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47th out of 294 books
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34 voters
The Haunted House
Compiled by Charles Dickens, and counting Elizabeth Gaskell and Wilkie
Collins among its contributors,The Haunted House is an ingenious tale of the supernatural with touches of pure Dickensian comedy. When the narrator espies a deserted house from his railway carriage, he cannot resist the challenge of taking up residence in a place no one else will inhabit. Local legend h...more
Collins among its contributors,The Haunted House is an ingenious tale of the supernatural with touches of pure Dickensian comedy. When the narrator espies a deserted house from his railway carriage, he cannot resist the challenge of taking up residence in a place no one else will inhabit. Local legend h...more
Paperback, 160 pages
Published
October 12th 2004
by Modern Library
(first published 1859)
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Jag tycker att det är en sådan fruktansvärt bra tanke bakom The Haunted House. Charles Dickens har skrivit tre av bokens åtta kapitel och sedan låtit samtida författare fylla ut resten av historien i form av sammanhängande noveller. Allt publicerades i en tidning som hette All the Year Around under 1859. Jag har absolut ingen aning om hur det har gått till men förutom Dickens egna bidrag kan vi även läsa bidrag av Hesba Stretton, George Augustus Sala, Adelaide Anne Procter, Wilkie Collins och El...more
An interesting concept for an anthology of short stories, very unique! The introduction and setting of the Haunted House was creepy and funny, and created a vivid atmosphere for the stories, so that though they were extremely varied, they always hand an air of mystery, as well as a bridge between their widely differing genres and styles. The ending of the book fell a bit flat for me though, since the ghostly activity from the beginning of the book was never sufficiently resolved, and just seemed...more
Oct 02, 2012
Pete daPixie
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
19thc-english
Once more my foray into the library fiction shelves was rushed. I quickly grabbed this thinking I was going to read a spooky tale by Charles Dickens. 'The Haunted House' it turns out, is a collection of short stories. 'The Mortals in the House' by Dickens. 'The Ghost in the Clock Room' by Hesba Stretton. 'The Ghost in the Double Room' by George Augustus Sala. 'The Ghost in the Picture Room' (a poem) by Adelaide Anne Procter. 'The Ghost in the Cupboard Room' by Wilkie Collins. 'The Ghost in Maste...more
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May 08, 2009
Donna
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
classical-literature,
horror
This book was my first attempt at reading a full-length Dickens novel. Unfortunately, I didn't realize until I'd got home from the library that it was a collection of short stories, a collective round robin of Victorian literary minds. This didn't detract me though, and I'm very glad. Though Dickens only contributed a few short chapters to the "novel," he orchestrated the whole scheme, and his humor and affinity for the supernatural was present throughout the work. This was a very enjoyable read...more
It pains me to rate my favorite author lower than a 5 :( Sorry Charles.
My copy of "The Haunted House" is in a collection of short stories for Christmas by Dickens. The editor of the book only included 2 of Dickens' contributions to the story: The beginning, and Master B's Room. Kind of ridiculous to have them there without the rest of the ghost stories... and because I didn't really care for Dickens chapters, I don't think I can be bothered with the rest. At least not right now... maybe some oth...more
My copy of "The Haunted House" is in a collection of short stories for Christmas by Dickens. The editor of the book only included 2 of Dickens' contributions to the story: The beginning, and Master B's Room. Kind of ridiculous to have them there without the rest of the ghost stories... and because I didn't really care for Dickens chapters, I don't think I can be bothered with the rest. At least not right now... maybe some oth...more
A fascinating little collection of stories bourne out of Dickens letting what was alleged to be a haunted house and having his friends come stay in it with him. He proposed that they all write a story while in the house, and this little book was the result. I enjoyed Adelaide Anne Procters long poem the best. This would be a great read for anyone looking for a halloween spirit.
A good story but i think it was a shame that he used other authors to fill in the numerous chapters in the novel making the overall story a little disjointed as if you are a fan of Dickens you can tell the differences in the chapters and other authors so i wish the whole thing had been written by him.
Though all in all it was worth reading and well written evoking quite an atmosphere.
Though all in all it was worth reading and well written evoking quite an atmosphere.
Having just finished The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories, I thought I'd stay within the realm of Our Victorian Forebears, who loved telling ghost stories at Christmas. But while Dickens's own introduction suggests it's going to be one of that sort of ghost story, it turns out the hauntings in this novel are the hauntings of people's pasts. There are some lovely and some sad stories, by an all-star group including Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and Elizabeth Gaskell, as well as other contributor...more
One of Dickens’ Christmas annuals, I actually felt rather bad for the guy while reading this. As Wesley Stace explains in the introduction, Dickens gave the writers he assembled to pen the special—including Elizabeth Gaskell and Wilkie Collins—very specific instructions for what he wanted and how he wanted all the stories in the collection to fit together; these were almost completely ignored. In fact, pretty much only Dickens’ own story sticks to his original premise. Thus, while the individ...more
This book was an unexpected delight. I had never even heard of it before when I found it in a bookshop in London. It sounded rather interesting, and I was intrigued by the collaboration of Elizabeth Gaskell and Wilkie Collins (along with a few others) with Charles Dickens. On first glance, I thought it was simply a collection of short stories, but I was surprised to discover how they all worked together.
I began reading this just before Halloween, thinking it an appropriate time, but it would ha...more
I began reading this just before Halloween, thinking it an appropriate time, but it would ha...more
I fell asleep 4x while reading this over as many nights, so it has a more soporific effect than a startling effect (on me anyway). I kept wishing I was reading an Algernon Black story instead. Well-written but a little humdrum.
This kinda turned into more a novelty than anything else. The ghosts are rather friendly, and though some of the stories are touching, the others disjointed, but I think this can be an excellent example of engaging in a form or genre's sake, merely for that sake of that form, and nothing more.
interesting enough, well told by different authors.
never the biggest fan of short stories, so they dont get big ratings from me, but they were all short, self contained and readable....
never the biggest fan of short stories, so they dont get big ratings from me, but they were all short, self contained and readable....
I loved this book... until chapter 2. The ending was a disappointment, but if you like Dickens it's still worth reading.
Interesting view of times gone by. Stories themselves OK.
While this was an interesting read, it's not a book I'd list among my favorites or recommend to a friend.
zzzzzzzzz.....I usually love Dickens but this one was a real snoozer for me.
A frame story places a group of characters alone in a house reputed to be haunted, and then lets various Victorian authors write the story of each room. It has a foreword by Wesley Stace, a.k.a. musician John Wesley Harding, with lots of interesting information. (For instance, as originally published, the stories didn't have any authors listed, so many of them are mistakenly attributed to Dickens.)
There's nothing at all scary here, but some of the stories are funny, and some are moving.
There's nothing at all scary here, but some of the stories are funny, and some are moving.
Jul 21, 2009
Louise H
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
borrowed-from-library
This was really good, I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Review to come.
A fun quick read for Dickens fans and lovers of Victorian literature, also appropriate for the cold, dark time of the year. The introduction is excellent, explaining the context of the writing of these tales, which are by Dickens and several of his contemporaries which he chose to collaborate with on these Christmas compilations of short stories that his public looked forward to every year. For lovers of the paranormal, be forewarned there are no "real" apparitions in these tales.
If you're waiting on my every review - you'll know I don't really like short story collections. This caught my eye because the title, and, well, the length (have to get through 100 books this year, yo). I didn't realize it was a collection of short stories and that the stories are really about a haunted house. Kind of disappointing all around because I had different expectations. Although, the length didn't disappoint.
The Haunted House is a story written in 1859 for the weekly periodical All the Year Round. It was "Conducted by Charles Dickens", with contributions from Elizabeth Gaskell, Wilkie Collins, Adelaide Proctor, George Sala and Hesba Stretton. The story appeared in the Extra Christmas Number on 13 December 1859.
Dec 27, 2012
Maria D'Isidoro
added it
Wth?
In every edition I've found, only the first and second chapter are included, and I'm pretty certain from reading the comments that there are supposed to be other chapters by other authors. I'm not going to rate this until I find the complete story and can finish THAT.
In every edition I've found, only the first and second chapter are included, and I'm pretty certain from reading the comments that there are supposed to be other chapters by other authors. I'm not going to rate this until I find the complete story and can finish THAT.
This book is *actually* infused with humor, though I bet a lot of people miss it. I laughed out loud while reading this last December (it's perfect for dreary weather!)-- a playful and varied interpretation of gothic lit.
Oct 13, 2010
Krista
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
school-assignment,
classics
As a fan of Dickens' Christmas Carol, it's not surprising that I liked this short story. It has a very Edgar Allen Poe feel to it and deals with the psychological impact of guilt. What's not to love?
A gentleman moves into a reputedly haunted country house; soon the servants are scared witless but the master is not convinced. Plays with different attitudes to paranormal activity.
Me ha parecido mediocre y algunas historias realmente ñoñas y sosas. A lo mejor no era el momento para leerlo.
Not Ghost Stories as i expected they would be but a good book worth reading.
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A prolific 19th Century author of short stories, plays, novellas, novels, fiction and non-fiction; during his lifetime Dickens became known the world over for his remarkable characters, his mastery of prose in the telling of their lives, and his depictions of the social classes, morals and values of his times. Some considered him the spokesman for the poor, for he definitely brought much awarenes...more
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