Tom Ewing’s Reviews > Spirits of the Season: Christmas Hauntings > Status Update
Tom Ewing
is on page 239 of 318
EF Benson - “Boxing Night”: A twist I did see coming within a broader shifting of expectations that was more surprising. Doesn’t make sense but this isn’t a genre where that matters. 3/5
Marjorie Bowen - “The Prescription”: a lot of rhetorical throat clearing disguising a pretty conventional yarn but some nice touches. 3/5
— Dec 21, 2023 02:44PM
Marjorie Bowen - “The Prescription”: a lot of rhetorical throat clearing disguising a pretty conventional yarn but some nice touches. 3/5
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Tom Ewing
is on page 310 of 318
JB Priestly - “Demon King”: Wonderfully written comic horror about a village pantomime with an unlikely cast member. 5/5
H Russell Wakefield - “Lucky’s Grove”: Macabre and tense tale of a rich family’s doom when they choose the wrong Christmas tree. A strong finish! 4/5
— Dec 23, 2023 02:30PM
H Russell Wakefield - “Lucky’s Grove”: Macabre and tense tale of a rich family’s doom when they choose the wrong Christmas tree. A strong finish! 4/5
Tom Ewing
is on page 271 of 318
Hugh Walpole - “The Snow”: ooo-er it’s all gone a bit literary. A malicious ghost, an internal monologue, but the weakest entry yet 2/5
AM Burrage - “Smee”: Does that ghost story thing of giving the entire story away in the framing narrative, though the actual story is well told 3/5
— Dec 22, 2023 03:24PM
AM Burrage - “Smee”: Does that ghost story thing of giving the entire story away in the framing narrative, though the actual story is well told 3/5
Tom Ewing
is on page 196 of 318
Algernon Blackwood - “The Kit-Bag”: nicely macabre descriptions but very standard fare 3/5
MR James - “The Story Of A Disappearance And An Appearance”: even minor Monty is a standout, and this is minor enough that I hadn’t read it in years (it’s the creepy Punch And Judy one) 5/5
— Dec 20, 2023 04:05PM
MR James - “The Story Of A Disappearance And An Appearance”: even minor Monty is a standout, and this is minor enough that I hadn’t read it in years (it’s the creepy Punch And Judy one) 5/5
Tom Ewing
is on page 158 of 318
“Number 90” - straightforward Victorian shocker told with relish 4/5
E Nesbit “The Shadow” - twisty, macabre and psychologically acute - Nesbit the best writer so far by a distance. 5/5
— Dec 19, 2023 03:18PM
E Nesbit “The Shadow” - twisty, macabre and psychologically acute - Nesbit the best writer so far by a distance. 5/5
Tom Ewing
is on page 133 of 318
Frank Cowper - "Christmas Eve On A Haunted Hulk": excellent, atmospheric descriptions of a landscape and a haunting written by a guy who knows his boats. 5/5
Frank R Stockton - "The Christmas Shadrach": not in any sense a ghost story, a pleasant fantasy though about working out the rules and costs of a magical charm. 3/5
— Dec 18, 2023 11:25AM
Frank R Stockton - "The Christmas Shadrach": not in any sense a ghost story, a pleasant fantasy though about working out the rules and costs of a magical charm. 3/5
Tom Ewing
is on page 79 of 318
Brief notes on these spectral short stories as I go
Amelia Edwards - The Four-Fifteen Express: A dull encounter on a train has sinister consequences. Nice cosy atmosphere. 3/5
F,Anstey - The Curse Of The Catafalques - Gothic parody with an entertainingly awful narrator. 4/5
— Dec 17, 2023 04:04PM
Amelia Edwards - The Four-Fifteen Express: A dull encounter on a train has sinister consequences. Nice cosy atmosphere. 3/5
F,Anstey - The Curse Of The Catafalques - Gothic parody with an entertainingly awful narrator. 4/5
