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A Haunted Island
Algernon Henry Blackwood was born in Shooter s Hill, South East England, in 1869. In his youth he trained as a doctor at Wellington College in Berkshire, and went on to pursue a number of careers, in areas as varied as milk farming, modelling, journalism and violin teaching. In his thirties, he returned to England from New York, where he had spent a number of years and began to write stories.
"A Haunted Island" was Algernon's first significant story about the Canadian backwoods, It is set deep in the Ontario wilderness.
"A Haunted Island" was Algernon's first significant story about the Canadian backwoods, It is set deep in the Ontario wilderness.
30 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1899
2 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Algernon Blackwood
1,368 books1,185 followersAlgernon Henry Blackwood (1869–1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary critic S. T. Joshi stated, "His work is more consistently meritorious than any weird writer's except Dunsany's" and that his short story collection Incredible Adventures (1914) "may be the premier weird collection of this or any other century".
Blackwood was born in Shooter's Hill (today part of south-east London, but then part of northwest Kent) and educated at Wellington College. His father was a Post Office administrator who, according to Peter Penzoldt, "though not devoid of genuine good-heartedness, had appallingly narrow religious ideas." Blackwood had a varied career, farming in Canada, operating a hotel, as a newspaper reporter in New York City, and, throughout his adult life, an occasional essayist for various periodicals. In his late thirties, he moved back to England and started to write stories of the supernatural. He was very successful, writing at least ten original collections of short stories and eventually appearing on both radio and television to tell them. He also wrote fourteen novels, several children's books, and a number of plays, most of which were produced but not published. He was an avid lover of nature and the outdoors, and many of his stories reflect this.
H.P. Lovecraft wrote of Blackwood: "He is the one absolute and unquestioned master of weird atmosphere." His powerful story "The Willows," which effectively describes another dimension impinging upon our own, was reckoned by Lovecraft to be not only "foremost of all" Blackwood's tales but the best "weird tale" of all time.
Among his thirty-odd books, Blackwood wrote a series of stories and short novels published as John Silence, Physician Extraordinary (1908), which featured a "psychic detective" who combined the skills of a Sherlock Holmes and a psychic medium. Blackwood also wrote light fantasy and juvenile books.
Blackwood was born in Shooter's Hill (today part of south-east London, but then part of northwest Kent) and educated at Wellington College. His father was a Post Office administrator who, according to Peter Penzoldt, "though not devoid of genuine good-heartedness, had appallingly narrow religious ideas." Blackwood had a varied career, farming in Canada, operating a hotel, as a newspaper reporter in New York City, and, throughout his adult life, an occasional essayist for various periodicals. In his late thirties, he moved back to England and started to write stories of the supernatural. He was very successful, writing at least ten original collections of short stories and eventually appearing on both radio and television to tell them. He also wrote fourteen novels, several children's books, and a number of plays, most of which were produced but not published. He was an avid lover of nature and the outdoors, and many of his stories reflect this.
H.P. Lovecraft wrote of Blackwood: "He is the one absolute and unquestioned master of weird atmosphere." His powerful story "The Willows," which effectively describes another dimension impinging upon our own, was reckoned by Lovecraft to be not only "foremost of all" Blackwood's tales but the best "weird tale" of all time.
Among his thirty-odd books, Blackwood wrote a series of stories and short novels published as John Silence, Physician Extraordinary (1908), which featured a "psychic detective" who combined the skills of a Sherlock Holmes and a psychic medium. Blackwood also wrote light fantasy and juvenile books.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 5, 2018
fortunately I was able to throttle my knee-jerk, liberal-progressive tendencies when reading this story featuring deadly Indians as a supernatural menace. it was easy to do because Blackwood is clearly no racist and he's also one of my favorite authors. ANYWAY, this brief tale does everything right: it has an inexplicable threat, a delightfully ambiguous ending, careful prose, and all kinds of cozy-scary atmosphere in its description of an empty vacation house on an uninhabited island on the edge of a chilly lake. empty except for our protagonist, who came to this isle to study. surely he could have just studied at home. "A Haunted Island" was often genuinely tense and was the perfect thing to read at about 3 in the morning when I was unable to sleep. not that it actually helped me to get back to sleep, of course. who cares, I will sleep when I'm dead!
