Warning Whispers

by A.M. Burrage

1-899562-84-2; xiii + 223pp Published 15 December 1999 in an edition of 500 copies During the first four decades of this century, Alfred McLelland Burrage (1889–1956) was one of the most prolific British writers of short popular fiction. There was scarcely a mainstream weekly, fortnightly, or monthly whose Contents page did not, at one time or another, feature his name. When the original edition of Warning Whispers was published by Equation in 1988, it represented the first collection of entirely 'new' Burrage stories since Someone In The Room appeared in 1931. The seventeen stories in the volume had lain undiscovered since their original magazine appearances between 1915 and 1930, and were unearthed by Jack Adrian, who has now found a further eight previously unknown Burrage stories, which have been included in this volume. From the gentle comedy of 'The Imperturbable Tucker' to the terror of 'The Acquittal' and 'The Witch of Oxshott'; from the romance of 'Fellow Travellers' and 'The Garden of Fancy' to the sinister 'The Little Blue Flames' and 'Warning Whispers': these stories provide further proof of A.M. Burrage's mastery of the ghost story in all its forms, and show why he remains one of the most popular writers of supernatural fiction of this century. Introduction by Jack Adrian; 'The Acquittal'; 'The Frontier of Dreams'; 'Warning Whispers'; 'Crookback'; 'For the Local Rag'; 'The Wind in the Attic'; 'The Little Blue Flames'; 'In the Courtyard'; 'The Recurring Tragedy'; 'The Case of Thissler and Baxter'; 'The Green Bungalow'; 'The Attic'; 'The Witch of Oxshott'; 'Fellow Travellers'; 'The Ticking of the Clock'; 'The Imperturbable Tucker'; 'The Boy With Red Hair'; 'The Garden of Fancy'; 'The Mystery of the Sealed Garret'; 'At the Toy Menders'; 'The Kiss of Hesper'; 'For One Night Only'; 'Father of the Man'; 'The Fourth Wall'; 'I'm Sure It Was No. 31'.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories

230 pages, Hardcover

First published October 13, 1988

About the author

Alfred McLelland Burrage (1889-1956) was a British writer. He was noted in his time as an author of fiction for boys which he published under the pseudonym Frank Lelland, including a popular series called "Tufty". Burrage is now remembered mainly for his horror fiction.

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[Steve Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A.M.Burrage (aka Ex-Private X) was one of the better exponents of those atmospheric horror stories of the first half of the twentieth century. His style is smooth and literate, and easy to read. This is a selection of his uncollected stories, and were all first published between 1915 and 1930. Considering they were not the first choices for previous collections, it’s a mixed bag; but I found six of the seventeen to be fine stories indeed, and one, the last one here, perhaps a minor classic!

My personal favourites are:-

‘The Acquittal.’ A man is haunted by the dead wife he murdered.

‘For The Local Rag,’ is a simple, almost non-existent story, but finely told. It tells of a writer on a local paper feeling down after being asked to write a Christmas ghost story of all things! Despite its predictable ending, it’s an engagingly told tale.

‘The Case Of Thissler And Baxter.’ A man has a second wife in a dream-world; it’s a world he enjoys until… Different, and always interesting.

‘The Boy With Red Hair.’ A man is murdered during a robbery, and the only witness is the victim’s nine year old son. The murderer lives in constant fear of being recognised. I liked this. It’s an ideal choice for displaying the smooth flowing nature of Burrage’s writing. It’s a joy to read; packing a lot into only eight pages.

‘The Garden Of Fancy,’ is a fascinating and different story about someone who manages to stumble across a haunted house in real life, a house that he has only previously seen in his dreams. This is far from your typical ghost story. It’s very well written and I’m certainly not giving the end away. It’s an end, which for once in this genre, I didn’t see coming. And I’ve read a few…

And finally we have ‘The Fourth Wall.’ To help with someone’s mental health, his wife, her brother and sister, and a friend spend a few days in a country cottage. At times, they all experience an odd sensation of being on a stage, as if being watched. Burrage is masterly at creating these feelings of strangeness. This is my favourite story here. My one criticism with it though is the criticism I often drone on about regards many ghost stories, the apparent need many writers feel for the obligatory crystal clear explanation for events. I wish more writers would take the Robert Aickman route – not bother at all, or only hint at it. Still, this is a very fine story in the ghostly genre. There was one unintentionally funny moment which made me laugh. To supposedly reassure and set the minds of the others at ease, a character gives as his excuse for appearing so ghastly after an encounter, ‘I was only the victim of a heart attack.’ By gosh, they were tough characters in them days!

A longish introduction by the person who selected the stories, Jack Adrian, gives a good account of Burrage’s career.

[Canavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

✭✭½

“The Acquittal” (1926) ✭✭½
“The Frontier of Dreams” (1914) ✭✭✭½
“Warning Whispers” (1922) ✭✭
“Crookback” (1926) ✭½
“For the Local Rag” (1930) ✭✭½
“The Wind in the Attic” (1922) ✭✭✭
“The Little Blue Flames” (1930) ✭✭
“In the Courtyard” (1921) ✭✭✭
“The Recurring Tragedy” (1922) ✭✭
“The Case of Thissler and Baxter” (1924) ✭✭½
“The Green Bungalow” (1919) ✭✭½
“The Attic” (1926) ✭✭✭
“The Witch of Oxshott” (1912) ✭✭
“Fellow Travellers” (1925) ✭✭✭½
“The Ticking of the Clock” (1928) ✭✭½
“The Imperturbable Tucker” (1924) ✭✭
“The Boy With Red Hair” (1929) ✭✭
“The Garden of Fancy” (1926) ✭✭✭½
“The Mystery of the Sealed Garret” (1920) ✭✭
“At the Toy Mender’s” (1921) ✭½
“The Kiss of Hesper” (1912) ✭✭
“For One Night Only” (1921) ✭✭½
“Father of the Man” (1929) ✭✭
“The Fourth Wall” (1915) ✭✭✭
“‘I’m Sure It Was No. 31’” (1955) ✭✭

[Williwaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a young boy, I read a story by Burrage called The Waxwork, which I found in an Alfred Hitchcock anthology for kids. It terrified me, and the terror was compounded by a blood-curdling illustration by Fred Banbury. The Waxwork is about a journalist who takes on a challenge to spend the night in a wax museum that contains an effigy of a notorious murderer, whose implement of choice was a barber's razor.

I have never sought out a collection exclusively by Burrage before now, but I got a pretty good deal on this one. I have read the first few stories (including the title story), and I am quite impressed by the high quality of the writing. Little wonder that Burrage was one of the most commercially successful short story writers ever! I'm looking forward to reading more of these soon.

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good collection of ghost stories there are some great ones in there like Fourth Wall, The Aquital, and Recurring Tragedy but also some that are overly predictable and even for a short story feel rushed like The Local Rag. Good for some light reading but don't expect much depth.

[Mairi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fabulous collection of ghost stories, some better than others, of course. Very enjoyable.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid collection of stories written by the super-prolific, and yet ever-dependable A.M. Burrage. There are stories here which may be considered sweet & mellow, and there are darker stuff as well that can cause make one properly uneasy. Recommended.