The Best Ghost Stories

by Arthur B. Reeve (Introduction), E.F. Benson (Contributor), Algernon Blackwood (Contribution by)

In his introduction to this collection, Arthur B. Reeve asks "What is the fascination we feel for the mystery of the ghost story?" He's got a lot of thoughts on the question, of course. But you know, in the end, an aficionado can know a lot more by looking at who wrote the stories -- and this volume contains a great list, including Algernon Blackwood, Ambrose Bierce, Daniel De Foe, E.F. Benson, Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Ellis Parker Butler, Leopold Kompert, M.R. James, Rudyard Kipling, and Vincent O'Sullivan.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, Ghost Stories, Supernatural, Ghosts

197 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1919

About the author

Arthur Benjamin Reeve (October 15, 1880 - August 9, 1936) was an American mystery writer. He is best known for creating the series character Professor Craig Kennedy, sometimes called "The American Sherlock Holmes", and Kennedy's Dr. Watson-like sidekick Walter Jameson, a newspaper reporter, in 18 detective novels. The bulk of Reeve's fame is based on the 82 Craig Kennedy stories, published in Cosmopolitan magazine between 1910 and 1918. These were collected in book form; with the third collection, the short stories were stitched together into pseudo-novels. The 12-volume Craig Kennedy Stories were released in 1918; it reissued Reeve's books-to-date as a matched set.

Reviews

[Doreen Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. I really liked it.

[Lisa]

I read a very old copy of this book that was starting to fall apart, and I think that's a lovely way to read ghost stories.

My favorite story in this collection was "The Man Who Went Too Far" by E.F. Benson. I want to read more of his stuff.

I also liked "The Rival Ghosts" by Brander Matthews, because it's very silly, and I like that someone took it seriously enough to include it in this collection.

"Dey Ain't No Ghosts" by Ellis Parker Butler is written entirely in dialect. The first line is "Once 'pon a time, dey was a l'il' black boy whut he name was Mose." I felt like the whitest girl in the world sounding out the sentences to figure out what they meant.

[Maria Carmo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny little book, written almost as if it had been a genuine investigation "XIXth. contury style"!

Interesting to think that it was written by the same author who wrote Robinson's adventures out in the wilderness...

Maria Carmo

Lisbon 23 April 2012

[Calliope · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some amazing stories, but mostly some absolutely wild choices in what's included-- we have what's widely thought to be the first recorded ghost story (it's bad, but it's the first), a chapter on Banshee myths just thrown in the middle of everything, an extremely racist "humor" story, and an entire section at the end dedicated to "true ghosts." Overall, I discovered some new classic stories that were quite good, but they couldn't save this collection in the slightest.

[Melanie Atchley Robb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping this was nonfiction but I don't think it is and it's a klunker.

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title is a bit of a misnomer; these can't possibly be the best ghost stories, but the digital copy was free so I have no complaints. It is an anthology and even has some recognizable writers like Kipling. Most of the stories were just okay. None of them were scary. One or two were pretty good (my favorite was "The Rival Ghosts" by Brander Matthews about a man haunted by two ghosts who do not get along), and I enjoyed the nonfiction articles at the end, taken from old newspapers (late 1800s, early 1900s).

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual with a compilation, hit and miss. There are a couple stories that I think are prime candidates for the Rhetoric of Telling the Ghost Story course I'm composing, The Woman's Tale, but also one that is either (a) a prime example of the principle of nommo, the African conception of the performance of the word to alter the world in constructive ways through repetition, audience participation, and word play, or else (b) just racist. Will do more research.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly not so scary stories, but there were two that I enjoyed, meaning that they were compelling and scary. The authors were varied, they included Bierce, Kipling and Defoe. I did enjoy that they included stories about the us Capitol since I work there. I hope to incorporate their stories when I give a tour.

[Louis Arata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old-time ghost stories. A few of them were good. The best were "The Woman's Ghost Story" by Algernon Blackwood (quickly becoming one of my favorite writers) and "The Rival Ghosts" (a nice bit of comedy). Unfortunately, there is a racially-stereotyped story included as well. At the end, there are purportedly "true" ghost stories from "reputable" witnesses -- fine, upstanding, sober citizens.

[Madhura · Rating 1 out of 5]

The curiosity of the unknown is what made me read this book. But curiosity killed the cat (or me). Out of the sheer compulsion of finishing a book that I started, I strove to finish it. Despite the "various" authors being big shots like Daniel Defoe, Rudyard Kipling, this collection of ghost stories was a huge disappointment. Wouldn't recommend if you are a fan of horror stories.

[Janith Pathirage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Casper the ghost meets Anne of Green Gables. 'The Woman's Ghost Story' is one of those great heart warming ghost stories one would ever find !. The redemption of a harmless ghost lies in the hands of a young paranormal investigator. Instead of spooking me, this story brought a tear to my eye. Great piece of work.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic collection of ghost stories. Some are "true", some are pure fiction. Some are humorous, some are delightfully creepy. Even with a bad digital copy, these really are some of the best ghost stories.

[Catherine Czerkawska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bit surprised the rating of these is so low on Goodreads. I loved them. Good old fashioned spooky stories, but then I'm a Benson fan.

[Adam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, these ghost stories were very boring.

[Sreejith Panicker · Rating 1 out of 5]

a boring one...

[Ioannis Night · Rating 1 out of 5]

small letters, kind of boring.

[SheLove2Read]

I'm glad I borrowed this. These are stories from the 1800s and early 1900s. Because of the language and the unbelievable wordiness of the majority of them, this is virtually unreadable.
DNF

[Asura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was a little less than alright. It was kind of boring and dull so I couldn't even finish it.

[BubblesTheMonkey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Not the best ghost stories. There were a few good ones, especially a couple that made you think a bit.

[Christina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a horrible, horrible book. Do not recommend.