Readers Digest – Great Ghost Stories

Readers Digest – Great Ghost Stories (Readers Digest, 1997)

Robert Wheeler & Tony Stone

The Editors – Introduction

Robert Aickman – Ringing The Changes
Cynthia Asquith – The Corner Shop
A. L. Barker – The Whip Hand
Ambrose Bierce – A Tough Tussle
Algernon Blackwood – Transition
Ray Bradbury – The Crowd
Ann Bridge – The Buick Saloon
Rhoda Broughton – The Truth, The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth
A. M. Burrage – Smee
A. S. Byatt – The July Ghost
B. M. Croker – ‘To Let’
Robertson Davies – The Ghost Who Vanished By Degrees
Walter de la Mare – Seaton’s Aunt
Charles Dickens – No. 1 Branch Line: The Signalman
Lord Dunsany – August Cricket
Elizabeth Fancett – The Ghost Of Calagou
Frederick Forsyth – The Shepherd
Shamus Frazer  – Florinda
Elizabeth Gaskell – The Old Nurse’s Story
Graham Greene – A Little Place Of The Edgware Road
L. P. Hartley – Someone In The Lift
William Hope Hodgson – The Gateway Of The Monster
Thomas Hood – The Shadow Of A Shade
Holloway Horn – The Old Man
Elizabeth Jane Howard – Three Miles Up
Henry James – The Romance Of Certain Old Clothes
M. R. James – The Ash Tree
Rudyard Kipling – The Phantom Rickshaw
Marghanita Laski – The Tower
J. S. le Fanu – Shalken The Painter
Penelope Lively – Black Dog
Alison Lurie – The Highboy
W. Somerset Maugham – The Taipan
Guy de Maupassant – An Apparition
E. Nesbit – Man-size In Marble
Edgar Allan Poe – William Wilson
Alexander Pushkin – The Queen Of Spades
Jean Rhys – I Used To Live Here Once
Robert Louis Stevenson – The Body-snatcher
Bram Stoker – The Judge’s House
Elizabeth Taylor – Poor Girl
H. R. Wakefield – Blind Man’s Buff
Elizabeth Walter – Dual Control
Fay Weldon – Breakages
Oscar Wilde – The Canterville Ghost
Emile Zola – Angeline, or The Haunted House

Blurb:

If you enjoy reading about elusive spirits and uncanny happenings, bizarre hauntings and malevolent ghosts, this is the volume for you. It brings together forty-six of the very best ghost stories ever written.

There are unforgettable classics from the great masters of the ghost story such as M. R. James, Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, Ambrose Bierce, Edith Nesbit and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Then there are wonderfully macabre tales from world-famous authors such as Charles Dickens, Alexander Pushkin, Guy de Maupassant and Graham Greene, as well as gems from some of today’s best writers including Ray Bradbury, A. S. Byatt, Elizabeth Jane Howard, Penelope Lively, Fay Weldon and Frederick Forsyth.

This is a collection to entertain and intrigue, to terrify and to tantalise … to chill you to the bone. You have been warned!

Twenty Years of Hugh Lamb Anthologies 1972-1992: Index by Author

An index to Hugh Lamb’s British anthologies, from 1972’s A Tide Of Terror through to 1992 and the Constable ‘best of’ that shares it’s name with the earlier (and better) Terror By Gaslight. I’ve omitted the single author collections and – controversially! – the Barry Pain-Robert Barr-Jerome K. Jerome shared-anthology, Stories In The Dark. That’s about it. You never know, it might come in useful.

From the dust-jacket of A Wave Of Fear: Photo: Bob Marchant

Twenty Years of Hugh Lamb Anthologies 1972-1992: Index by Author

Robert Aickman – The Fetch (New Tales Of Terror, 1981)
______________ Laura (Cold Fear, 1981)
Ken Alden – Justice Tresilian In The Tower (New Tales Of Terror, 1981)
______________ The Papal Magician (Cold Fear, 1981)
Grant Allen – The Beckoning Hand (Terror by Gaslight, 1975)
______________ Pallinghurst Barrow (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)
______________ Wolverden Tower (Victorian Tales of Terror, 1974)
Raymund Allen – The Black Knight (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
Anon – The Dead Man Of Varley Grange (Victorian Tales of Terror, 1974)
______________ The Golden Bracelet (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
______________ The Mountain Of Spirits (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
______________ The Weird Woman (Terror by Gaslight, 1975)
Edwin Lester Arnold – A Dreadful Night (Terror by Gaslight, 1975)

