Supernatural Fiction Readers discussion

Hi Everyone,

I joined a Victorian reading challenge (the story must take place between 1837 and 1901), and I'm looking for some suggestions for ghost novels. I've already reviewed James' Turn of the Screw, Morrison's Beloved, and Wilde's Canterville Ghost. I've read but not reviewed Collins' Woman in White.

Any other ideas? Thanks!

Forgot to mention--in addition to Victorian setting, Victorian authors are fine. So, a Victorian author writing about the future would work as well.

I just reviewed one more Victorian ghost novel: Harwood's The Seance.

Would love more suggestions. Thanks.

Just Ghost stories, or stories of the supernatural?

Deb wrote, "a Victorian author writing about the future would work as well." I'm confused; if the story is set in the period 1837-1901, wouldn't the Victorian author be writing about his/her present?

Hi Werner,

The way Laura set up the challenge, either the author or the setting (or both) must be Victorian.

Most of the time an author writes about his present, but Hawthorne, living in the 19th century, wrote about the 18th century and H.G. Wells, a Victorian author, wrote about the future of time travel. Both would be acceptable. Alas, for my purposes, neither features ghosts.

Curmudgeon wrote: "Just Ghost stories, or stories of the supernatural?"

Hi Curmudgeon,

I know there are great vampire and monster novels, but my interest is ghosts. Narrow of me, I know.

Thanks for the clarification, Deb! Sorry I can't be of much help at suggesting ghost novels; the Victorian era developed a strong tradition of ghost stories in the short format, but the theme wasn't nearly so prevalent in long fiction, and I'm just not famiiar with any (except for The Turn of the Screw, which you already mentioned). :-(

Thanks for the effort. If I hear of any good ones, I'll post the titles.

Thanks, Deb; I know a lot of us will be interested in those (including me!).

Not sure about the year, so you may want to verify. But there is a fantastic novel called The Dress Lodger. I read it in a bookclub about 7 years ago. Although there are no ghosts, it takes place during the cholera epidemic in North England. Sending from work and don't have the author readily available but it is a GREAT book.

One book I haven't read myself, but which should fit your parameters, is The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. I don't why that one slipped my mind before; I'd certainly seen enough commercials for the recent movie adaptation!

If your local library has it, browsing the St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost, and Gothic Writers (St. James Press, 1998) might turn up some ideas. It's not indexed by subject, but the articles on the numerous authors treated, which include both Victorian (and earlier) and modern writers, are apt to be both informative and enjoyable for most members of this group. You could also try the volume(s) of the Dictionary of Literary Biography that cover Victorian ghost story writers (I'm not personally familiar with these, but I'm pretty sure the DLB will have some coverage).

Thanks for the great reference work suggestions. I will definitely check them out.

I have reviewed Woman in Black, but didn't mention it since much of the book takes place in the 1930's. I just found one title yesterday that may prove interesting--Haunted House by Charles Dickens. Sounds like it's a book of related short stores, sort of a Canterbury Tales of the Gothic genre with different authors assigned to tell the ghost stories of the rooms in the house. One of the authors, Elizabeth Gaskell, I really like. I'll let you know how it goes.

And I will check out these resources. Thanks!

Deb wrote: "Curmudgeon wrote: "Just Ghost stories, or stories of the supernatural?"

Hi Curmudgeon,

I know there are great vampire and monster novels, but my interest is ghosts. Narrow of me, I know."

nay...its actually broadening your horizons by closing the door to the current pack of popularity and trying to force something new in.

I'll toss this one out there for you anyway, because it's a fun read, different, and not a vampire story. I think that it may be up in the air if it's supernatural or not, but, as I remember it, and understand it, it was.

The List of Seven by Mark Frost. Frost by the way went on to be come a creator/writer for the TV show "Twin Peaks."

And of course there is always the classic The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving.

Actually, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was written in 1820 (and set earlier), so it precedes the Victorian period. :-( Great story, though!

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm definitely putting The List of Seven and The Dress Lodger on my tbr list--they both sound great. I'm always excited to be pointed in the direction of stellar authors I've never heard of.

I think I will send my review of Woman in Black to the site since it feels mostly Victorian. I just wish I could sit and read all day...

While all the books I can think of have been mentioned here already, I just want to thank you for making this post. I love Victorian ghost stories, and I've definitely added some to my to-read list from here!

Hi Jennifer,

I'm so glad you like the discussion. If I come across more, I will post them.

For anyone interested in "The List of Seven" Here's my take on it.

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

The review was written for a Group Read, so it's more info than you may want, but, if your curious, it'll give you an idea what it's about.

Curmudgeon, I really like your voice in your review. If all goes well, I signed up to receive your future reviews. You can never tell with my computer ineptitude.

I'm only on page 6 of List of Seven, but already I feel I am in the hands of a skilled writer. He writes tight, and I strive to do the same.

I got that note, so, you are following my reviews. (Thank you very much!)

I hope my reviews stay worthy of your followership.

One of the most influential writers of the genre was Sheridan Le Fanu (Irish)- see his 'In a Glass Darkly'(1872), for example.
The English writer, M.R. James is another huge name as far as ghost stories are concerned. Although he was active during the early 20th c., some of his stories may very well be set during the Victorian period- can't recall off hand.
And don't forget Poe!

I just looked up M.R. James as someone else mentioned him also. I think The Five Jars sounds pretty intriguing--I may start with that one.

As noted above, the Victorian era was strong on short supernatural fiction as opposed to novel length ghost stories. There are a few exceptions, however. Does your challenge only count longer works? If so, you will miss out on some of the very best traditional ghost stories ever written. Many of the authors have already been named but here's a pretty lengthy list: J.S. Le Fanu, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Edith Nesbit, Bram Stoker, Mary Wilkins-Freeman, Fitz James O'Brien, Harriet Spofford, Arthur Conan Doyle, Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, W.W. Jacobs, William Hope Hogdosn, M.R. James, Henry James, Poe, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Now, each of these authors have written several traditional ghost stories (as well as other supernatural fiction) but with a little poking around you can narrow them down a bit. There are excellent collections from Dover as well as Wordsworth Classics for nearly all of these writers currently in print.

At any rate, here are three longer works that immediately sprang to mind.

It might be too obvious, but Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" was an important one.

Night Shivers by Mrs. J.H. Riddell
This collection contains the novella "The Uninhabited House," which is a traditional haunted house story. Her other short stories in this volume are also worth reading.

I have not read this next one yet, but it might be of interest as it is a longer work that deals with Victorian era spiritualism.

Florence Marryat's The Dead Man's Message

Wow, Matthew, this is quite an exhaustive list! Several of these authors I have already reviewed, but some are new names to me. I like Victorian spiritualism, so I'll check out the Marryat for sure. I've seen M.R. James mentioned before, so I'll be reading from that author's list as well. I do want to read Dickens' haunted house book which contains rooms/chapters from various authors including Elizabeth Gaskell whom I love.
Thank you!

It looks like no one has posted on this thread for a while, but I would like to suggest a book set in Victorian times by a contemporary author: Sleep, Pale Sister by Joanne Harris. It was creepy as all get-out.

You might like the story The Signalman by Charles Dickens, it's a ghost story and it's creepy.

I know it's self-promotion, but I have written a Victorian ghost story. It's called A Night Inn Hell. Here's a link for the blurb: http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Night-Inn-H...

"The Signalman" is my favorite piece by Dickens. I've not been able to really get into his longer work but this was truly creepy.

I just read a YA Victorian ghost story Haunting VioletHaunting Violet