November 8, 2025
It takes place on a small isolated island in Canada. A very nice place to get away consisting of only a cottage that had six very tiny bedrooms and canoe. An old farmer brought eggs and bread once a week.
There were no others on the island. Often while taking the small path to the dock he thought he heard people talking. Back at the cottage he chose a small room with the largest bed and a small balcony. At night it was very dark. A week passed and he was able to read as he had desired.
The tenth day he awoke to being afraid of his surroundings and moved his bed downstairs.
Concentration of reading was growing more difficult. Upon walking outside he spotted a canoe, than another and yet another. Each with two men. Indians. They circled the island. He stepped back into the shadows and the canoes reappeared as if they would land. He decided to run for safety at the cottage. Blew out the lamps and grabed the Marlin rifle. In agony of suspense and agitation with his muscles paralysed with terror...
Needless to say he spent the rest of his time with the farmer. Until the last day...
Blackwood's story is suspenseful I wouldnt say haunting. It is well written as his stories usually are. Dream? Maybe.
There were no others on the island. Often while taking the small path to the dock he thought he heard people talking. Back at the cottage he chose a small room with the largest bed and a small balcony. At night it was very dark. A week passed and he was able to read as he had desired.
The tenth day he awoke to being afraid of his surroundings and moved his bed downstairs.
Concentration of reading was growing more difficult. Upon walking outside he spotted a canoe, than another and yet another. Each with two men. Indians. They circled the island. He stepped back into the shadows and the canoes reappeared as if they would land. He decided to run for safety at the cottage. Blew out the lamps and grabed the Marlin rifle. In agony of suspense and agitation with his muscles paralysed with terror...
Needless to say he spent the rest of his time with the farmer. Until the last day...
Blackwood's story is suspenseful I wouldnt say haunting. It is well written as his stories usually are. Dream? Maybe.
October 7, 2019
Algernon Blackwood hat ein Talent dafür mit seinem Schreibstil eine dichte, spannungsgeladene Atmosphäre zu erzeugen. Die Geschichte beginnt fast idyllisch, in einer kleinen Blockhütte in den kanadischen Wäldern. Je weiter sie fortschreitet, desto mehr ballt sich die Luft zusammen, wie vor einem Gewitter, das er dann auch tatsächlich hereinbrechen lässt.
Die Spukerscheinung bleibt unerklärt, aber man kann sich das Meiste zusammenreimen. Schön dass ich diesen Autor endlich entdeckt habe, ich freue mich schon auf "The Willows" was ich Ende Oktober in einem Buddy Read lesen werde.
Die Spukerscheinung bleibt unerklärt, aber man kann sich das Meiste zusammenreimen. Schön dass ich diesen Autor endlich entdeckt habe, ich freue mich schon auf "The Willows" was ich Ende Oktober in einem Buddy Read lesen werde.
August 5, 2023
4.25⭐
This tale takes place in the Canadian woods in one of the nicest locations possible, a vacationing island in the Muskoka region of Ontario in September after all the tourists have left. Autumn is coming in with the island exhibiting rustic beauty with red, gold and yellow leaves, good fishing and time for reading. The narrator is on the island to get caught up on his reading for a legal degree. One evening the narrator sees two native Americans paddle a large canoe circling the island. They go around three to four times before landing.
The narrator runs off to his study, turns off the lamps and clutches his rifle. The two Indians come into the house dragging something behind them. They circle the parlor but don’t take any notice of the man. The narrator is frozen, unable to raise his gun. The larger of the men points to the room above which was the narrator's bedroom, and they leave to go upstairs. The narrator still can’t move and listens to the commotion happening above. There is a scream and a thump. The two native men then leave dragging a large burden behind them.
As they leave the narrator finds he can finally move now and creeps to the doorway. The storm that has been building all evening finally breaks and lightning lights up the hall. He can see that the two invaders are dragging a cedar bough and on it is a dead body. The face of the dead man which has been recently scalped is the narrator’s who upon seeing this passes out.
This tale takes place in the Canadian woods in one of the nicest locations possible, a vacationing island in the Muskoka region of Ontario in September after all the tourists have left. Autumn is coming in with the island exhibiting rustic beauty with red, gold and yellow leaves, good fishing and time for reading. The narrator is on the island to get caught up on his reading for a legal degree. One evening the narrator sees two native Americans paddle a large canoe circling the island. They go around three to four times before landing.
The narrator runs off to his study, turns off the lamps and clutches his rifle. The two Indians come into the house dragging something behind them. They circle the parlor but don’t take any notice of the man. The narrator is frozen, unable to raise his gun. The larger of the men points to the room above which was the narrator's bedroom, and they leave to go upstairs. The narrator still can’t move and listens to the commotion happening above. There is a scream and a thump. The two native men then leave dragging a large burden behind them.
As they leave the narrator finds he can finally move now and creeps to the doorway. The storm that has been building all evening finally breaks and lightning lights up the hall. He can see that the two invaders are dragging a cedar bough and on it is a dead body. The face of the dead man which has been recently scalped is the narrator’s who upon seeing this passes out.
January 8, 2015
I listened to the audiobook version of this on YouTube. Although the reading itself was amateur, the story was brilliant. My heart was racing and I was overcome with anxiety listening to the story. Well worth the 40 minutes.
November 28, 2014
Free download available at LibriVox.
September 10, 2024
As with most of Blackwood’s work I’ve read, this seems to build on the fear that we aren’t scared to be alone in the dark, we are scared that we aren’t.
April 19, 2020
4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this one. Whereas many ghost stories from this era are more moody and atmospheric than frightening, this one is actually kind of scary.
November 14, 2021
“A Haunted Island” is Algernon Henry Blackwood’s first significant Canadian story. 1899 is described as a time of fearing an attack from warlike Aboriginals. I do not know if that perception was imagined, or from past historical experience. This island was said to be visited from Toronto and Montréal. Please note that Ottawa, Ontario is much closer to Montréal, Québec.
I like authors to work out a story and give their conclusion. However, I get that a character might not know what he beheld. Spirit lore is my milieu. I can ponder a litany of options; whether or not our overwhelmed narrator was privy to them! Was this tale’s phenomenon a ghost, a regional echo repeated on a loop, a past-life memory, a warning forerunner, or a fear churned up in his mind out of paranoia?
Twenty friends left our unnamed narrator to do law homework in a two-storey cottage, his first night with a room indoors. I inferred that he wanted comfortable, uninterrupted study. It is not a horror about a fleeing prey, obliged to wait out a storm in a menacing castle. That is the tack Algernon took, so ridiculous it become grating.
His eloquence is so gorgeous, I save favourite passages in my reviews. This time, I was never convinced that a man who chose a solo wilderness retreat would fear being alone as soon as it grew dark. The biggest faux-pas was not explaining why he did not lock the front door! This law student was suddenly a nervous mess, after spending nights outside there for two months. I found it lame and can only grant two stars. My favourite description follows.
“Though the island was deserted, the rocks and trees that had echoed human laughter and voices could not fail to retain memories of it”.
I like authors to work out a story and give their conclusion. However, I get that a character might not know what he beheld. Spirit lore is my milieu. I can ponder a litany of options; whether or not our overwhelmed narrator was privy to them! Was this tale’s phenomenon a ghost, a regional echo repeated on a loop, a past-life memory, a warning forerunner, or a fear churned up in his mind out of paranoia?
Twenty friends left our unnamed narrator to do law homework in a two-storey cottage, his first night with a room indoors. I inferred that he wanted comfortable, uninterrupted study. It is not a horror about a fleeing prey, obliged to wait out a storm in a menacing castle. That is the tack Algernon took, so ridiculous it become grating.
His eloquence is so gorgeous, I save favourite passages in my reviews. This time, I was never convinced that a man who chose a solo wilderness retreat would fear being alone as soon as it grew dark. The biggest faux-pas was not explaining why he did not lock the front door! This law student was suddenly a nervous mess, after spending nights outside there for two months. I found it lame and can only grant two stars. My favourite description follows.
“Though the island was deserted, the rocks and trees that had echoed human laughter and voices could not fail to retain memories of it”.
April 19, 2022
Fairly simple story with an idyllic atmosphere but I was left a little confused on whether the Native American visitors were ghosts and/or he was actually murdered by them (explaining the scream and the thud sound the narrator heard while they were upstairs) and the narrator was now dead listening to his own murder from downstairs. This or perhaps it was just a nightmare the narrator cooked up from his isolation and overactive imagination. Regardless, it was enjoyable and I'd recommend it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2024
I love the suspense of this short story, I could picture everything that the author described.
December 29, 2024
Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951) published two stories in the nineteenth century: A Mysterious House (1889) and this story in 1899. According to Encyclopedia Britannica: "After farming in Canada, operating a hotel, mining in the Alaskan goldfields, and working as a newspaper reporter in New York City, experiences that he recalled in Episodes Before Thirty (1923), Blackwood returned to England in 1899." This story appeared in the April 1899 issue of The Pall Mall Magazine, a popular monthly British literary magazine published between 1893 and 1914.
I liked the setting of the story. It was a small, yet six-bedroom house on an island in the middle of a Canadian lake near Montreal. The protagonist's friends, numbering about twenty, had all returned to the United States, leaving our narrator alone in the house to study law for his upcoming exam. After perhaps ten days of solitude, he noticed some visitors, two large Indians paddling in a canoe and circling the island. Clearly these Indians presented a danger the protagonist needed to prepare for. The remainder of the story concerns the outcome of this exciting encounter.
I was surprised to see Blackwood's growth between his earlier story and this one. As far as I know there was no apprentice work before this 1899 story, unless being a newspaper reporter for a period in 1890s New York counts. Yet we see a mature writer for this story, one in full command of his authorial tools. The pacing is slow, but that's the period. A slow buildup works for this story in any event.
At 6,635 words length, this is a long short story, but not quite a novelette (7,500 words). I recommend it for any fan of Algernon Blackwood's work. This story is clearly better than half and not worse than the best he has written that I have so far read. Now, what did Blackwood publish just after the turn of that century?
I liked the setting of the story. It was a small, yet six-bedroom house on an island in the middle of a Canadian lake near Montreal. The protagonist's friends, numbering about twenty, had all returned to the United States, leaving our narrator alone in the house to study law for his upcoming exam. After perhaps ten days of solitude, he noticed some visitors, two large Indians paddling in a canoe and circling the island. Clearly these Indians presented a danger the protagonist needed to prepare for. The remainder of the story concerns the outcome of this exciting encounter.
I was surprised to see Blackwood's growth between his earlier story and this one. As far as I know there was no apprentice work before this 1899 story, unless being a newspaper reporter for a period in 1890s New York counts. Yet we see a mature writer for this story, one in full command of his authorial tools. The pacing is slow, but that's the period. A slow buildup works for this story in any event.
At 6,635 words length, this is a long short story, but not quite a novelette (7,500 words). I recommend it for any fan of Algernon Blackwood's work. This story is clearly better than half and not worse than the best he has written that I have so far read. Now, what did Blackwood publish just after the turn of that century?
November 6, 2020
Loved it.. It's my favourite Blackwood story I know it's far from the most popular of his stories but I truly enjoyed it so much I won't give anything away I'll just say it's about a man who is on his own.. on an island when in the dead of night he sees a canoe with two figures on it heading towards him.. It's rather suspenseful I must say.. Do yourself a favour and read it or find the audio reading by downloading the Librivox app or listen to it on YouTube
August 8, 2021
AKA A Haunted House. Blackwood, a master storyteller, weaves the tale of a lonely cottage on an uninhabited island. A disturbing influence drives the sole occupant of the house to sleep downstairs in the sitting room. What follows is a tautly drawn spooky occurrence. Atmospheric and sublime. Audible edition narrated by Felbrigg Napoleon Herriot.
October 30, 2017
Blackwood infuses suspense into his setting wonderfuly here.
January 4, 2022
Old school horror
August 14, 2022
A short story imbued with an atmosphere of real menace and peril.
August 16, 2023
If it weren't for premonitions the species would be extinct.
July 26, 2024
Nice location and geography but poor story, not scary at all.
May 6, 2025
Muy buena ambientación como siempre en Algernon. El climax y resolución pensé que iría hacia otra dirección y por eso quedé con gusto a poco al final.
November 11, 2025
Schauerhaftes déjà-vu, das Leben rettet. Mehr wird hier nicht gespoilert.
March 4, 2025
Жахи в стилі Лавкрафта. Повний відгук в тгк.
December 1, 2021
It was scary, actually. I think it would be perfect with
an Audible companion.
an Audible companion.
February 16, 2026
Ok story, not bad not the most amazing but it still deserves a good review so.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews