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For the Blood is the Life and Other Stories
The stories we tell are not limited to monsters and harsh otherworlds. Yet the fiction books in the Borealis imprint certainly belong to a world other than our own. This line encompasses our science fiction, fantasy and horror novels and anthologies.
Paperback
First published December 1, 1996
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About the author
F. Marion Crawford
1,348 books86 followersFrancis Marion Crawford (1854-1909) was an American writer noted for his many novels. He was born at Bagni di Lucca, Italy. In 1879 he went to India, where he studied Sanskrit and edited the Allahabad Indian Herald. Returning to America he continued to study Sanskrit at Harvard University for a year, contributed to various periodicals, and in 1882 produced his first novel, Mr Isaacs. This book had an immediate success, and its author's promise was confirmed by the publication of Doctor Claudius: A True Story (1883). After a brief residence in New York and Boston, in 1883 he returned to Italy, where he made his permanent home. He also published the historical works, Ave Roma Immortalis (1898), Rulers of the South (1900) renamed Sicily, Calabria and Malta in 1904, and Gleanings from Venetian History (1905). The Saracinesca series is perhaps known to be his best work, with the third in the series, Don Orsino, set against the background of a real estate bubble, told with effective concision. A fourth book in the series, Corleone, was the first major treatment of the Mafia in literature.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 31, 2016
[Title story only...]
(1905) Previously read; more than once – this is a heavily-anthologized, classic piece!
A classic of vampire fiction; it features a seductive femme fatale whose unrequited love persists beyond the grave. The supernatural elements are mixed in with a story of mundane theft and murder in a small village, with all the expected drama of the Italian setting (as the author puts into his character’s mouth: “Deeds that would be simply brutal and disgusting anywhere else become dramatic and mysterious because this is Italy and we are living in a genuine tower of Charles V built against genuine Barbary pirates.”)
However, I found that the most memorable part of the story was its framing device, with the eerie image of the grave with a body lying on top of it, which is only visible from a distance.
(1905) Previously read; more than once – this is a heavily-anthologized, classic piece!
A classic of vampire fiction; it features a seductive femme fatale whose unrequited love persists beyond the grave. The supernatural elements are mixed in with a story of mundane theft and murder in a small village, with all the expected drama of the Italian setting (as the author puts into his character’s mouth: “Deeds that would be simply brutal and disgusting anywhere else become dramatic and mysterious because this is Italy and we are living in a genuine tower of Charles V built against genuine Barbary pirates.”)
However, I found that the most memorable part of the story was its framing device, with the eerie image of the grave with a body lying on top of it, which is only visible from a distance.
October 27, 2023
Crawford was a very popular romantic novelist in the late 19th century but he also wrote several classic, short horror stories which were originally complied and published in 1911. This edition of came out in 1996 and features and excellent introduction by Darrell Schweitzer. I have read several of these stories previously in various horror anthologies over the years and some are definitely classics. H.P. Lovecraft, in his seminal essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature," claimed Crawford's story "The Upper Berth" was one of the "most tremendous horror-stories in all literature" and it is a doozy for sure! Other classics include the titular story, "The Screaming Skull," and "Man Overboard!" All in all, a really nice collection, although, as usual in any collection of short stories, some tales are better than others. 4 classic stars!!
February 13, 2014
This is one of the best single-author collections of late 19th/early 20th century ghost stories I've read...and there is a lot of competition from that time period. Apparently Crawford was one of the most popular novelists of his era, but his reputation today rests solely on these 8 stories, all but one originally collected under the title WANDERING GHOSTS in 1911. I can see why these stories have endured: Crawford possesses a matter-of-fact, straightforward, conversational writing style that makes the stories seem as if they were written yesterday. And because of this complete lack of melodrama or manipulation, the stories are all the more chilling: you have no reason not to believe what the narrators of these stories are telling you. Not all of the stories are great--I could've done without the sentimental "The Doll's Ghost," "The Screaming Skull" is a little silly (malevolent skulls just aren't scary), and "The King's Messenger" is just a surrealistic sketch. But this collection is highly recommended for the other 5 stories, the highlights being the much-anthologized "The Upper Berth," the classic vampire story from which this collection gets its title, and the underrated nautical horror story "Man Overboard." It's too bad Crawford didn't write more than these 8 tales in the genre. He had a real talent for it.
February 24, 2020
4.6 stars
We had dined at sunset on the broad roof of the old tower, because it was cooler there during the great heat of summer. Besides, the little kitchen was built at one corner of the great square platform, which made it more convenient than if the dishes had to be carried down the steep stone steps broken in places and everywhere worn with age.
-F. Marion Crawford
The following six stories carried me away on lilac prose and Gothic garlic flowers.
The Dead Smile
The Screaming Skull
The Upper Birth
For the Blood is the Life
Man Overboard
By The Waters of Paradise
“I will come,' the priest answered, 'for I have read in old books of these strange beings which are neither quick nor dead, and which lie ever fresh in their graves, stealing out in the dusk to taste life and blood.”
― For Blood is the Life
For the Blood is the Life? Classic turn-of-the-century vampire story. By The Waters of Paradise? Marvelous melancoly.
"The place was gloomy. The broad basins of water and the tall evergreen hedges gave it a funereal look, and the damp-stained marble causeways by the pools might have been made of tombstones. The gray and weather-beaten walls and towers without, the dark and massively furnished rooms within, the deep, mysterious recesses and the heavy curtains, all affected my spirits. I was silent and sad from my childhood. There was a great clock tower above, from which the hours rang dismally during the day, and tolled like a knell in the dead of night. There was no light nor life in the house, for my mother was a helpless invalid, and my father had grown melancholy in his long task of caring for her. He was a thin, dark man, with sad eyes; kind, I think, but silent and unhappy."
- By the Waters of Paradise
Lovecraft lauded The Upper Birth. The Dead Smile would have fit snugly into an Edgar Allan Poe short story collection. And The Screaming Skull?
"I have often heard it scream. No, I am not nervous, I am not imaginative, and I never believed in ghosts, unless that thing is one. Whatever it is, it hates me almost as much as it hated Luke Pratt, and it screams at me.
I may be all wrong about the skull, and I like to think that I am when I can. It may be just a fine specimen which Luke got somewhere long ago, and what rattles about inside when you shake it may be nothing but a pebble, or a bit of hard clay, or anything. Skulls that have lain long in the ground generally have something inside them that rattles don’t they?"
- The Screaming Skull
Essential ghost, vampire, and horror short story collection.
We had dined at sunset on the broad roof of the old tower, because it was cooler there during the great heat of summer. Besides, the little kitchen was built at one corner of the great square platform, which made it more convenient than if the dishes had to be carried down the steep stone steps broken in places and everywhere worn with age.
-F. Marion Crawford
The following six stories carried me away on lilac prose and Gothic garlic flowers.
The Dead Smile
The Screaming Skull
The Upper Birth
For the Blood is the Life
Man Overboard
By The Waters of Paradise
“I will come,' the priest answered, 'for I have read in old books of these strange beings which are neither quick nor dead, and which lie ever fresh in their graves, stealing out in the dusk to taste life and blood.”
― For Blood is the Life
For the Blood is the Life? Classic turn-of-the-century vampire story. By The Waters of Paradise? Marvelous melancoly.
"The place was gloomy. The broad basins of water and the tall evergreen hedges gave it a funereal look, and the damp-stained marble causeways by the pools might have been made of tombstones. The gray and weather-beaten walls and towers without, the dark and massively furnished rooms within, the deep, mysterious recesses and the heavy curtains, all affected my spirits. I was silent and sad from my childhood. There was a great clock tower above, from which the hours rang dismally during the day, and tolled like a knell in the dead of night. There was no light nor life in the house, for my mother was a helpless invalid, and my father had grown melancholy in his long task of caring for her. He was a thin, dark man, with sad eyes; kind, I think, but silent and unhappy."
- By the Waters of Paradise
Lovecraft lauded The Upper Birth. The Dead Smile would have fit snugly into an Edgar Allan Poe short story collection. And The Screaming Skull?
"I have often heard it scream. No, I am not nervous, I am not imaginative, and I never believed in ghosts, unless that thing is one. Whatever it is, it hates me almost as much as it hated Luke Pratt, and it screams at me.
I may be all wrong about the skull, and I like to think that I am when I can. It may be just a fine specimen which Luke got somewhere long ago, and what rattles about inside when you shake it may be nothing but a pebble, or a bit of hard clay, or anything. Skulls that have lain long in the ground generally have something inside them that rattles don’t they?"
- The Screaming Skull
Essential ghost, vampire, and horror short story collection.
November 9, 2010
This is a very good little collection of supernatural tales by a sometimes overlooked writer. Some of the very best classic tales I've read are here, "The Dead Smile" and "The Upper Berth". Other noteworthy tales included are the title story, "The Screaming Skull", and "Man Overboard!". I don't care too much for "The Doll's Ghost", it's a little bit too sickly-sweet.
In all, a recommended collection for readers of classic horror. I enjoyed it very much, and I'm glad I took the time to read more Crawford.
In all, a recommended collection for readers of classic horror. I enjoyed it very much, and I'm glad I took the time to read more Crawford.
July 9, 2018
F. Marion Crawford was another author like Robert W. Chambers. He wrote a ton and was hugely popular in his time, but is now mostly forgotten, leaving only a small handful of supernatural tales that are worth the time to track down. In Chambers's case, it's his book The King In Yellow, in Crawford's case, it's this. With an easy style and great sense of place, Crawford takes us through some eerie and semi-Gothic tales of ghosts and the macabre. His writing frequently feels much more modern, and I kept having to remind myself Crawford died in 1909. A lot of these stories feel like they could have been turned into episodes of 'Thriller' or even 'The Twilight Zone.' It's good stuff.
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October 15, 2024The Dead Smile - 4.5 ⭐️
The Screaming Skull - 5.0 ⭐️
Man Overboard! - 4.5 ⭐️
For The Blood Is The Life - 2.5 ⭐️
The Upper Berth - 3.5 ⭐️
By the Waters of Paradise - 2.0 ⭐️
The Doll's Ghost - 3.5 ⭐️
The King's Messenger - 2.0 ⭐️
The Screaming Skull - 5.0 ⭐️
Man Overboard! - 4.5 ⭐️
For The Blood Is The Life - 2.5 ⭐️
The Upper Berth - 3.5 ⭐️
By the Waters of Paradise - 2.0 ⭐️
The Doll's Ghost - 3.5 ⭐️
The King's Messenger - 2.0 ⭐️
March 16, 2017
Relato corto de vampiros
June 14, 2017
Surprisingly good book of "old fashioned" ghost stories. I use quotations because the stories date from 1898-1908 or so, but they feel neither old nor stodgy. Fantastic little book.
October 31, 2018
(Just the title story)
After a promising opening this story kinda fizzles. The eerie image of the grave with a body lying on top of it, which is only visible in moonlight and from a distance is very intriguing. After Holger's encounter with the ghost I expected things to get scarier and weirder, but was instead rewarded with a basic vampiric ghost story. While it may have been unique and frightening in its day, it was not terribly interesting or frightening. Being told after the fact that a man was very brave and this undescribed event shook him to the marrow just won't cut it with a modern audience.I much prefer the quick vignette (The Vow on Halloween by Lyllian Huntley Harris) that I read just before this one.
After a promising opening this story kinda fizzles. The eerie image of the grave with a body lying on top of it, which is only visible in moonlight and from a distance is very intriguing. After Holger's encounter with the ghost I expected things to get scarier and weirder, but was instead rewarded with a basic vampiric ghost story. While it may have been unique and frightening in its day, it was not terribly interesting or frightening. Being told after the fact that a man was very brave and this undescribed event shook him to the marrow just won't cut it with a modern audience.I much prefer the quick vignette (The Vow on Halloween by Lyllian Huntley Harris) that I read just before this one.
September 23, 2021
This volume collects all of the ghostly tales written by F. Marion Crawford, who is best known for The Upper Berth. It represents a small fraction of his total output, but these are the stories for which he is remembered today.
As in every collection, some stories loom more strongly over the reader than others. The Upper Berth is clearly the strongest of the lot, and even though the reader has likely read it before, it deserves another look. For the Blood Is the Life is an effective, if basic, vampire story. And, the first three stories of the book are nicely atmospheric ghost stories. The last three tales belong more out of completeness than their intrinsic merits.
As in every collection, some stories loom more strongly over the reader than others. The Upper Berth is clearly the strongest of the lot, and even though the reader has likely read it before, it deserves another look. For the Blood Is the Life is an effective, if basic, vampire story. And, the first three stories of the book are nicely atmospheric ghost stories. The last three tales belong more out of completeness than their intrinsic merits.
April 26, 2021
A great collection of Crawford's best horror tales.
August 6, 2016
For the Blood is the life by F. Marion Crawford (Only)
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews