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Classic Ghost Stories
Ghost stories continue to be a popular genre on audiobooks, and this group of four stories brings together some of the best. Reader Stephen Critchelow has spent a lifetime collecting and reading works like these and, with carefully chosen music, brings a strong sense of atmosphere to the recordings.
2 pages, Audio CD
Published October 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 15, 2019
How grateful I am for Victorian ghost stories. They make sense and are of much higher quality than the stories of today—made to horrify rather than have a more positive theme.
March 11, 2022
Fun stuff! with The Signal-Man and Oh, Whistle and I'll Come To You, My Lad having been long time favorites. I still find M. R. James' phrasing very particular and odd, such as " It is drawn from the life." in comparison with Dickens' sentences but I suppose that is part of their charm.
August 23, 2020
Very nice performance of these great tales. Full contents include:
The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens
Oh, Whistle and I'll Come To You, My Lad by M.R. James
The Mezzotint by M.R. James
To Be Taken With A Grain of Salt by Charles Dickens
Rats by M.R. James
The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens
Oh, Whistle and I'll Come To You, My Lad by M.R. James
The Mezzotint by M.R. James
To Be Taken With A Grain of Salt by Charles Dickens
Rats by M.R. James
July 22, 2024
Audiobook review
Poor audio quality, not scary
Poor audio quality, not scary
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 13, 2024
I read this for a popsugar prompt of read a genre you usually avoid, this isn't something I would normally read. I chose a classic because I do like classic fiction but apparently not ghost stories. The 1 star review is more a reflection on my dislike of the genre than the actual writing.
July 30, 2014
Let’s start with this: “A Christmas Carol” is, at base, a ghost story. Thus it shouldn’t be surprising that Charles Dickens wrote other such stories. This work, which includes five short stories with Romantic-era Classical chamber music between them, is part of a larger work. It includes two by Charles Dickens and three by M. R. James, who lived from 1862-1939 and was, in addition to a writer and collector of ghost stories, a medieval scholar and the Provost of King’s College, where he regularly read his stories to the students. I’ll describe them as they are presented in the CD (wonderfully read by English actor Stephen Critchlow; somehow only a British reading of these stories would have the intended effect.
“The Signalman” (Dickens) tells of a railroad employee who relates to the narrator of the story that he has seen a ghostly figure several times at the entrance to a tunnel, whose appearance signals an upcoming tragedy and which the Signalman has witnessed; he is fearful of seeing the spectre again and so warns the narrator. But when the narrator comes to see him the next evening…
“Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad (James) tells of a fellow on holiday at the beach who comes across an old, faded whistle with strange runes engraved within it, and when he blows the whistle…
“The Mezzotint” (James) tells of a university professor who procures artworks for museums as part of his job. He comes across a Mezzotint (a sort of etching technique from the 1700’s; I had to look it up on Google, and I would recommend you do the same) of a country manor; the price seems extravagant for the technique but the professor decides to investigate its location from partial hints in the painting and a label upon the back. Seems that there was some scandal associated with the house, related to the unsolved disappearance of a young son. As the days go by, the professor notices that the painting changes, with a figure emerging in the foreground, then going up towards the house, then…Well, I would say that the professor gets a real surprise related to the case. The denouement is quite satisfactory.
“To be Taken with a Grain of Salt” (Dickens) tells of a juror in a murder case who is visited by the ghost of the victim, but is uncertain to what end the visit(s) are aimed. It becomes clearer as the story progresses, with a nice little twist at the end.
“Rats” (James) tells of a naturalist/photographer who visits an old castle and stays in the servants’ quarters. While on one of his walks around the property he comes upon a singular large stone in the middle of a field and photographs it, but when he develops the photograph he sees a man hanging from a gallows by the stone. This naturally frightens him, but any explanations are tossed off by the proprietors of the castle. He then hears some noises from the room across from his and when he investigates he sees a ghostly figure with manacles. He is then removed from the room (which had been locked but which he opened with his own room key) by the proprietor and by inference and vague explanations is told that…well, you know.
I would add that all of these stories save “To Be Taken with a Grain of Salt” have been made into short movies (“Rats” in 2011 by Stephen Gray, on Vimeo), or TV programs (“The Mezzotint” from the Edward Atherton Theater, and the others from a collection from the BBC called “A Ghost Story for Christmas” available on a boxed DVD set, from 1971 through 2005). I was able to view the first two, and was quite impressed by Mr. Gray’s adaptation of “Rats,” giving not only gradual clues as to the mystery but also conveying a consistent sense of wide-open spaces contrasted with the claustrophobic nature of the protagonist’s room and hallway; adds to the atmosphere. I guess the latter two would require purchase or inquiry at the Library. Unfortunately, the library systems in St. Louis do not have them, so if I ever run across them I’ll certainly submit an addendum.
“The Signalman” (Dickens) tells of a railroad employee who relates to the narrator of the story that he has seen a ghostly figure several times at the entrance to a tunnel, whose appearance signals an upcoming tragedy and which the Signalman has witnessed; he is fearful of seeing the spectre again and so warns the narrator. But when the narrator comes to see him the next evening…
“Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad (James) tells of a fellow on holiday at the beach who comes across an old, faded whistle with strange runes engraved within it, and when he blows the whistle…
“The Mezzotint” (James) tells of a university professor who procures artworks for museums as part of his job. He comes across a Mezzotint (a sort of etching technique from the 1700’s; I had to look it up on Google, and I would recommend you do the same) of a country manor; the price seems extravagant for the technique but the professor decides to investigate its location from partial hints in the painting and a label upon the back. Seems that there was some scandal associated with the house, related to the unsolved disappearance of a young son. As the days go by, the professor notices that the painting changes, with a figure emerging in the foreground, then going up towards the house, then…Well, I would say that the professor gets a real surprise related to the case. The denouement is quite satisfactory.
“To be Taken with a Grain of Salt” (Dickens) tells of a juror in a murder case who is visited by the ghost of the victim, but is uncertain to what end the visit(s) are aimed. It becomes clearer as the story progresses, with a nice little twist at the end.
“Rats” (James) tells of a naturalist/photographer who visits an old castle and stays in the servants’ quarters. While on one of his walks around the property he comes upon a singular large stone in the middle of a field and photographs it, but when he develops the photograph he sees a man hanging from a gallows by the stone. This naturally frightens him, but any explanations are tossed off by the proprietors of the castle. He then hears some noises from the room across from his and when he investigates he sees a ghostly figure with manacles. He is then removed from the room (which had been locked but which he opened with his own room key) by the proprietor and by inference and vague explanations is told that…well, you know.
I would add that all of these stories save “To Be Taken with a Grain of Salt” have been made into short movies (“Rats” in 2011 by Stephen Gray, on Vimeo), or TV programs (“The Mezzotint” from the Edward Atherton Theater, and the others from a collection from the BBC called “A Ghost Story for Christmas” available on a boxed DVD set, from 1971 through 2005). I was able to view the first two, and was quite impressed by Mr. Gray’s adaptation of “Rats,” giving not only gradual clues as to the mystery but also conveying a consistent sense of wide-open spaces contrasted with the claustrophobic nature of the protagonist’s room and hallway; adds to the atmosphere. I guess the latter two would require purchase or inquiry at the Library. Unfortunately, the library systems in St. Louis do not have them, so if I ever run across them I’ll certainly submit an addendum.
February 17, 2014
I read this during our Jane Austen/Charles Dickens Literary Society school year. This was a good collection of old-fashioned spooky stories, which I read before Halloween. This would be a good read for those who enjoy Victorian writings
March 10, 2014
I "read" this as a Playaway audiobook. The Signalman was the best. It was the first one. The others were OK, but the word usage made it difficult to follow sometimes since these books were written long ago when people used the English language correctly. I guess I am just not used to it.
March 26, 2022
I chose book because I like Wilkie Collins works but these were all a bit abstract and some filled with more horror than I like. Most of the narration was appropriate but I could have done without the musical interludes.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews