Supernatural Fiction Readers discussion

What ever happened to the good old ghost story? What I love about ghost stories, over and above other sub genres (which I also enjoy) is that I believe I actually have a chance to encounter a ghost, or suspect that I may have already.

What would you consider an example of a good old ghost story? Something like The Haunting of Hill House or Stir of Echoes?

Haunting of Hill House is the gold standard. Steven King said his ambition was to write something as good.
I also like the classic Turn of the Screw. Ashamed to say I don't know Stir of Echoes. Will look it up.

P. Luther, you might be interested in another of our discussion threads about ghost stories: www.goodreads.com/topic/show/239242-w... . From the way you phrased your opening question, though, I gather that you're mainly interested in finding out if any modern-day, reasonably contemporary writers are writing ghost stories?

The anthology The Oxford Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories includes some tales of the type you might be looking for (though, of course, its scope excludes anything written in the last 14 years or so); so does Civil War Ghosts. I've read these collections, and can recommend them. While I haven't read any novels in the Sarah Milton Chronicles by our own J. B. Cameron, I do know that they feature a ghost. Hope this helps!

Though I haven't read it, the collection of original stories The Dark: New Ghost Stories, published in 2003 and edited by Ellen Datlow, might also be to the purpose. (Personally, I wasn't that impressed by Datlow's editorial selections in the one anthology she co-edited that I've partially read; but on the other hand, I did like some of them, and a great many genre fans have high regard for her as an editor.)

P. Luther wrote: "Haunting of Hill House is the gold standard. Steven King said his ambition was to write something as good.
I also like the classic Turn of the Screw. Ashamed to say I don't know Stir of Echoes. Wi..."

Haunting of Hill House and Turn of the Screw are interesting in that they both feature a marginalized, troubled narrator and can be read as psychological studies of well, troubled minds, as much as ghost novels. Turn of the Screw is even more ambiguous because of its ending.

I have just had my ghost book reviewed in a local paper. May be of interest to those who just like a ghost story?

hello

My favorite ghost stories are: the famous tragedy ghost story by Shakespeare: Hamlet. And a ghost story that is extremely satirical: Canterville Ghost by O. Wilde.

Glad to be in this group
Georgina

Hi Georgina,
I love both of those, as well! I think Shakespeare really liked ghosts, too, as so many of his tragedies include them.

P. wrote: "What ever happened to the good old ghost story? What I love about ghost stories, over and above other sub genres (which I also enjoy) is that I believe I actually have a chance to encounter a ghost..."

Have you read the Ghosts of Sleath?

For me the greatest ghost story has to be The Ghost of Sleath, I have never come across a ghost story that has even come near to beating it.

To expand a little on Alan's comment, The Ghosts Of Sleath (1994) is a novel by the late best-selling British horror author James Herbert. It's the second book in his David Ash trilogy. I'm not familiar with it myself; but some group members may recall that in 2015, we did a common read of the first book, Haunted. (My review of that novel is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ; it got four stars from me.)

The Ghosts of Sleath is much grander in scale then the Haunted. In the haunted David Ash investigated a manor house, But in the ghost of Sleath he is sent to a small village in the Chilton hills, the village is in the middle of a mass haunting. With each day that passes the hauntings get worse, and more and more of the villagers are coming realise the dead are returning. There was a line that I loved from the back of the book, it said Sleath, where the dead will walk the streets. To this day that book as stayed with me, and shaped my own work.

I've just added it to my "maybe to read" shelf, Alan. Thanks for the tip!

your welcome, alway happy to shear a good ghost story with other fans

Werner wrote: "To expand a little on Alan's comment, The Ghosts Of Sleath (1994) is a novel by the late best-selling British horror author James Herbert. It's the second book in his David Ash trilog..."

I really enjoyed Haunted--both novel and movie--and initially was engaged in The Ghosts of Sleath, but I found The Ghosts of Sleath disturbing with a particularly graphic ending. I didn't read any more in the series after that one.

Deb your are not wrong, I'm not that squeamish, but there was one part in the middle of the book where I did find myself skipping over a section owing to its very gharphic nature.

Deb and Alan, thanks for that feedback! I'm not really into the gory and graphic, so I've just deleted that one from my "maybe" shelf.

For anyone who dose love a good old fashioned ghost story I highly recommend you go to YouTube, and watch an animated short movie, called One Winters Night. It is a truly haunting piece of art, while its not a book, it dose feel like it belongs on print.

I just watched One Winter's Night. Loved it! Thanks for the recommendation Alan.

Your welcome Aretix, Yes its very haunting is it, It works as a ghost story, but there is a lot of subtext in it narration as well, such dealing with childhood death, and the lose of friendships.

Hi,
my debut novel is classic ghost story based in the remote highlands of Scotland. Take a look at some of my reviews before considering :)

Echoes of Home: A Ghost Story

thanks Matt

I love ghost stories! I have a question for the commenters here. I am looking for an endorsement for my short story, a ghost story "Wild Darkness" which was published at ParAbnormal Magazine last year. I am now going to reprint it as a Kindle Single on Amazon/Smashwords and need a few endorsements for my Amazon page and for promotions I will do on social media. If you are an author with a ghost story or supernatural book out there and would like to read and possibly endorse my short story, as a published author, with a short review, I would be most grateful. Normally I post a few lines of the endorsement review and then identify you and your book on the review. If you are interested, please contact me via Goodreads message with your email and I'll send you the PDF. It's a short read, 3800 words, deals with the mystery of death and has Native American theme. Thanks for reading this. Paula Cappa paulacappa.wordpress.com

Ghost story authors that readers tend to not know about would be:

Darcy Coates

Ambrose Ibsen

Amy Cross (this author has tons of haunting/ghost books)

Has anyone read Violet by Scott Thomas?

The last recommendations I posted on this thread were ten years ago; wow, time flies!. I've read some more ghost story fiction and fictional collections since then, and had read some earlier that I didn't get around to mentioning in the above posts, which I'd also recommend to fellow fans. Here are some links to the books, and to my reviews, for those interested:

Great Ghost Stories: 101 Terrifying Tales. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Best Ghost Stories of J.S. Le Fanu. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Ghost of Thomas Kempe by Penelope Lively. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Oh, this is wonderful. Good ones!

Thanks, Paula!

Werner wrote: "The last recommendations I posted on this thread were ten years ago; wow, time flies!. I've read some more ghost story fiction and fictional collections since then, and had read some earlier that I..."

Nice list, Werner! I've read and enjoyed both novels on your list--The Hacienda and The Ghost of Thomas Kempe.

I'll add just a few to your list [I'm an unabashed ghostlit fiend].
The Canterville Ghost/Wilde
A Stir of Echoes/Matheson
Second Glance/Picoult [one of her lesser known novels]

I know you're a hardcore ghost fan, Deb! I'll add my recommendation for The Canterville Ghost to yours, and my review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... .

I gave a solid 4 stars to The Ghost of Thomas Kempe

Georgann wrote: "I gave a solid 4 stars to The Ghost of Thomas Kempe"

That was how I rated it too, Georgann!

And me! 😊

Hello, new to group.

Recommendations from a Brit:

For creepy, unnerving fiction, I recommend Algernon Blackwood and Robert Aickman. Not always actual ghosts but the possibility of them - ambiguous.

For the traditional ghost story, Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black and her other ghost novels.

For C19th supernatural/vampire stories, Sabine Baring Gould.

For cool lesbian vampires (poss. one of the earliest known vampire stories?), Irish writer Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla.

Another Irish writer who lived in Japan, Lafcadio Hearn, wrote Japanese Ghost Stories - fascinating.

Any other recs from any time or place gratefully received :)

Charley, thanks for your recommendations (and welcome to the group!). We did a group read of The Woman in Black in this group in October of 2022; for those interested, that discussion thread is here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... .

You might also be interested in our Vampire Books thread, here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... , Charley. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's early vampire novel Carmilla was an influence on Bram Stoker. My review of it is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... .

Lafcadio Hearn's fictions inspired by Japanese folk tales are collected in Japanese Tales of Lafcadio Hearn. I haven't read it, but I've read a couple of the stories in other anthologies, and would definitely recommend them!

Hi Charley - English member here, so of course I like your recs. (though I'm not sure I have read anything by Robert Aickman so must check that out, thank you!) and would like to add M.R. James to your "essential" list.

An actual Japanese author of ghost and weird stories is Edogawa Rampo (say his name quickly and you will see the in-joke 😂). If you have a kindle you can download a sample of Japanese Tales of Mystery & Imagination and read the first very creepy story free. (It's pricey at over £8 for just a few, but cheaper on the uskindle than for us, I think.) Edogawa Rampo's writing has a traditional feel, like Susan Hill's.

A classic recommendation I'd make, since you're interested in gender issues in ghost stories, is anything by Vernon Lee (who despite Goodreads's profile photo of her at about 16, lived as a man ...): stories about possession, hauntings etc. For a contemporary author, try T. Kingfisher's What Moves the Dead. T. Kingfisher is a very diverse author, but this is a really interesting take on The Fall of the House of Usher.

I'll stick at those four ... Good to meet you!

Thanks for welcoming me and thanks for recommending Edogawa Rampo - never heard of this writer so will try sample!

Pleased I found this group as always looking for new ghost/supernatural writers.

Robert Aickman I only discovered recently. He’s an acquired taste. They are more tales of unease & weirdness rather than full-on ghosts but I find them fascinating. They’re usually written & set in 50s/60s/70s UK.

Sorry forgot to say, yes I love Vernon Lee. She only published one book of ghost stories I think? Wish there had been more. M R James the master too :)

Charley wrote: "Sorry forgot to say, yes I love Vernon Lee. She only published one book of ghost stories I think? Wish there had been more. M R James the master too :)"

I linked to her page here which has many collections, but it could be deceptive as of course they could include some of the same stories under a different title. Here's wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Lee

I'm a middle grade author who recently wrote a book about ghosts on Block Island and am wondering if anyone has read any other contemporary kids' books about ghosts on islands.

Cat wrote: "I'm a middle grade author who recently wrote a book about ghosts on Block Island and am wondering if anyone has read any other contemporary kids' books about ghosts on islands."

Hi Cat.
Interesting concept of a middle grade ghost story on an island. Sounds intriguing. Have you read The Island Scaregrounds by Eldritch Black?

There's also The Island of Monsters by Ellen Oh. I read and liked her first ghost novel Spirit Hunters.