. He was not Irish, but an American writer well-read in the folklore of Ireland. And what better honour to bestow upon his favourite topic than to write one hell of a horror fable about neglecting to pay respect to the gods. This, like The Child That Went with the Fairies and The Judge's House, holds equal rights to being called the scariest story in the book.
The Eyes of the Dead was okay. Kind of boring. It reminded me of Stevenson's Kidnapped, but otherwise I haven't much to say about it.
And finally, Rosa Mulholland. Another female writer. Thank God, I really liked her. The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly was especially intriguing and disturbing. The Ghost of Rath was not quite as stand-out, but it still had some very strong moments of vivid evocation and creepy atmosphere.
And so looking back on all the stories, they weren't all amazing. But the good ones stand up high enough that I have decided to give the book four well-earned stars. I would easily recommend this to any reader who likes Gothic horror or Irish literature.
November 2, 2017
Some good Halloween entertainment here. There isn't a bad story amongst this selection, though they are of very different lengths, and the longer ones don't really have a lot more to say.
It is Sheridan Le Fanu's 'The Child That Went With The Fairies' that will stick in my mind most of all. The setting of the Tipperary mountains in particularly fitting, and the little mountain road that the author describes is one I want to find.
It is Sheridan Le Fanu's 'The Child That Went With The Fairies' that will stick in my mind most of all. The setting of the Tipperary mountains in particularly fitting, and the little mountain road that the author describes is one I want to find.
June 1, 2021
*Part of ONTD's Reading Challenge 2021 Around The World for May: Ireland*
I only liked a few stories in here. I was expecting more chilling tales but was a little disappointed but I should've expected that. It's hard to get into classic short stories. A few were dull and hard to get into. There's one that I honestly forgot everything as soon as I read it and I didn't feel like going back. And I just hated the ending for a lot of these because they were so anticlimactic. And I don't understand why the first one was included. "The Room in Le Dragon Volant" didn't really read like a Ghost story and it was so much longer than the others.
Some standouts
The Child that went with the Fairies - Sheridan Le Fanu
The Judge's House - Bram Stoker (now this one was creepy)
The Secret of the Growing Gold - Bram Stoker
The Canterville Ghost - Oscar Wilde (this one had humor)
Oh, the book is tiny and so cute so that's a plus!
I only liked a few stories in here. I was expecting more chilling tales but was a little disappointed but I should've expected that. It's hard to get into classic short stories. A few were dull and hard to get into. There's one that I honestly forgot everything as soon as I read it and I didn't feel like going back. And I just hated the ending for a lot of these because they were so anticlimactic. And I don't understand why the first one was included. "The Room in Le Dragon Volant" didn't really read like a Ghost story and it was so much longer than the others.
Some standouts
The Child that went with the Fairies - Sheridan Le Fanu
The Judge's House - Bram Stoker (now this one was creepy)
The Secret of the Growing Gold - Bram Stoker
The Canterville Ghost - Oscar Wilde (this one had humor)
Oh, the book is tiny and so cute so that's a plus!
May 27, 2016
Ghost stories make the best short stories. They are easy to compact to their bare bones - a terrible past, a ghostly penance, a modern day appearance and either a repentance or a revenge to finish. They usual have one setting, spookily described by a newcomer to an old, haunted abode, and often end with a twist or a surprise. They tie in well with folk stories, hearsay and rumour, things that abound in Ireland, as well as heavy dash of superstition. With all the correct ingredients, no wonder David Stuart Davies collection is a successful and enjoyable idea.
The stories here lean heavily on two principle models - the ancient folk tale, almost faerie-like ghost stories of the countryside and the land, or haunted house tales, usually narrated by a new lodger who decries the locals claims of hauntings. Sometimes they pay for it, sometimes they merely get a bit of a shock. Sometimes faerie folk are dark and malicious, sometimes they are simply sad and forlorn. Most of these stories contain religious symbolism and associate their ghosts with devilish dealings. Others hark back to old beliefs, highlighting in a way the timelessness and the ancient nature of stories of the supernatural, their importance in the development of humankind's belief systems and story telling.
There are plenty of famous names present, and it is a true master that provides the collection's sharpest, darkest and scariest story. Bram Stoker's tale of the evil judge escaping from his portrait in rat form is masterfully told, full of lightning flashes, sudden turns, eyes flashing, creeping noises and a vicious, haunting ending - a full sensory ghostly experience. Other, lesser known names show their talent - Fitz James O' Brien's 'What was it?' has an almost HG Wells supernatural, sci-fi feel (and plenty of opium to make the narrator very unreliable) and the 'Pot of Tullips' a Wilkie Collin's mystery flavour. The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly by Rosa Mulholland is another genuinely spooky story of a cursed organ that induces its victims to play until death, a story in which devilish power is portrayed as frightening irresistible and unstoppable.
Yeat's 'Hanraham's Vision' shows the more folkloric side to these ghost stories - a beautifully sad description of the procession of the dead. 'The child that went with the fairies' is a faerie kidnapping story heard a thousand times in various forms but nonetheless very creepy and sad. Jeremiah Curtin's story of 'St Martin's Eve' is a monstrously violent haunting story in which a woman who declines to honour a saint's holy day is struck down by divine retribution and returns to wreck death and sorrow on her family.
One story stands out for its distinctness - Oscar Wilde's 'The Canterville Ghost' happily and smoothly marries horror and comedy in the story of an American family's purchase of a haunted house and the spook's inability to do his job and scare the family at all. The comedy smacks of modern day ghost classics in which typical horror staples are given human characteristics - Adam's Family, Casper etc. - and the slapstick humour of the twin boys tormenting the ghost with nut shells on the floor and water perches on half open doors made me think immediately of Home Alone. The story ends with a more serious, romantic tone of redemption and childhood innocence saving the day - its a wonderfully versatile and multi-faceted story, not least for its portrayal of the American family as a pragmatic, realistic alternative to the superstition riddled English and Irish, an old world versus new world philosophy coming together.
There are a couple that are simply a bit dull, and the opening descriptions of haunted houses becomes a little monotonous and predictable if read in a straight line, but if you read the title you know what you're letting yourself into. Most of the stories are brilliant fun, some masterfully executed and many fascinating models of the modern day develops of the genre, a bridge between ancient folklore and modern day horror. 6
The stories here lean heavily on two principle models - the ancient folk tale, almost faerie-like ghost stories of the countryside and the land, or haunted house tales, usually narrated by a new lodger who decries the locals claims of hauntings. Sometimes they pay for it, sometimes they merely get a bit of a shock. Sometimes faerie folk are dark and malicious, sometimes they are simply sad and forlorn. Most of these stories contain religious symbolism and associate their ghosts with devilish dealings. Others hark back to old beliefs, highlighting in a way the timelessness and the ancient nature of stories of the supernatural, their importance in the development of humankind's belief systems and story telling.
There are plenty of famous names present, and it is a true master that provides the collection's sharpest, darkest and scariest story. Bram Stoker's tale of the evil judge escaping from his portrait in rat form is masterfully told, full of lightning flashes, sudden turns, eyes flashing, creeping noises and a vicious, haunting ending - a full sensory ghostly experience. Other, lesser known names show their talent - Fitz James O' Brien's 'What was it?' has an almost HG Wells supernatural, sci-fi feel (and plenty of opium to make the narrator very unreliable) and the 'Pot of Tullips' a Wilkie Collin's mystery flavour. The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly by Rosa Mulholland is another genuinely spooky story of a cursed organ that induces its victims to play until death, a story in which devilish power is portrayed as frightening irresistible and unstoppable.
Yeat's 'Hanraham's Vision' shows the more folkloric side to these ghost stories - a beautifully sad description of the procession of the dead. 'The child that went with the fairies' is a faerie kidnapping story heard a thousand times in various forms but nonetheless very creepy and sad. Jeremiah Curtin's story of 'St Martin's Eve' is a monstrously violent haunting story in which a woman who declines to honour a saint's holy day is struck down by divine retribution and returns to wreck death and sorrow on her family.
One story stands out for its distinctness - Oscar Wilde's 'The Canterville Ghost' happily and smoothly marries horror and comedy in the story of an American family's purchase of a haunted house and the spook's inability to do his job and scare the family at all. The comedy smacks of modern day ghost classics in which typical horror staples are given human characteristics - Adam's Family, Casper etc. - and the slapstick humour of the twin boys tormenting the ghost with nut shells on the floor and water perches on half open doors made me think immediately of Home Alone. The story ends with a more serious, romantic tone of redemption and childhood innocence saving the day - its a wonderfully versatile and multi-faceted story, not least for its portrayal of the American family as a pragmatic, realistic alternative to the superstition riddled English and Irish, an old world versus new world philosophy coming together.
There are a couple that are simply a bit dull, and the opening descriptions of haunted houses becomes a little monotonous and predictable if read in a straight line, but if you read the title you know what you're letting yourself into. Most of the stories are brilliant fun, some masterfully executed and many fascinating models of the modern day develops of the genre, a bridge between ancient folklore and modern day horror. 6
February 17, 2021
There is something really cosy in reading 19th century ghost stories, so in that sense I liked this collection. Although this collection might also have been called 'Stories by Sheridan Le Fanu and others', because more than half of the book is taken up by stories by Le Fanu. I especially didn't really understand the inclusion of the first story, 'The room in Le Dragen Volant'. With a length of 150+ pages it is more a novella than a short story and I think it is more a sensation story than a ghost story. The introduction didn't help me either: even though it discusses most stories, it didn't even mention this longest and most prominently placed story.
Also, just a heads up for any future readers: not all stories take place in Ireland; the 'Irish' in the collection title refers to the nationality of the authors.
Also, just a heads up for any future readers: not all stories take place in Ireland; the 'Irish' in the collection title refers to the nationality of the authors.
August 31, 2019
It had some interesting stories though none could be classified as horror but mere eerie. While reading it, I struggled to finish it, to be honest; it didn’t keep me hooked as I would have liked and I finished it because I hate leaving books unfinished. The best stories were of Bram Stoker. The language is somewhat difficult and is not easily read. I can say it was okish but I could have skipped it. It’s a good book if one likes old language.
November 22, 2020
These are ghost stories mostly about couples, both good and bad people haunting dark, dusty and often moldy places. Only a few are truly creepy, while the others are sad or simply eerie. Often the setting and descriptions are the best part, like a great beginning of a black and white horror movie, only to remain mostly atmosphere. But then, the most frightening things in the real world are the living.
December 31, 2020
The 1st story was such a drag, it was hard to get through it so I could move on to the other stories (because I'm linear like that sometimes...). We all knew he was being played from early on, but he remains oblivious and so sure that he is too great to be fooled, so I just felt frustrated and a bit bored waiting for the punch the whole time.
The other stories were a range of ok to interesting~ Cool compilation of Irish authored tales.
The other stories were a range of ok to interesting~ Cool compilation of Irish authored tales.
October 25, 2025
3,75ish stars i would say. I enjoyed this short story collection, there were definitely some better than others in here but good nonetheless. I do have to say there was a but too much of sheridan le fanu in here lol his stories make up half of the book and i think some like “ghost stories of chapelizod” (which i thought was the weakest part) could have bot been included or replaced by some other one. Definitely the best ones were from Bram stoker imo.
February 28, 2024
Όπως συμβαίνει στις περισσότερες ανθολογίες, μερικές ιστορίες είχαν περισσότερο ενδιαφέρον από άλλες. Μου άρεσε που ήρθε σ' επαφή με συγγραφείς που δε γνώριζα, ή που ήξερα μόνο το πιο γνωστό τους έργο (πχ Bram Stoker). Στα highlights ήταν σίγουρα οι ιστορίες της Rosa Mulholland και της J.H. Ridell.
December 21, 2024
Brilliant 👏 👏 👏
May 26, 2025
3.5-4 stars
December 9, 2024
A large collection of Irish 19th century ghost stories. I quite enjoyed them. The fairy children story stands out.
March 5, 2024
Not necessarily the most accurately titled collection (yes, the authors are Irish, but they stories themselves aren’t particularly traditionally Irish, nor indeed, in most cases, are they set in Ireland. And many of them can hardly be described as ghost stories) but it was a quick read and contained some good short stories I wouldn’t normally have encountered.
December 1, 2014
The Irish fascination for gothic horror and ghost stories can be seen in this compilation from some of the country's finest authors. A must read for both the academically inclined (if you're interested in analyzing the stories on a critical level) or if you're simply looking for a good scare.
May 3, 2012
some really nice stories, made me shutter a bit sometimes :)
May 15, 2013
Loved this book. It was real fun
July 21, 2015
My favourite was definitely Oscar Wilde's The Canterville Ghost!!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews