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The Crimson Blind And Other Stories
Mrs H.D. Everett was the last in a long line of gifted Victorian novelists who knew how to grip the reader through the invasion of everyday life by the abnormal and dramatic, leaving the facts to produce their special thrills without piling on the agony. 'I always know', says one of her characters, 'how to distinguish a true ghost story from a faked one. The true ghost story never has any point and the faked one dare not leave it out.' From the chilling horror of The Death Mask to the shocking violence of The Crimson Blind, from the creeping menace of Parson Clench to the mounting suspense of The Pipers of Mallory, these thrilling stories were enthusiastically received by readers and critics when they first appeared, and are sure to delight and terrify the modern reader in equal measure.
208 pages, Paperback
First published October 20, 2006
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About the author
Henrietta Dorothy Everett
41 books6 followersHenrietta Dorothy Everett (1851-1923) wrote under the pen-names Theo Douglas and H.D. Everett, as well as Mrs. H.D. Everett.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 6, 2019
H.D. Everett never astonishes and seldom terrifies, but she often thrills and invariably pleases in these thoroughly professional ghost stories set during or near WW I.
Each of these tales is well-crafted, and none of them suffer from the unintentional humor that more than occasionally mars the work of more ambitious masters of the genre such as H.P. Lovecraft or Clark Ashton Smith. Everett, in contrast, knows her limitations and never transgresses them, producing a body of work that is impressive in its consistent excellence.
My favorites are "The Next Heir" (a sinister evocation of Pan) and "The White Witch" and "Anne's Little Ghost," whose narrators give a touch of ambiguity to what would otherwise be straightforward tales.
August 30, 2012
Yet another collection of old ghost stories from the good people at Wordsworth's. I tend to like these collections; so many of these old stories deserve to be brought before a modern audience, and this is no exception. Written just around - a little bit after? - the First World War, many of them have the war as a backdrop. Some are traditional tales of ghosts and hauntings, others are more untraditional takes on the ghost story genre. Some good dialogue, too - I would certainly never have expected an outburst containing no less than three instances of "f-" (written that way, or I would have quoted it in full) in a book written by a female author around 1920! Delicious. Everett is also good at creating atmosphere, although there is just a tad too much sentimentality in some of the stories. A good read, nevertheless.
March 16, 2014
This is a particularly strong entry in the ‘Tales of Mystery & The Supernatural’ series from Wordsworth Editions. It contains 16 short stories and all are well-written and very engaging. The blurb says that ‘Mrs H D Everett... knew how to grip the reader through the invasion of everyday life by the abnormal and dramatic’ and this is very true. The hauntings she describes feel very much as if they could actually be real, and many of her characters end their tales by remarking on other, more mundane things, as if dismissing the ghostly events they have witnessed in a commonsense manner. All of this makes these stories very quietly chilling.
There isn’t really a single bad story in the collection, and all are of a very high standard. ‘The Next Heir’ has a slightly Lovecraftian feel with its talk of ancient gods and disused temples; ‘The Winds of Dunowe’ is a sort of pulp crime story with a ghostly flavour; and ‘A Water Witch’ and ‘The Pipers of Mallory’ are also both very memorable. Many of the stories are set with the First World War as a backdrop. The heroes are often soldiers who have been sent home because of their injuries, and the heroines are sometimes the wives or sisters of men who are away in France. There is sadly no introduction to the book to give any information about who H D Everett was, or at exactly what time the stories were written, and this is my only complaint. I would have liked to have understood a little more about the context in which the stories were written, but this is a very minor issue though, as the stories stand superbly on their own. If you’re looking for a good anthology of ghost stories to read next Halloween, this is one I would definitely recommend you consider.
There isn’t really a single bad story in the collection, and all are of a very high standard. ‘The Next Heir’ has a slightly Lovecraftian feel with its talk of ancient gods and disused temples; ‘The Winds of Dunowe’ is a sort of pulp crime story with a ghostly flavour; and ‘A Water Witch’ and ‘The Pipers of Mallory’ are also both very memorable. Many of the stories are set with the First World War as a backdrop. The heroes are often soldiers who have been sent home because of their injuries, and the heroines are sometimes the wives or sisters of men who are away in France. There is sadly no introduction to the book to give any information about who H D Everett was, or at exactly what time the stories were written, and this is my only complaint. I would have liked to have understood a little more about the context in which the stories were written, but this is a very minor issue though, as the stories stand superbly on their own. If you’re looking for a good anthology of ghost stories to read next Halloween, this is one I would definitely recommend you consider.
September 8, 2018
These are nice little stories for a little reading in between, however, nothing really left a big impression on me.
I guess you can compare them to this old TV show X Factor, the stories in here are kind of similar to the ones told in that show, in tone and that they talk about supernatural occurrences in a not too creepy or scary way. They have an atmosphere, though.
I guess you can compare them to this old TV show X Factor, the stories in here are kind of similar to the ones told in that show, in tone and that they talk about supernatural occurrences in a not too creepy or scary way. They have an atmosphere, though.
July 2, 2022
I forget if I mentioned this in an earlier review but I don’t imagine anyone is reading all my reviews, so I’ll offer it up again. There are essentially only four or five leading horror themes and most contributions to the genre contain one or more of these stories.