J. G. Ballard – Now Wakes The Sea (Star Book Of Horror #1, 1975)
J. K. Bangs – Ghosts That Have Haunted Me (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
Mrs G. Linnaeus Banks – The Pride Of The Corbyns (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
S. Baring-Gould – A Dead Man’s Teeth (Terror by Gaslight, 1975)
______________ Mustapha (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
Nugent Barker – One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (Star Book Of Horror #2, 1976)
Robert Barr – An Alpine Divorce (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
______________ The Hour And The Man (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
______________ Purification (Terror by Gaslight, 1975)
______________ The Vengeance Of The Dead (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
J. A. Barry – A Derelict (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
______________ The Red Warder Of The Reef (Victorian Tales of Terror, 1974)
T. O. Beachcroft – The Eyes (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
A. C. Benson – Basil Netherby (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)
______________The Closed Window (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
______________ Out Of The Sea (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)
______________ The Slype House (Return From The Grave, 1976)
______________ The Snake, The Leper And The Grey Frost (The Man-Wolf And Other Horrors, 1978)
______________ The Uttermost Farthing (The Taste Of Fear, 1976) & (Terror by Gaslight: An Anthology of Rare Tales of Terror **, 1992)
E. F. Benson – The Case Of Frank Hampden (The Man-Wolf And Other Horrors, 1978)
______________ The Chippendale Mirror (Forgotten Tales Of Terror , 1978)
______________ The Step (A Tide Of Terror, 1972) & (Terror by Gaslight: An Anthology of Rare Tales of Terror **, 1992)
______________ The Thing In The Hall (Star Book Of Horror #1, 1975)
______________ Wishing Well (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)
R. H. Benson – Father Bianchi’s Story (The Man-Wolf And Other Horrors, 1978)
______________ Father Brent’s Tale (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
______________ The Traveller (A Wave Of Fear, 1973) & (Terror by Gaslight: An Anthology of Rare Tales of Terror **, 1992)
______________ The Watcher (Return From The Grave, 1976)
J. D. Beresford – The Late Occupier (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)
Eddy C. Bertin – Composed Of Cobwebs (Return From The Grave, 1976)
Ambrose Bierce – A Bottomless Grave (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
______________ The Death Of Halpin Frayser (Star Book Of Horror #2, 1976)
______________ My Favourite Murder (Victorian Tales of Terror, 1974)
______________ One Summer Night (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
______________ A Resumed Identity (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)
______________ Some Haunted Houses (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
______________The Way Of Ghosts (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
Charles Birkin – Dinner In A Private Room (Cold Fear, 1981)
______________ The Happy Dancers (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)
______________ Marjorie’s On Starlight (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)
______________ Some New Pleasures Prove (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
______________ Waiting For Trains (Star Book Of Horror #1, 1975)
John Blackburn – Aunty Green (Cold Fear, 1981)
______________ Dad (Return From The Grave, 1976)
______________ Drink To Me Only (Star Book Of Horror #1, 1975)
______________ The Field Of Blood (Star Book Of Horror #2, 1976)
______________- The Final Trick (The Taste Of Fear, 1976)
Algernon Blackwood – Full Circle (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
Oswell Blakeston – The Fear From The Lake (Forgotten Tales Of Terror , 1978)
______________ Snow Time (Return From The Grave, 1976)
______________ The Ultimate Thrill (Star Book Of Horror #2, 1976)
Robert Bloch – Edifice Complex (Star Book Of Horror #2, 1976)
______________ Untouchable (Star Book Of Horror #1, 1975)
Guy Boothby – The Black Lady Of Brin-Tor (Victorian Tales of Terror, 1974)
______________ Remorseless Vengeance (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
______________ A Strange Goldfield (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
Marjorie Bowen – Twilight (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)
Elizabeth Braddon – The Mystery At Fernwood (Victorian Tales of Terror, 1974) & (Terror by Gaslight: An Anthology of Rare Tales of Terror **, 1992)
Joseph Payne Brennan – On The Elevator (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
D. K. Broster – Clairvoyance (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)
Rhoda Broughton – The Man with the Nose (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
______________ Nothing But The Truth (Terror by Gaslight, 1975)
Valerie Bryusov – In The Mirror (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)
Thomas Burke – Johnson Looked Back (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
Joy Burnett – “Calling Miss Marker” (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)
______________ Lot 87 (Star Book Of Horror #1, 1975)
______________ Marlston Water (Star Book Of Horror #2, 1976)
______________ Phantom Silhouette (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)

Ramsey Campbell – After The Queen (Cold Fear, 1981)
______________ Ash (The Taste Of Fear, 1976)
______________ Baby (Star Book Of Horror #2, 1976)
______________ In The Bag (Cold Fear, 1981)
______________ In The Shadows (Return From The Grave, 1976)
______________ Run Through (Star Book Of Horror #1, 1975)
Bernard Capes – The Accursed Cordonnier (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
______________ The Black Reaper (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
______________ Dark Dignum (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
______________ An Eddy On The Floor (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
______________ The Green Bottle (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
______________ The Moon-Stricken (Forgotten Tales Of Terror , 1978)
______________ The Vanishing House (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
Robert W. Chambers – In The Court Of the Dragon (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
______________ The Messenger (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)
______________ The Third Eye (Forgotten Tales Of Terror , 1978)
______________ Un Peu D’Amour (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
Georgina C. Clark – A Life-watch (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
Adrian Cole – The Demon In The Stone (Cold Fear, 1981)
______________ Midnight Hag (New Tales Of Terror, 1981)
W. Bourne Cooke – The Woman With A Candle (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
Frederick Cowles – The Cavader Of Bishop Louis (Forgotten Tales Of Terror , 1978)
______________ Death In The Well (Return From The Grave, 1976)
______________ Eyes For The Blind (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)
______________ The Horror Of Abbot’s Grange (The Man-Wolf And Other Horrors, 1978)
______________ The House In The Forest (Cold Fear, 1981)
______________ Punch And Judy (Star Book Of Horror #1, 1975)
______________ Terrible Mrs. Green (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)
______________ Three Shall Meet (The Taste Of Fear, 1976)
John Keir Cross – Hands (Star Book Of Horror #1, 1975)

W. Carlton Dawe – Coolies (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
August Derleth – The Coffin Of Lissa (Return From The Grave, 1976)
Charles Dickens – The Black Veil (Victorian Tales of Terror, 1974) & (Terror by Gaslight: An Anthology of Rare Tales of Terror **, 1992)
______________ The Drunkard’s Death (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
Ken Dickson – The Snorkel, The Starfish And The Salt, Salt Sea (New Tales Of Terror, 1981)
Lady Dilke – The Black Veil (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
______________ The Serpent’s Head (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
______________ The Shrine Of Death (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
Dick Donovan – The Cave Of Blood (Victorian Tales of Terror, 1974)
______________ The Corpse Light (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
______________The Doomed Man (Terror by Gaslight, 1975)
______________ The Mystic Spell (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
______________ A Night Of Horror (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Lot No. 249 (Terror by Gaslight: An Anthology of Rare Tales of Terror **, 1992)
Charles Duff – The Haunted Bungalow (Forgotten Tales Of Terror , 1978)
______________ Murderers Corner (Star Book Of Horror #2, 1976)
Alexandre Dumas – Marceau’s Prisoner (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)

A. Erskine Ellis – Compartment 1313A (Star Book Of Horror #2, 1976)
______________The Life-Buoy (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)
Erckmann-Chatrian – The Crab Spider (The Taste Of Fear, 1976)
______________ The Invisible Eye (Terror by Gaslight, 1975)
______________ The Man-Wolf (The Man-Wolf And Other Horrors, 1978)
______________ The Murderer’s Violin (Victorian Tales of Terror, 1974)
______________ The Three Souls (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)

Elizabeth Fancett – Baby Hate (New Tales Of Terror, 1981)
______________ A Strange And Awful Coincidence (New Tales Of Terror, 1981)
George Mandeville Fenn – Haunted by Spirits (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
Les Freeman – Late (The Taste Of Fear, 1976)
______________ Mind (New Tales Of Terror, 1981)

John Gawsworth – How It Happened (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)
W. L. George – Waxworks (Return From The Grave, 1976)
Dorothea Gerard – My Nightmare (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
Wirt Gerrare – The Dark Shadow (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
______________ Mysterious Maisie (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
Perceval Gibbon – The King Of The Baboons (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
R. Murray Gilchrist – The Basilisk (Terror by Gaslight, 1975)
______________ Dame Inowslad (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
______________ Roxana Runs Lunatick (Return From The Grave, 1976)
______________ The Return (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
______________ Witch-In-Grain (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)

H. Rider Haggard – Only A Dream (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978) & (Terror by Gaslight: An Anthology of Rare Tales of Terror **, 1992)
Robert Haining – An Emissary For The Devil (Cold Fear, 1981)
______________ Montage Of Death (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)
______________ Sylow Springs (New Tales Of Terror, 1981)
______________ This House Is Evil (Star Book Of Horror #1, 1975)
______________ The Wall (Return From The Grave, 1976)
Joel Chandler Harris – The Late Mr. Watkins Of Georgia (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
L. P. Hartley – Podolo (Star Book Of Horror #2, 1976)
Lafcadio Hearn – Nightmare-Touch (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
______________ The Reconciliation (Forgotten Tales Of Terror , 1978)
C. D. Heriot – The Trapdoor (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
E. and H. Heron – The Story of Baelbrow (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
William Hope Hodgson – From The Tideless Sea (The Taste Of Fear, 1976) & (Terror by Gaslight: An Anthology of Rare Tales of Terror **, 1992)
______________ The Mystery Of The Derelict (Forgotten Tales Of Terror , 1978)
______________ A Tropical Horror (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
______________ The Weed Men (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)

Eleanor Inglefield – The Music In The House (Cold Fear, 1981)
______________ The Singing Stream (New Tales Of Terror, 1981)

Sir T. G. Jackson – The Lady Of Rosemount (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978) & (Terror by Gaslight: An Anthology of Rare Tales of Terror **, 1992)
M. R. James – The Experiment (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978) & (Terror by Gaslight: An Anthology of Rare Tales of Terror **, 1992)
______________ Twelve Medieval Ghost Stories (The Man-Wolf And Other Horrors, 1978)
Jerome K. Jerome – The Haunted Mill (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
______________ The Woman Of The Saeter (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)

Rudyard Kipling – A Matter of Fact (Terror by Gaslight: An Anthology of Rare Tales of Terror **, 1992)

Perceval Landon – Mrs. Rivers’s Journal (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
Andrew Lang – The House Of Strange Stories (Terror by Gaslight, 1975)
Margery Lawrence – The Dogs Of Pemba (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
Warden Ledge – The Legion Of Evil (Return From The Grave, 1976)
J. S. Le Fanu – Madam Crowl’s Ghost (Victorian Tales of Terror, 1974) & (Terror by Gaslight: An Anthology of Rare Tales of Terror **, 1992)
Maurice Level – Blue Eyes (Return From The Grave, 1976)
______________ In The Light Of The Red Lamp (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
______________ The Kennel (The Man-Wolf And Other Horrors, 1978)
______________ The Test (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
S. Levett-Yates – The Devil’s Manuscript (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
L. A . Lewis – The Child (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)
______________ The Meerschaum Pipe (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)
______________ The Tower Of Moab (Return From The Grave, 1976)
Jonas Lie – The Earth Draws (Terror by Gaslight, 1975)
Lewis Lister – The Terror By Night (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
Brian Lumley – In The Glow Zone (Cold Fear, 1981)
______________ The Man Who Photographed Beardsley (Star Book Of Horror #2, 1976)
______________ Snarker’s Son (New Tales Of Terror, 1981)

Charles J. Mansford – Maw-Sayah (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
H. B. Marriott-Watson – The Devil of the Marsh (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
Richard Marsh – The Haunted Chair (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
______________ The Houseboat (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
______________ The Mask (Victorian Tales of Terror, 1974)
______________ A Psychological Experiment (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
Guy De Maupassant – The Mother Of Monsters (Victorian Tales of Terror, 1974)
______________ The Tomb (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
T. H. McCormick – Morton (New Tales Of Terror, 1981)
L. T. Meade & Robert Eustace – The Mystery Of The Felwyn Tunnel (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
Vivian Meik – A Honeymoon In Hate (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)
Richard Middleton – The Wrong Turning (Star Book Of Horror #2, 1976)
Bertram Mitford – The Sign Of The Spider (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
Mrs. Molesworth – Old Gervais (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
______________ The Shadow In The Moonlight (Victorian Tales of Terror, 1974) & (Terror by Gaslight: An Anthology of Rare Tales of Terror **, 1992)
Frank Frankfort Moore – The Strange Story Of Northavon Priory (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
Bassett Morgan – Laocoon (Star Book Of Horror #2, 1976)
W. C. Morrow – His Unconquerable Enemy (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
______________ The Permanent Stiletto (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
A. N. L. Munby – A Christmas Game (Star Book Of Horror #1, 1975)
______________ The Tregannet Book Of Hours (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
______________ The Tudor Chimney (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)
The Countess Of Munster – The Page Boy’s Ghost (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
______________ The Tyburn Ghost (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
Kathleen Murray – All The Amenities (Cold Fear, 1981)
Philip Murray – The Charnel House (The Man-Wolf And Other Horrors, 1978)
______________ The Trunk (Star Book Of Horror #1, 1975)

Hume Nisbet – The Haunted Station (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
______________ The Phantom Model (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
Frank Norris – The Ship That Saw a Ghost (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
Amyas Northcote – The Downs (The Man-Wolf And Other Horrors, 1978)
______________ The Late Mrs. Fowke (Forgotten Tales Of Terror , 1978)

Fitz-James O’Brien – The Wondersmith (Terror by Gaslight, 1975)
Charles Ollier – The Haunted House Of Paddington (Terror by Gaslight, 1975)

Barry Pain – Smeath (Forgotten Tales Of Terror , 1978)
______________ The Undying Thing (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
C. D. Pamely – The Crimson Plague (Star Book Of Horror #2, 1976)
______________The Murder Of The Hunchbacked Boy (Forgotten Tales Of Terror , 1978)
Roger Parkes – Interim Report (The Taste Of Fear, 1976)
J. H. Pearce – An Unexpected Journey (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
______________The Man Who Coined his Blood Into Gold (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
Howard Pease – The Warlock Of Glororum (The Man-Wolf And Other Horrors, 1978)
Alice Perrin – The Sistrum (Return From The Grave, 1976)
Marion Pitman – “Lullaby For A Baby Horror-story Writer” (verse)[/color] (Cold Fear, 1981)
Edgar Allan Poe – Some Words With A Mummy (Return From The Grave, 1976)
Arthur Porges – In The Tomb (Return From The Grave, 1976)
______________ The Man Who Wouldn’t Eat (Cold Fear, 1981)
K. & H. Pritchard – The Fever Queen (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)

Alice Rea – The Beckside Boggle (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
Mrs. J. H. Riddell – The Last Of Squire Ennismore (Victorian Tales of Terror, 1974) & (Terror by Gaslight: An Anthology of Rare Tales of Terror **, 1992)
______________ Nut Bush Farm (Tales from a Gaslit Graveyard, 1979)
______________ The Old House In Vauxhall Walk (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
Morgan Robertson – The Battle of the Monsters (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
Sax Rohmer – The Master Of Hollow Grange (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
L. T. C. Rolt – Hawley Bank Foundry (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)
______________ The House Of Vengeance (The Taste Of Fear, 1976)
______________ The Shouting (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)

Eleanor Scott – At Simmel Acres Farm (Return From The Grave, 1976)
______________ Celui-La (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)
______________ The Cure (The Man-Wolf And Other Horrors, 1978)
______________ Randall’s Round (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)
______________ The Twelve Apostles (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
John C. Shannon – The Spirit Of The Fjord (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
M. P. Shiel – Huguenin’s Wife (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)
______________ Xelucha (Victorian Tales of Terror, 1974)
G. R. Sims – A Tragic Honeymoon (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
Michael Sims – Benjamin’s Shadow (The Taste Of Fear, 1976)
J. Keightley Snowdon – A Ghost Slayer (Victorian Nightmares, 1980)
Dermot Chesson Spence – The House On The Rynek (Forgotten Tales Of Terror , 1978)
Harriet Beecher Stowe – The Ghost In The Mill (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)
E. R. Suffling – The Phantom Riders (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
David Sutton – The Fetch (The Taste Of Fear, 1976)
______________ A Little Bit Of Egypt (Cold Fear, 1981)

W. F. W. Tatham – Manfred’s Three Wishes (The Taste Of Fear, 1976)
Rosemary Timperley – The Darkhouse Keeper (Cold Fear, 1981)
______________ The Other Woman (Return From The Grave, 1976)
______________ Some Travellers Return … (New Tales Of Terror, 1981)

R. E. Vernede – The Finless Death (The Man-Wolf And Other Horrors, 1978)
E. H. Visiak – Medusan Madness (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)
______________ The Queen Of Beauty (The Taste Of Fear, 1976)
______________ The Skeleton At The Feast (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)

H. R. Wakefield – Blind Man’s Buff (A Wave Of Fear, 1973)
______________ Ingredient X (Return From The Grave, 1976)
______________ Into Outer Darkness (Star Book Of Horror #2, 1976)
______________ Mr. Ash’s Studio (The Thrill Of Horror, 1978)
______________ The Red Lodge (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
Hugh Walpole – Mrs Lunt (A Tide Of Terror, 1972)
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward – Kentucky’s Ghost (Terror by Gaslight, 1975)
Edward Lucas White – The Pig-Skin Belt (Gaslit Nightmares 2, 1991)
Don C. Wiley – The Head Of Wu Fang (Star Book Of Horror #1, 1975)
Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman – Luella Miller (Gaslit Nightmares, 1988)

see also Hugh Lamb: bibliography in progress thread on the Vault forum:

Anon – Fifty Masterpieces Of Mystery

Anon – Fifty Masterpieces Of Mystery (Odhams, nd.  [1937])

Crime Stories

Dorothy L. Sayers – The Learned Adventure Of The Dragon’s Head
Austin Freeman – The Magic Casket
H. C. Bailey – The President Of San Jacinto
Anthony Berkeley – Outside The Law
The Baroness Orczy – The Regent’s Park Murder
Margery Allingham – They Never Got Caught
J. J. Connington – Before Insulin
Stacy Aumonier – The Perfect Murder
G. K. Chesterton – The Shadow Of The Shark
O. Henry – The Marsonettes
F. Britten Austin – Diamond Cut Diamond
Augustus Muir – Murder At The Microphone
Milward Kennedy – Death In The Kitchen
Freeman Willis Croft – The Vertical Line
Edgar Wallace – The Clue Of Monday’s Settling
Gerard Fairlie – The Ghost Of A Smile
Bertram Atkey – Sons Of The Chief Warder

Strange And Horrible Stories

Seamark – Query
Ralph Straus – The Room On The Fourth Floor
A. E. W. Mason – The Wounded God
Lord Dunsany – The Electric King
A. J. Alan – Charles
John Metcalfe – The Funeral March Of A Marionette
W. W. Jacobs – The Interruption
C. D. Heriot – Nobody At Home
Agatha Christie – The Blood-Stained Pavement
Mrs. Belloc Lowdnes – St. Catherine’s Eve
F. Marion Crawford – The Screaming Skull
Joseph Conrad – The Idiots
Sydney Horler – The Vampire
Saki – The Interlopers
L. P. Hartley – The Travelling Grave
E. A. Poe – The Tell-Tale Heart
H. Spicer – The Bird Woman
W. Fryer Harvey – The Dabblers

Ghost Stories

Vernon Lee – Marsyas In Flanders
Eleanor Scott – The Room
Marjorie Bowen – Florence Flannery
Ernest Bramah – The Ghost At Massingham Mansions
Norman Matson – The House On Big Faraway
Naomi Royde-Smith – Madam Julia’s Tale
L. A. G. Strong – Sea Air
Ann Bridge – The Buick Saloon
May Sinclair – The Token
Oliver Onions – The Cigarette Case
Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch – A Pair Of Hands
H. R. Wakefield – Blind Man’s Buff
Algernon Blackwood – The Man Who Was Milligan
Richard Hughes – The Ghost
A. M. Burrage – The Room Over The Kitchen
J. S. LeFanu – Mr. Justice Harbottle
Anonymous – The Dead Man Of Varley Grange

Includes:

Eleanor Scott – The Room: “I’m not going to try and tell you what it was … I’d as soon try to describe the most loathsome surgical operation or the most indecent physical illness. And if I wanted to, I couldn’t. Thank Heaven, we haven’t made the word for what I saw.”

A room in Massingham’s house has the reputation of being haunted, so when five of his friends answer his invitation to stay with him, naturally they decide to each take a turn at spending a night in the creepy chamber and “do down the spook!” By the time Amery the Parson gets to take his turn, it’s clear from the state of Grindley and Vernon that whatever is in there is far more powerful and evil than a mere ghost. By the following morning, the Parson is a broken man, but Reece, the ‘simple’ little curate, is insistent that he’s not going to be denied the experience. Although we’re never told outright what each man endured in the room – the closest we get is with Amery who is confronted by the past crimes of his Church – it hardly makes the goings-on any less unsettling. Not quite as striking as Randall’s classic Celui-La but very deserving of your attention i’d have said. “There must be an amazing amount of goodness somewhere when here is such a quantity of unspeakable evil in men like us, who thought ourselves decent fellows enough.”

John Metcalfe – The Funeral March Of A Marionette: On a snowy, bitterly cold November 4th, budding entrepreneur Alf and little George drag a trolley along the Millbank, collecting a small fortune in coppers from admires of their uncannily lifelike Guy. Unfortunately, old Gus the tramp isn’t equip to handle the sub-zero temperatures ….

A. M. Burrage – The Room Over The Kitchen: A weary rambler arrives in Penhiddoc, his one thought to get a room at the inn for the night. In the doorway, he’s accosted by a fellow who he takes to be the local harmless lunatic who implores him not to take the room over the kitchen. It transpires that twenty years ago, four Oxford students stayed at the inn. For a chuckle, a trio of these fellows, in cahoots with the landlord, convinced the nervous young Mr. Farney that his room was haunted. They pushed the joke too far ….

C. D. Heriot – Nobody At Home: Frank and Maurice have drifted out of each others lives since Oxford, and now the former, learning his old pal has fallen on hard times, is keen to put the friendship back on course. Maurice has tried to make a go of it as a poet, but as soon as he arrives at the decrepit old schoolhouse that serves as his home, Frank realises it’s gone very badly for him. At first, Frank is angry that he may have made a wasted journey as no-one replies to his knocks at the door. But when he takes a look through the letterbox ….

Henry Spicer – The Bird Woman: A young lady answers an advertisement for a position as carer to “an invalid, infirm or lunatic person” at a dingy-looking house which has the reputation of being haunted. “Having little fear of anything human and none at all of apparitions” she’s confident that she’ll be able to cope with her charge – until she actually claps eyes on the owl-like travesty she’s expected to look after.

Sydney Horler – The Vampire: Two Roman Catholic priests discuss the case of a man of whom everyone seemed to have an “instinctive horror”. When a terrible murder is committed, leaving the victim minus most of her throat, the shunned individual confesses to Father ——, who, of course, he is powerless to pass on the information to the police. Sometimes published as The Believer

Richard Hughes – The Ghost: Told from the perspective of Millie, who’s just had her head bashed in by cheating husband Johnny. Having spent her life terrified of ghosts, now she’s evidently one herself Millie intends to haunt the murderer, especially as he doesn’t seem the least perturbed about what he’s done.

H. R. Wakefield – Blind Man’s Buff: Aylesbury, Herts. Mr. Cort learns why none of the locals will approach Lorn Manor after nightfall. In pitch darkness, He loses himself within a few feet of the front door and is pursued about the old house by unseen entities.

W. W. Jacobs – The Interruption: With his wife dead at last Spencer Goddard can get his hands on all of her lovely money! How happy he is! For all of twenty seconds. Hannah, his cook, wastes no time in letting on that she knows more about her late mistress’s “illness” – and his part in it – than he’d prefer and neither is she slow in turning the situation to her advantage. Should she die suddenly – like poor Mrs. Goddard for example – she’s left a letter with her sister , the contents of which he should regret being made known to the police. Now he must think of a way to save his neck and see hers stretched he opts for a high risk solution …

Anonymous – The Dead Man Of Varley Grange: Westernshire. When young Henderson takes over the Grange, he unwisely invites eight friends to spend the Christmas holiday with him. Prior to his arrival the property had remained vacant for years due to the dreadful family curse as it is reputed that, some centuries ago, Captain Varley murdered his sister after she fled the Convent and ran off with her lover. Now their phantoms stalk the Grange and if you’re unfortunate enough to see the dead nun’s face you die within the year!

Dorothy L. Sayers – Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror: 3rd Series

Dorothy L. Sayers – Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror: 3rd Series (Gollancz, 1934)

Help! Cover Wanted!

1. Detection  and Mystery

2. Mystery and Horror

A.J. Alan – The 19 Club
Martin Armstrong – Sombrero
John  Betjeman – Lord Mount Prospect
Algernon Blackwood – The Wendigo
Ann Bridge – The Song in the House
D.K. Broster – Couching at the Door
Thomas Burke – The Dumb Wife
A.M. Burrage – The Bargain
A.E. Coppard – Arabesque: the Mouse
Oswald Couldrey – The Mistaken Fury
E. M. Delafield – Sophy Mason Comes Back
Lord Dunsany – Our Distant Cousins
J.F. Dwyer – A Jungle Graduate
Leonora Gregory – The Scoop
Alan Griff – The House of Desolation
L.P. Hartley – The Island
W.F. Harvey – Double Demon
Margaret Irwin – The Book
W.W. Jacobs – The Interruption
M.R. James – The Diary of Mr. Poynter
Cyril Landon – You’ll Come to the Tree in the End
John Metcalfe – Time-Fuse
J. C. Moore – Decay
Claire D. Pollexen – Stowaway
Arthur Quilter-Couch – A Pair of Hands
R.E. Roberts – The Hill
Naomi Royde-Smith – The Pattern
Herbert Shaw – What Can a Dead Man Do?
V. Sheehan – The Virtuoso
Lady Eleanor Smith – No Ships Pass
Sir Frederick Treves – The Idol With Hands of Clay
H. R. Wakefield – The Frontier Guards
H.G. Wells – The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham
B. A. Williams – Witch-Trot Pond
Clarence Winchester – Anniversary

Stephen Jones – Dancing With The Dark

Stephen Jones (ed.) – Dancing With The Dark: True Encounters With The Paranormal By Masters Of The Macabre (Vista, 1997)

Cover by Splash: Photography by Simon Marsden

Stephen Jones – Introduction: Dancing with the Dark

Joan Aiken – My Feeling about Ghosts
Sarah Ash – Timeswitch
Mike Ashley – The Rustle in the Grass
Peter Atkins – Take Care of Grandma
Clive Barker – Life After Death
Stephen Baxter – The Cartographer
Robert Bloch – Not Quite So Pragmatic .
Ramsey Campbell – The Nearest to a Ghost
Hugh B. Cave – Haitian Mystères
R. Chetwynd-Hayes – One-Way Trip
A. E. Coppard – The Shock of the Macabre
Basil Copper – The Haunted Hotel
Peter Crowther – Safe Arrival
Jack Dann – A Gift of Eagles
Charles de Lint – The House on Spadina
Terry Dowling – Sharing with Strangers
Lionel Fanthorpe – Hands on the Wheel
Esther M. Friesner – That Old School Spirit
Gregory Frost – Twice Encountered
Neil Gaiman – The Flints of Memory Lane
Stephen Gallagher – In There
Ray Garton – Haunted in the Head
John Gordon – The House on the Brink
Ed Gorman – Riding the Nightwinds
Elizabeth Goudge – ESP
Simon R. Green – Death is a Lady
Peter Haining – The Smoke Ghost
Joe Haldeman – Never Say Die
James Herbert – Not Very Psychic
Brian Hodge – Confessions of a Born-Again Heathen
Nancy Holder – To Pine with Fear and Sorrow
M. R. James – A Ghostly Cry
Peter James – One Extra for Dinner
Mike Jefferies – A Face in the Crowd
Nancy Kilpatrick – Raggedy Ann
Stephen King – Uncle Clayton
Hugh Lamb – Go On, Open Your Eyes…
Terry Lamsley – Moving Houses
John Landis – Inspiration
Stephen Laws – Norfolk Nightmare
Samantha Lee – Not Funny
Barry B. Longyear – The Gray Ghost
H. P. Lovecraft – Witch House
Brian Lumley – The Challenge
Arthur Machen – World of the Senses
Graham Masterton – My Grandfather’s House
Richard Matheson – More Than We Appear To Be
Richard Christian Matheson – Visit to a Psychic Surgeon
Paul J. McAuley – The Fall of the Wires
Anne McCaffrey – Unto the Third Generation
Thomas F. Monteleone – Talkin’ Them Marble Orchard Blues
Mark Morris – A Shadow of Tomorrow
Yvonne Navarro – The House on Chadwell Drive
William F. Nolan – The Floating Table and the Jumping Violet
Edgar Allan Poe – Mesmeric Revelation
Vincent Price – In the Clouds
Alan Rodgers – Clinic-Modern
Nicholas Royle – Magical Thinking
Jay Russell – De Cold, Cold Décolletage
Adam Simon – The Darkness Between the Frames
Guy N. Smith – The Mist People
Michael Marshall Smith – Mr Cat
S. P. Somtow – In the Realm of the Spirits
Brian Stableford – Chacun sa Goule
Laurence Staig – The Spirit of M. R. James
Peter Tremayne – The Family Curse
H. R. Wakefield – The Red Lodge
Lawrence Watt-Evans – My Haunted Home
Cherry Wilder – The Ghost Hunters
Chet Williamson – A Place Where a Head Would Rest
Paul F. Wilson – The Glowing Hand
Douglas E. Winter – Finding My Religion
Gene Wolfe – Kid Sister

A Spectral vision …. The sound of phantom footsteps … An experiment in astral projection ….. A childhood premonition of disaster …. Possession by a voodoo god ….
An Ouija board that predicted death … A body kept alive by force of will ….. A cursed family name …

Such tales as these are more usually associated with horror books and movies. However, these anecdotes are absolutely true! They are ,just a sample of the real-life experiences recounted by some of the world’s most famous frighteners, from such bestselling authors as Stephen King and James Herbert, to actor Vincent Price and director John Landis.

Collected together for the very first time, many or the most successful and well-known exponents, along with rising stars of the horror field, relate their fascinating encounters with the supernatural, revealing how such unique experiences have affected their lives and influenced their works.

Even for the experts, when it comes to Unexplained phenomena, fact can be much more frightening than fiction …

See also Dancing With the Dark thread on Vault Of Evil

Thanks to Nightreader!

Dennis Wheatley – Uncanny Tales 3

Dennis Wheatley (ed.) – Uncanny Tales 3 [# 37] (Sphere, 1976)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Playing With Fire
F. Tennyson Jesse – The Canary
Theodore Dreiser – The Hand
Louis Golding – The Call Of The Hand
Hugh Walpole – The Snow
H.R. Wakefield – Lucky’s Grove
Edith Wharton – Afterward
W.W. Jacobs – The Monkey’s Paw
Dennis Wheatley – The Snake
Frank Harris – The Miracle Of The Stigmata
Algernon Blackwood – The Trod

Thanks to Bob Rothwell of Dennis Wheatly Info for providing the list of contents.

Deborah Shine – Haunting Ghost Stories

Deborah Shine (ed.) – Haunting Ghost Stories: Illustrations by Reg Gray (Octopus, 1980)

A spine-chilling collection of stories by the masters of horror and suspense.

Walter De La Mare – The Riddle
Stanley W. Fisher – The Sybarite
Roger F. Dunkley – Echoes In The Sand
Oliver Onions – The Mortal
Michelle Maurious – Fame
H. Brinsmead-Hungerford – Giovanni Paolo’s Land
H. G. Wells – The Red Room
Paul Dorrell – Lonely Boy
Colin Thiele – The Phantom Horses
Michael Joseph – The Yellow Cat
Stanley W. Fisher – A Little House Of Their Own
E. F. Benson – Expiation
John Gordon – Kroger’s Choice
Saki – Laura
Paul Dorrell – Tea And Empathy
M. R. James – The Haunted Doll’s House
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – The Brown Hand
W. W. Jacobs – The Well
Robert Arthur – The Haunted Trailer
Walter De La Mare – Bad Company
Lucy M. Boston – Many Coloured Glass
Ambrose Bierce – The Stranger
Edgar Allan Poe – The Tell-Tale Heart
H. R. Wakefield – The Gorge Of The Churels
E. Nesbit – Man-Size In Marble
Brian Alderson – The Wooing Of Cherry Basnett
Ambrose Bierce – A Tough Tussle
W. W. Jacobs – The Monkey’s Paw
Glenn Chandler – The Late Departure
H. R. Wakefield – Damp Sheets
Sorche Nic Leodhas – The Battle With The Bogles
Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch – A Pair Of Hands

Another anthology aimed at a young audience which can be enjoyed by all ages. Clung onto a copy of this for years, eventually got rid of it along with most of the young adult books i’d acquired, regretted it ever since. Found this copy in a cardboard box full of old plugs, a computer mouse and a moth-eaten dayglo pink fright wig (i was tempted but didn’t have the £3 to stump up) at the local flea market on Sunday for 50p! With all the books and mags flying around just now, it will probably be a while until i get around to a rematch, but with the likes of John Gordon, Lucy Boston and Robert Arthur fighting it out with acknowledged classics and welcome, less obvious selections from Wakefield and Benson you can hardly go wrong. Minus point for the unnecessary childish doodles repeated on the inside covers (would have been just the thing to put me off the book as a kid), ‘specially after they’d done so well with the skull photo, but otherwise a dead commendable collection!

Vote In The Wordsworth Editions Poll!

It’s one of the enduring mysteries surrounding the awards that horror people are so fond of bestowing upon one another: Why  Wordsworth Editions, arguably the best thing to happen to the genre in the noughties,  are so notably absent from each and every nominations list? Over the past few years their ludicrously tiny staff have been responsible for reissuing long sought novels and collections by the likes of R. Murray Gilchrist, Marjorie Bowen, Dennis Wheatley, May Sinclair, G. W. M. Reynolds and Mrs. Everett at a budget price (most of their stock retails at £2.99) and now here’s YOUR chance to have a shout in which authors they publish in 2010!

There are two polls: one comprising twenty authors whose work is out of copyright from which you may select up to five to be considered for publication in the ‘Mystery & The Supernatural’ series.

The second is limited to five authors – H. R. Wakefield, L. T. C. Holt, A. M. Burrage, Hugh Walpole & Arthur Machen – from whom you may select the two you’d most like to see back in print.

also, our friends at Wordsworth have kindly stumped up for a lucky dip!

“As a token of our thanks, everyone who votes in our poll (or has previously contributed a suggestion through email) will be put into a lucky dip, and 2 of you will win £50 of Amazon vouchers to use as you wish (although if you want to spend them on Wordsworth books, that’s fine with us!)”

Details on the Vault of Evil forum (i’m afraid you’ll have to register: don’t worry – just delete your account at the end of February once you’ve been entered for the lucky dip!)

Polls close on 28th February 2009 so get in quick!

Choose wisely, now.

Direct Links

Out of copyright
Still in copyright

Wordsworth Editions

Peter Haining – Mammoth Modern Ghost Stories

Peter Haining (ed) – The Mammoth Book of Modern Ghost Stories (Robinson, 2007)

Cover: Joe Roberts

1. Raising Spectres: The Modern Tradition

M.R. James – ‘Oh Whistle, and I’ll Come To You, My Lad’
A.C. Benson – The House at Treheale
E.G. Swain – The Richpins
Arthur Gray – The Everlasting Club
A.N.L. Munby – Number Seventy-Nine

2. Ghost Writers: The “Golden Era”

Arthur Conan Doyle: Playing With Fire
Rudyard Kipling – The House Surgeon
John Buchan – The Grove Of Ashtroth
Somerset Maugham – The Man from Glasgow
D.H. Lawrence – The Last Laugh
Vladimir Nabokov – A Visit to the Museum

3. Phantom Ranks: Supernatural at War

Arthur Machen – The Bowmen
George Minto – The Ghost of U65
Algernon Blackwood – ‘Vengeance is Mine’
Lord Dunsany – The Punishment
Dennis Wheatley – The Haunted Chateau
Elizabeth Bowen – Pink May
Derek Barnes – A Gremlin in the Beer
Sir Alec Guinness – Money For Jam

4. The Ghost-Feelers: Modern Gothic Tales

Edith Wharton – The Lady’s Maid’s Bell
Marie Belloc Lowndes – The Duenna
Eudora Welty – Clytie
Daphne du Maurier – The Pool
Jane Gardam – A Spot of Gothic

5. Entertaining Spooks: Supernatural High Jinks

H.G. Wells – The Inexperienced Ghost
Alexander Wolcott – Full Fathom Five
James Thurber – The Night the Ghost Got In
Eric Keown – Sir Tristram Goes West
Kingsley Amis – Who or What Was It?
Ray Bradbury – Another Fine Mess

6. Christmas Spirits: Festive Season Chillers

Rider Haggard – Only a Dream…
Edith Nesbit – The Haunted House
E.F. Benson – The Light in the Garden
Marjorie Bowen – The Prescription
Howard Spring – Christmas Honeymoon
Hammond Innes – South Sea Bubble
Peter Ackroyd – Ringing in the Good News

7. Haunting Times: Tales of Unease

Fritz Leiber – Smoke Ghost
A.E. Van Vogt – The Ghost
William F. Nolan – The Party
J.B. Priestley – Underground
Joyce Carol Oates – Haunted
Philip Pullman – Video Nasty
Louis de Bernieres – My Beautiful House

Blurb:

This spine-chilling new anthology of 20th and 21st century tales by big name writers is in the best traditions of literary ghost stories. It is just a little over a hundred years ago that the most famous literary ghost story, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, was published and in the intervening years a great many other distinguished writers have tried their hand at this popular genre – some basing their fictional tales on real supernatural experiences of their own.

See Vault of Evil forum on Mammoth Book Of Modern Ghost Stories

Bryan A. Netherwood – Terror!

Bryan A. Netherwood (ed.) – Terror! (Blackie & Sons, 1970)

(cover: John Dyke)

Rudyard Kipling – The Mark of the Beast
Algernon Blackwood – A Haunted Island
Mrs Edith Bland – No.17
Elliott O’Donnell – The Top Attic in Pringle’s Mansion, Edinburgh
William H. Hodgson – The Derelict
E. & H. Heron – The Story of the Moor Road
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – The Brown Hand
J. Sheridan Le Fanu – The White Cat of Drumgunniol
Edward L. White – Amina
H. R. Wakefield – Professor Pownall’s Overnight
Jasper John – The Seeker of Souls
M.R. James – Lost Hearts
R. H. Malden – The Blank Leaves
M.P. Dare – Borgia Pomade
Sir Andrew Caldecott – Authorship Disputed
Marjorie Bowen – Scoured Silk
H.P. Lovecraft – The Colour Out of Space
Lord Dunsany – The Shield of Athene
William C. Dickinson – The House of Balfother
Robert Aickman – Ringing the Changes

Thanks to Alan Frackelton for providing the contents and cover scan!