The Uninvited is one that has stuck in my mind for years as being excellent, but unfortunately it seems to be out of print. The movie is good, but the book was better.

Another book added to the pile. Thanks for the rec on the Oxford Book of 20th Century Ghost Stories, Laura.

Danielle, I think you'll like it. Unfortunately, I wasn't as enthusiastic about his other books, but I definitely recommend Lost Souls.

One of my favorite ghost story collections is The Oxford Book of Twentieth-century Ghost Stories. The time frame cuts out some of the older classics, but it's how I found some new favorites like "Smoke Ghost" and "Night Fears".

I've read Masterpieces of Terror and the Unknown. It was trippy and creepy and unsettling. Good stuff. :)

Laura wrote: "I just finished The House of Lost Souls and really loved it. It's got great atmosphere!"

This sounds great. Thanks for the rec, Laura.

Jeannie, I loved Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural, too (I've reviewed that collection here on Goodreads)! And I've read and really liked a few of M. R. James' stories as well. When I'm visiting my wife's side of the family every summer, I always get in some time reading short stories in their local public library. Next time I come, I'm ready to start a new anthology --and The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories is waiting invitingly on the shelf for me!

Thanks for the other recommendations, too. (And as an aside to anyone following this discussion, you can find a lot of great possibilities in this sub- genre just by perusing our group bookshelves, and clicking on the reviews!)

Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural is one of my favorite anthology's.The Dark Descent was also a wonderful book of short stories.I have just received American Supernatural Tales ed. by Joshi in the mail today and can't wait to read it!
I've found that a lot of the 'older' Stephen King is quite terrifying.MR James has to be the master of the scary short story though.

Werner wrote: "Danielle, I've got The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories on my to-read shelf! And yes, "The Upper Berth" (great story!) was written by F. Marion Crawford.

Probably my favorite novel-length g..."

You are going to love the Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories!

I just finished The House of Lost Souls and really loved it. It's got great atmosphere!

I still need to read The Turn of the Screw. I love the short ghost stories, so you're not alone, Werner.

Danielle, I've got The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories on my to-read shelf! And yes, "The Upper Berth" (great story!) was written by F. Marion Crawford.

Probably my favorite novel-length ghost story (and I haven't read as many of those as short ones) is The Turn of the Screw --I'm one of those who take it as a genuine ghost story. When it comes to short fiction in this subgenre, I can't pick a single favorite --there are just too many that I really like!

I'll have to keep an eye out for those, Shawn.

Wakefield's "The Red House" (or "The Red Lodge" - I don't have access to my lists at the moment) is another good one, as well as "The Waxworks"

Robert wrote: "One of the best ghost stories I have ever read was "CHOST STORY" by Peter Straub,the film version was quite good as well."

Hey Robert!
Totally agree with you. Ghost Story is an awesome book. The movie's interesting but a very different experience. Some of the early stories in the book about the ghostly family that keeps revisiting the main characters were downright unsettling.

One of the best ghost stories I have ever read was "CHOST STORY" by Peter Straub,the film version was quite good as well.

It's hard to pick just one, but two volumes I've read with fantastic ghost stories are:

The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories

and The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories.

Of course, MR James is a master at the ghost story. Also H. Russell Wakefield has some really creepy ghost stories as well. "Old Man's Beard" by him is so creepy, I just shudder thinking about it. I think F. Marion Crawford wrote "The Empty Upper Berth." Another wonderful one. And William Hope Hodgson's "The Whistling Room."

Wow. That sounds great, Ben. I'll have to look for that book. Thanks so much.

Phantom Nights by John Farris is one of my all-time favorites. It's 50s era Southern setting is beautifully (and sometimes horrifically) rendered, and I really loved the train/afterlife concept. The ghost story is simple: an African American woman is murdered by a man running for governor, and the boy who is her friend is visited by her ghost. What really got me about the story was the wonderful characters. The victim's father has a detective mentality and is constantly having to work around the fact that he's smarter than the white people he's surrounded by. But the relationship between the boy and the ghost really puts the story on the dramatic level of the movie The Sixth Sense. I can't recommend it enough.

I love the classic ghost stories, long on shadows and unease, with the sudden chills, and a sense of the unknown. Ghost stories are probably my favorites in the supernatural fiction stories.

Do you have any novels or stories you'd say are your favorites out of the ghost stories you've read and enjoyed?