There are the monster stories, probably a throwback to our evolutionary fear of predators. There are the killer movies, where humans are the monster. There are the religio-horror stories (devils, demons devil-worshippers, religious cults). We might loosely add possession stories (exorcisms, werewolves, Jekyll and Hyde), though most of these fit in the stories already mentioned.
Finally there are the stories about the dead threatening the living (vampires, zombies, Frankenstein, haunted houses and ghosts). This last category may seem unwieldy, as the large bulk of horror stories fit into it, but I stand by it.
They are all united by the same fear – the influence that the dead have over the living, and perhaps our own fear of death. Will we ever escape from our own past, and the influence of those who died? What if the impulse to escape death is so strong that the dead will continue to exist after this life? Will even death prevent the hand from shooting out of the grave, and pulling us under too?
In the case of H D Everett, the focus is mostly on ghost stories. There are exceptions such as ‘Beyond the Pale’, a cheerfully racist story set in India, where a couple offend the grandmother of a ‘half-bred Indian girl who steals from her master and mistress. Grandma puts a curse on the couple, and they require another witch doctor to remove the curse. This is religio-horror, if you’re counting.
‘A Perplexing Case’ seems to be a story that H G Wells could have written. Two shell-shocked soldiers wake up only to find their minds have switched bodies. As an extra complication, one is a Frenchman, and one is an Englishman who cannot speak French.
For the main part though the stories follow a certain formula. The lead character, possibly with a spouse, either inherits or visits a house that seems promising at first, but which turns out to be haunted. Most of the ghosts are frightening, but not especially menacing. One of the more malevolent ghosts is a conservative clergyman who refuses to accept his own death, and keeps hindering the sermons of his successor.
As a result, while one or two stories end sadly, most do not. The ghosts merely replay a scene from the past, or in one case the future. There is no ambiguity here, even though the ghosts are often only seen by one character. Either they can describe a person or event that they could not possibly have seen, or another witness corroborates their story. Why only a small number of people can see ghosts is not something that Everett explains.
H D Everett is no M R James or Sheridan le Fanu, as her stories are essentially similar, and have a fairly small range of ideas. Nonetheless they are certainly enjoyable to read, and she knows how to create a suitably spooky atmosphere.
There are the monster stories, probably a throwback to our evolutionary fear of predators. There are the killer movies, where humans are the monster. There are the religio-horror stories (devils, demons devil-worshippers, religious cults). We might loosely add possession stories (exorcisms, werewolves, Jekyll and Hyde), though most of these fit in the stories already mentioned.
Finally there are the stories about the dead threatening the living (vampires, zombies, Frankenstein, haunted houses and ghosts). This last category may seem unwieldy, as the large bulk of horror stories fit into it, but I stand by it.
They are all united by the same fear – the influence that the dead have over the living, and perhaps our own fear of death. Will we ever escape from our own past, and the influence of those who died? What if the impulse to escape death is so strong that the dead will continue to exist after this life? Will even death prevent the hand from shooting out of the grave, and pulling us under too?
In the case of H D Everett, the focus is mostly on ghost stories. There are exceptions such as ‘Beyond the Pale’, a cheerfully racist story set in India, where a couple offend the grandmother of a ‘half-bred Indian girl who steals from her master and mistress. Grandma puts a curse on the couple, and they require another witch doctor to remove the curse. This is religio-horror, if you’re counting.
‘A Perplexing Case’ seems to be a story that H G Wells could have written. Two shell-shocked soldiers wake up only to find their minds have switched bodies. As an extra complication, one is a Frenchman, and one is an Englishman who cannot speak French.
For the main part though the stories follow a certain formula. The lead character, possibly with a spouse, either inherits or visits a house that seems promising at first, but which turns out to be haunted. Most of the ghosts are frightening, but not especially menacing. One of the more malevolent ghosts is a conservative clergyman who refuses to accept his own death, and keeps hindering the sermons of his successor.
As a result, while one or two stories end sadly, most do not. The ghosts merely replay a scene from the past, or in one case the future. There is no ambiguity here, even though the ghosts are often only seen by one character. Either they can describe a person or event that they could not possibly have seen, or another witness corroborates their story. Why only a small number of people can see ghosts is not something that Everett explains.
H D Everett is no M R James or Sheridan le Fanu, as her stories are essentially similar, and have a fairly small range of ideas. Nonetheless they are certainly enjoyable to read, and she knows how to create a suitably spooky atmosphere.
October 30, 2017
Absolutely loved this collection, what a great Victorian horror author Mrs H.D Everett was. Like others have said, "The Next Heir" was my absolute favourite, especially as I live in The Highlands, I could place myself in my imagination, in the location for such a tale..
October 11, 2018
A fantastic collection of supernatural tales. Several standout stories: “The Death Mask,” “Parson Clench,” and “The Next Heir.” Quite a few are set during or after WWI (“A Perplexing Case” and “The Whispering Wall” are the best) while others are set in Scotland (“The Winds of Dunowe” and “The Pipers of Mallory”).
January 24, 2019
A nice collection of stories. Some are beautifully creepy while others miss the mark. Overall an enjoyable read.
March 24, 2019
3.5, elemts of The Next Heir reminded me of how Hill House is described in The Haunting of Hill House
November 16, 2024
3.5
It was beautiful, well written, and so vibey. But it was often abrupt when I wanted it to go on
It was beautiful, well written, and so vibey. But it was often abrupt when I wanted it to go on
October 13, 2025
great collection of stories
February 1, 2015
hard going
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews