Wicked Spirits: Mysteries, Spine Chillers and Lost Tales of the Supernatural

Ghosts from the Library #2

by Tony Medawar (Editor)

A brand new anthology of previously unpublished and uncollected supernatural mysteries by some of the masters of the Golden Age – thrills, spills and chills perfect for Halloween.

It is said that books are written to bring sunshine into our dull, grey lives – to show us places we want to escape to, lives we want to live, people we want to love. But there are also stories that can only be found in the deepest, darkest corners of the library. Stories about the unexplained, of lost souls, of things that go bump before the silence. Before the screaming.

And some stories just disappear. Stories printed in old newspapers, broadcast live on the wireless, sometimes not even published at all – these are the stories you cannot find on even the dustiest of library shelves.

This follow-up volume to the bestselling Ghosts from the Library resurrects forgotten tales of the supernatural by some of the most accomplished mystery authors of all time. Close the windows. Draw the curtains. Just don’t let the lights go out…

Genres: Short Stories, Mystery, Ghosts

352 pages, Hardcover

Published September 26, 2024

Reviews

[Magdalena Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic hit and miss short story collection and not as good as its predecessor, Ghosts From the Library: Lost Tales of Terror and the Supernatural. I was pretty excited as there were 21 stories included in this volume, but quite a few seemed like a filler and too many were just fine. There was also a noticeable number of typos which, after a while, I found rather distracting/annoying. Lastly, as much as it's good to have the authors' bio and some info about their lives, there's no need to include up to 5 pages of their life stories - again, felt like a filler.
There were some great stories though! My favourites:
- "The Lonely Hampshire Cottage" by Arthur Conan Doyle - the opening story was really menacing
- "An Experiment of the Dead" by Helen Simpson - loved the premise of this one and Simpson's bio was actually super interesting as she was into witchcraft and demonology which is cool
- "Vex Not His Ghost" by John Dickson Carr - an original format (a script split between the characters and narrator as it was originally broadcast on the BBC) and I found the story and its characters really compelling
- "The Line Went Dead" by Leo Bruce - brilliant, intriguing and kind of sinister; I loved that one!

[Pages & Cup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Mostly mysteries rather than spooky stories. But there are a few great ones in this collection.

[Demeter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasing mix of tales, some better than others as you’d expect. I enjoyed reading stories from authors I’d not heard of before as well as most were from writers usually associated with crime fiction.

[Carissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although it is not titled as such, this is the fourth installment in the "Bodies from the Library" series edited by Tony Medawar. It is very enjoyable and perfect for spooky season. The stories in this anthology, many of which have never been anthologized before (and some of which have never before been published) were written in both the 19th and 20th centuries. Some of the stories were even written in the second half of the 20th century. All of the stories, though, are the sort that can be enjoyed by lovers of Golden Age mysteries. I particularly appreciated discovering several new-to-me authors from this anthology, and plan to explore more of their work.