Привидение в Инженерном замке

by Nikolai Leskov, Николай Лесков

Рассказ, впервые опубликованный в 1882 году. "У домов, как у людей, есть своя репутация. Есть дома, где, по общему мнению, нечисто, то есть, где замечают те или другие проявления какой-то нечистой или по крайней мере непонятной силы".

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Fiction, Russia, Audiobook, Classics

19 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

also:
Николай Лесков
Nikolaj S. Leskow
Nikolai Leskov
Nikolai Lesskow
Nikolaj Semënovič Leskov
Nikolaĭ Semenovich Leskov
Nikolai Ljeskow
Н. С. Лѣсков-Стебницкий
Микола Лєсков

Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (Russian: Николай Семёнович Лесков; 16 February 1831 — 5 March 1895) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and journalist who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique writing style and innovative experiments in form, and held in high esteem by Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky among others, Leskov is credited with creating a comprehensive picture of contemporary Russian society using mostly short literary forms. His major works include Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (1865) (which was later made into an opera by Shostakovich), The Cathedral Clergy (1872), The Enchanted Wanderer (1873), and "The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea" (1881).

Leskov was born at his parent's estate in Oryol Gubernia in 1831. He received his formal education at the Oryol Lyceum. In 1847 Leskov joined the Oryol criminal court office, later transferring to Kiev where he worked as a clerk, attended university lectures, mixed with local people, and took part in various student circles. In 1857 Leskov quit his job as a clerk and went to work for the private trading company Scott & Wilkins owned by Alexander Scott, his aunt's English husband. He spent several years traveling throughout Russia on company business. It was in these early years that Leskov learned local dialects and became keenly interested in the customs and ways of the different ethnic and regional groups of Russian peoples. His experiences during these travels provided him with material and inspiration for his future as a writer of fiction.

Leskov's literary career began in the early 1860s with the publication of his short story "The Extinguished Flame" (1862), and his novellas Musk-Ox (May 1863) and The Life of a Peasant Woman (September, 1863). His first novel No Way Out was published under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky in 1864. From the mid 1860s to the mid 1880s Leskov published a wide range of works, including journalism, sketches, short stories, and novels. Leskov's major works, many of which continue to be published in modern versions, were written during this time. A number of his later works were banned because of their satirical treatment of the Russian Orthodox Church and its functionaries. In his last years Leskov suffered from angina pectoris and asthma. He died on 5 March 1895. He was interred in the Volkovo Cemetery in Saint Petersburg, in the section reserved for literary figures.

Reviews

[Costin Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nu degeaba l-a numit Tolstoi „cel mai bun cunoscător al sufletului rus”.
Fragment din povestirea „Muntele” în care se redă o legendă egipteană:
„Iusuf era minunat de frumos... Într-o zi, când femei de vază s-au apucat s-o dojenească pe Zuleika pentru dragostea ei față de Iusuf, Zuleika le-a dat fiecăreia câte un cuțit și o portocală, și când au început să-și curețe portocalele, Zuleika l-a chemat pe robul ei. Iusuf a intrat în încăpere și atunci toate femeile s-au tăiat la degete și au scăpat pe jos portocalele...”

[Ayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old fashioned Russian ghost stories . In audiobook format interesting sound effects and music, narrator had a weird way of pronouncing some words such as smiting (SMITHing instead of sm EyeThing)saying it as the craft of metalwork and not the action of hiring at something. Okay stories the widow hugging her husband was pretty freaky esp as the kid thought it was a skeleton hugging the dead man,

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not really sure what to think about this story. I got the audio versions so I could listen to it while driving, and was left a bit confused. As a ghost story it left me scratching my head, I guess I'm not use to such a story or the way it's written. However, maybe you would like it more than myself. I just might have to re-listen to it again to gain a better understanding of the characters. Read at your own risk.

[Jeneé · Rating 1 out of 5]

What is this? What did I just read? Going into this i thought it was going to be a compilation of ghost stories but It's kind of two or maybe three. The audio version I was listening to wouldn't play the last story and maybe cut off the second one early, either way it was all very confusing and not very integrating.
If you end up stumbling upon this one, just move along, it's not worth the short read that it is.

[Joséphine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. But without spoiling anything, I think potential readers who are looking for scary ghost stuff have to be warned that the supernatural is not the true focus of the story, and that it's really not scary.

[Olena Brazhnyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Той випадок, коли прочитав перший рядок і не спинився до кінця. Моє перше знайомство з автором і він зачарував мене легкістю, гумором та справжністю атмосфери XIX ст

[Noninuna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

It's a bit of a weird story, to me. The audiobook was very atmospheric with all the background sound and even the reading. I went in expecting a total ghost story but in the middle and the end nearly made me giggle.

This audiobook also included another short story about a sudden disappearance.

[Tammy Conatser · Rating 1 out of 5]

For me, this was not my cup of tea. I listened to the audio of the book and it was just one run on sentence it seemed. All one tone, and I felt like I was in class getting a lecture rather than being told a story. It done on and on, and felt like it took forever even though it's not very long.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kind of ghost story, and the audio nailed the suspense.

[Theresa Sivelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure what happened to the ending but it seemed like it was missing something.

[Gina Pat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird

It seems to start in the middle and end in the middle

[Katya Stam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Написано красиво.

[🥀]

I read this and immediately forgot about it when I was done…

[Sherry Scheline · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not delighted. It wasn't as scary as I wanted it to be.

[Brooke Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started out on an intetesting note, but left me confused. Maybe it was the English translation or just the way Russian ghost stories go...either way, it had potential, but didn't quite hit the mark in my opinion.

[Trounin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Подобной истории Лесков не был свидетелем, о чём он сам и сообщил. Просто такое действие отлично подходило для написания святочного рассказа. Нечто мистическое – обязательная составляющая такого произведения. А привидение – настоящее оно или нет – помогает подвести читателя к умению заранее распознавать, в чём следует предчувствовать опасность. Всем прекрасно известно, потусторонних сил не существует, чему люди отказываются верить. Зато тем легче создать устрашающую легенду, пугающую изначально, и объясняющую природу мистических материй происками человеческого ума.

(c) Trounin

[Jordi Polo Carres · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una vez he probado un audiolibro (esta vez de la biblioteca) y otra vez me ha fallado.
La primera historia tenia su interes pero la segunda, no pasa realmente nada?