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The Valancourt Books of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories #1
The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories
The first-ever collection of Victorian Christmas ghost stories, culled from rare 19th-century periodicals
During the Victorian era, it became traditional for publishers of newspapers and magazines to print ghost stories during the Christmas season for chilling winter reading by the fireside or candlelight. Now for the first time thirteen of these tales are collected here, including a wide range of stories from a diverse group of authors, some well-known, others anonymous or forgotten. Readers whose only previous experience with Victorian Christmas ghost stories has been Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" will be surprised and delighted at the astonishing variety of ghostly tales in this volume. "In the sickly light I saw it lying on the bed, with its grim head on the pillow. A man? Or a corpse arisen from its unhallowed grave, and awaiting the demon that animated it?" - John Berwick Harwood, "Horror: A True Tale" "Suddenly I aroused with a start and as ghostly a thrill of horror as ever I remember to have felt in my life. Something--what, I knew not--seemed near, something nameless, but unutterably awful." - Ada Buisson, "The Ghost's Summons" "There was no longer any question what she was, or any thought of her being a living being. Upon a face which wore the fixed features of a corpse were imprinted the traces of the vilest and most hideous passions which had animated her while she lived." - Walter Scott, "The Tapestried Chamber"
During the Victorian era, it became traditional for publishers of newspapers and magazines to print ghost stories during the Christmas season for chilling winter reading by the fireside or candlelight. Now for the first time thirteen of these tales are collected here, including a wide range of stories from a diverse group of authors, some well-known, others anonymous or forgotten. Readers whose only previous experience with Victorian Christmas ghost stories has been Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" will be surprised and delighted at the astonishing variety of ghostly tales in this volume. "In the sickly light I saw it lying on the bed, with its grim head on the pillow. A man? Or a corpse arisen from its unhallowed grave, and awaiting the demon that animated it?" - John Berwick Harwood, "Horror: A True Tale" "Suddenly I aroused with a start and as ghostly a thrill of horror as ever I remember to have felt in my life. Something--what, I knew not--seemed near, something nameless, but unutterably awful." - Ada Buisson, "The Ghost's Summons" "There was no longer any question what she was, or any thought of her being a living being. Upon a face which wore the fixed features of a corpse were imprinted the traces of the vilest and most hideous passions which had animated her while she lived." - Walter Scott, "The Tapestried Chamber"
292 pages, Paperback
First published November 22, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
November 6, 2023
Ghost Season!
A long time ago, Christmas used to be the season for the sharing of ghost stories. People would gather around the fireplace or wherever it was warmest and tell their stories.
These ghost stories are from the 19th century and none of them have the blood and gore of a lot of the modern ghost stories. These stories are mainly psychological.
Very subtle and full of suspense and very scary.
Four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A long time ago, Christmas used to be the season for the sharing of ghost stories. People would gather around the fireplace or wherever it was warmest and tell their stories.
These ghost stories are from the 19th century and none of them have the blood and gore of a lot of the modern ghost stories. These stories are mainly psychological.
Very subtle and full of suspense and very scary.
Four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
March 25, 2021
“Even in the stillness of that dead-cold weather, I had heard no sound of little battering hands upon the window-glass.”
I am once again reviewing a collection of Christmas ghost stories. Reading a festive ghost story each day is now a December tradition which I wish to carry on into future years!
These stories make me nostalgic for a Victorian Christmas - a weird nostalgia given that I myself have never celebrated a Victorian Christmas. There always seems to be snow, homes are full of joy and laughter with guests sharing ghost stories and going for long walks or ice-skating after their dinner. There’s no technology - and there just seems to be a real sense of family and community. I simply find these stories very homely.
Apart from the ghosts themselves, of course. These stories are never particularly scary, but some do send a chill down your spine, such as The Old Nurse’s Story by Elizabeth Gaskell. The imagery of a young girl silently screaming and banging on the windows from the outside begging the girl who lived inside to come out and play with her has stayed with me! As has the story Horror: A True Tale, which played on my fears of having a four poster bed with those curtains drawn around it while you sleep.
Another highlight was the Arthur Conan Doyle story The Captain of the Pole-Star, which strongly reminded me of The Terror by Dan Simmons. There’s something truly haunting about the silence of ice and frozen seas. I need more books and stories like this!!
I loved this collection, there were only a couple of stories that didn’t work for me, which is a great outcome for any anthology. Already looking forward to reading Volume 2 next year! 4 stars.
I am once again reviewing a collection of Christmas ghost stories. Reading a festive ghost story each day is now a December tradition which I wish to carry on into future years!
These stories make me nostalgic for a Victorian Christmas - a weird nostalgia given that I myself have never celebrated a Victorian Christmas. There always seems to be snow, homes are full of joy and laughter with guests sharing ghost stories and going for long walks or ice-skating after their dinner. There’s no technology - and there just seems to be a real sense of family and community. I simply find these stories very homely.
Apart from the ghosts themselves, of course. These stories are never particularly scary, but some do send a chill down your spine, such as The Old Nurse’s Story by Elizabeth Gaskell. The imagery of a young girl silently screaming and banging on the windows from the outside begging the girl who lived inside to come out and play with her has stayed with me! As has the story Horror: A True Tale, which played on my fears of having a four poster bed with those curtains drawn around it while you sleep.
Another highlight was the Arthur Conan Doyle story The Captain of the Pole-Star, which strongly reminded me of The Terror by Dan Simmons. There’s something truly haunting about the silence of ice and frozen seas. I need more books and stories like this!!
I loved this collection, there were only a couple of stories that didn’t work for me, which is a great outcome for any anthology. Already looking forward to reading Volume 2 next year! 4 stars.
December 1, 2020
I am not a great lover of short stories, but, as this was a book club choice, I decided to give this a try. It consists of thirteen Victorian ghost stories, many of which appeared in Christmas periodicals of the time. Some of the authors I knew - Elizabeth Gaskell, Sir Walter Scott and Arthur Conan Doyle. Other stories were anonymous, or by lesser known authors. None were truly scary, but they were often interesting and dealt with issues of the day, such as women having accidents with fire; common when women wore wide skirts and houses were often lit by candles.
I would probably rate this 3.5 overall, but have rounded it to a 4, as it was an enjoyable collection and it is nice to think you are reading a story that was enjoyed by readers in Victorian times.
I would probably rate this 3.5 overall, but have rounded it to a 4, as it was an enjoyable collection and it is nice to think you are reading a story that was enjoyed by readers in Victorian times.
December 27, 2016
Bravo, Valancourt, you've outdone yourselves with this collection. Editor Tara Moore, author of Victorian Christmas in Print, should also be given major pats on the back for her outstanding work here. Each story begins with a brief introduction to the author, along with a brief note or two as to where his or her story first appeared in print. And for people like me who are afflicted with full-on geekiness, every now and then there's the added bonus of footnotes providing references for further study.
According to the editor's introduction,
"The season of Christmas coincides with the shortest days of the year, and for middle-class Victorians, a chance for families to reconnect in story-telling circles. Urban dwellers, disconnected from village legends, simply picked up a magazine specially made to lace children's dreams with terror. The bleak, shadow-filled walk from the story circle to one's dark bedroom presented an uncomfortably eerie space to reflect on the mental images conveyed by those grisly tales."
The 1820s and the 1830s saw the rise in popularity of the Christmas literary annual, and special periodicals began to appear, their publishers either printing "special Christmas numbers or simply tailoring their December and January numbers for Christmas reading, and that meant ghosts."
As to the thirteen (!) stories included here, while a few are listed as having been from "anonymous" authors, true-blue fans of the Victorian ghost story will definitely recognize the names of most of these writers:
1. "The Tapestried Chamber," by Sir Walter Scott
2. "The Old Nurse's Story," by Elizabeth Gaskell
3. "Horror: A True Tale," by John Berwood Harwick
4. "Bring Me a Light!" by Anonymous
5. "Old Hooker's Ghost," by Anonymous
6. "The Ghost's Summons," by Ada Buisson
7. "Jack Layford's Friend," by Anonymous
8. "How Peter Parley Laid a Ghost," by Anyonymous
9. "A Mysterious Visitor," by Ellen Wood
10. "The Haunted Rock," by W.W. Fenn
11. "The Lady's Walk," by Margaret Oliphant
12. "The Captain of the Pole-Star," by Arthur Conan Doyle
13. "The Doll's Ghost," by F. Marion Crawford
My advice: snuggle up with a cup of your favorite hot brew, wrap up in a cozy blanket, light a fire in the fireplace, and prepare to be transported out of this world and back through time. While it is a perfect book for Christmas reading, it's also ideal for any other time of the year. It is a lovely book, and most definitely now a treasured part of my own personal collection.
beyond recommended, especially to people who share my unquenchable ardor for Victorian ghost stories.
http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2016...
According to the editor's introduction,
"The season of Christmas coincides with the shortest days of the year, and for middle-class Victorians, a chance for families to reconnect in story-telling circles. Urban dwellers, disconnected from village legends, simply picked up a magazine specially made to lace children's dreams with terror. The bleak, shadow-filled walk from the story circle to one's dark bedroom presented an uncomfortably eerie space to reflect on the mental images conveyed by those grisly tales."
The 1820s and the 1830s saw the rise in popularity of the Christmas literary annual, and special periodicals began to appear, their publishers either printing "special Christmas numbers or simply tailoring their December and January numbers for Christmas reading, and that meant ghosts."
As to the thirteen (!) stories included here, while a few are listed as having been from "anonymous" authors, true-blue fans of the Victorian ghost story will definitely recognize the names of most of these writers:
1. "The Tapestried Chamber," by Sir Walter Scott
2. "The Old Nurse's Story," by Elizabeth Gaskell
3. "Horror: A True Tale," by John Berwood Harwick
4. "Bring Me a Light!" by Anonymous
5. "Old Hooker's Ghost," by Anonymous
6. "The Ghost's Summons," by Ada Buisson
7. "Jack Layford's Friend," by Anonymous
8. "How Peter Parley Laid a Ghost," by Anyonymous
9. "A Mysterious Visitor," by Ellen Wood
10. "The Haunted Rock," by W.W. Fenn
11. "The Lady's Walk," by Margaret Oliphant
12. "The Captain of the Pole-Star," by Arthur Conan Doyle
13. "The Doll's Ghost," by F. Marion Crawford
My advice: snuggle up with a cup of your favorite hot brew, wrap up in a cozy blanket, light a fire in the fireplace, and prepare to be transported out of this world and back through time. While it is a perfect book for Christmas reading, it's also ideal for any other time of the year. It is a lovely book, and most definitely now a treasured part of my own personal collection.
beyond recommended, especially to people who share my unquenchable ardor for Victorian ghost stories.
http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2016...
December 7, 2024
Now THAT is what an anthology should be. Review to come.
December 29, 2017
THE VALANCOURT BOOK OF VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES: Volume One, included 13 tales. Overall, I would say that I had previously read just over half of these before, and they were included here for a very good reason! These are the type of "read by the fireplace with the snow gusting outside" stories that were always favorites in my house. There were a couple I questioned (as they weren't truly "ghost stories" by any means), but overall the collection was full of some great choices.
This is definitely a collection for the physical shelves! Now, on to Volume Two.....
Highly recommended!
This is definitely a collection for the physical shelves! Now, on to Volume Two.....
Highly recommended!
December 8, 2020
I read the first four stories in The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories. They were a very mixed bag. The opening tale, The Tapestried Chamber by Sir Walter Scott (1828) is an underwhelming start. Not only is the story clunky and dull, but is inordinately stretched over pages due to lots of extraneous detail.
The second story by Elizabeth Gaskell is a big improvement. The Old Nurse's Story (1852) is very absorbing. The tension gradually builds up and the reveal, when it comes, is worth the wait. The remote location, the big empty house, the cold bleak weather, the mystery of Miss Maud, and the disturbing organ music, all contribute to a satisfying and fitting ghost story.
The third and fourth tales were interesting but both were frustrating too. Far too much detail which undermined their impact.
Having been reliably informed that Elizabeth Gaskell's story was the best in the book I decided to abandon the collection.
It's fine but I was expecting something a lot better.
3/5
The second story by Elizabeth Gaskell is a big improvement. The Old Nurse's Story (1852) is very absorbing. The tension gradually builds up and the reveal, when it comes, is worth the wait. The remote location, the big empty house, the cold bleak weather, the mystery of Miss Maud, and the disturbing organ music, all contribute to a satisfying and fitting ghost story.
The third and fourth tales were interesting but both were frustrating too. Far too much detail which undermined their impact.
Having been reliably informed that Elizabeth Gaskell's story was the best in the book I decided to abandon the collection.
It's fine but I was expecting something a lot better.
3/5
January 11, 2017
A wonderful little collection, handsomely produced and mounted (which is kind of a given when it comes to a Valancourt title). The stories themselves, rather inevitably, are something of a mixed bag, but for me that's kind of the point: many of these were commercial confections appearing in Victorian-era periodicals and magazines, intended to provide a fleeting thrill and then discarded and forgotten. But even the least successful, I found, contained a wonderful sense of atmosphere, eerie and beguiling in ways that compensated for even the most insufficient resolutions (which was unfortunately common). Tara Moore's introduction nicely explains how the ghost story, now probably considered more the domain of Halloween, is a deeply rooted Yuletide tradition; now I might very well make spectral tales part of my own annual holiday festivities.
December 27, 2025
THE VALANCOURT BOOK OF VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES was a delightful early Holiday present to myself. Of the 13 stories included in the collection, I thoroughly enjoyed 11 of them. (That's around 85%!) The other two weren't poor by any means. In one, there was "possibly" a ghost present, and the other's intent was to debunk the entire idea of ghosts. Yet, even those also put me into a Victorian frame of mind while reading, so I can't be too harsh.
Obviously, I had been familiar with A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens from a very young age. But, it was decades later when I began to fully understand the popularity overall of Christmas ghost stories in the UK. (After all, weren't ghost stories meant to be told during Halloween?) Yet, as a film collector, I had been seeing DVDs available of ghostly offerings for the Christmas season from the BBC. And doing a little more research (especially from friends residing in the UK), I soon realized that this had been a long-standing tradition.
The "Introduction" explains why Christmas ghost stories have been so popular. Americans think of telling ghost stories around the campfire. For Victorians, Christmas was a time when families often gathered around a parlor fire and entertained each other with tales. The ghostly ones were often the most favored. If that wasn't enough, popular magazines found that circulation increased when they included ghost stories in their end-of-the-year offerings.
Because I thought so highly of these stories, I won't highlight the ones that I appreciated the most. Unlike many of today's ghost stories that seek to throw the audience into a genuine panic or sense of hopelessness, the Victorian tales were effective because they weren't nearly as graphic and there was often a "life lesson" hidden inside. Instead, they usually left me with a delightful feeling of uneasiness or a thrill of being "slightly chilled" by supernatural possibilities. A couple of the tales have haunted me after the reading. (I thought that the last one was especially eerie.) However, none of them had me scurrying to look under the bed before retiring for the night.
The book reinforced a long-thought intuition that I have unusually strong Victorian leanings. Granted, that may put me out of step with what is popular today, but it can also lead to particularly cozy nights. I see that there are several books from Valancourt in this series. I'm sure that I will continue with another one next year.
Obviously, I had been familiar with A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens from a very young age. But, it was decades later when I began to fully understand the popularity overall of Christmas ghost stories in the UK. (After all, weren't ghost stories meant to be told during Halloween?) Yet, as a film collector, I had been seeing DVDs available of ghostly offerings for the Christmas season from the BBC. And doing a little more research (especially from friends residing in the UK), I soon realized that this had been a long-standing tradition.
The "Introduction" explains why Christmas ghost stories have been so popular. Americans think of telling ghost stories around the campfire. For Victorians, Christmas was a time when families often gathered around a parlor fire and entertained each other with tales. The ghostly ones were often the most favored. If that wasn't enough, popular magazines found that circulation increased when they included ghost stories in their end-of-the-year offerings.
Because I thought so highly of these stories, I won't highlight the ones that I appreciated the most. Unlike many of today's ghost stories that seek to throw the audience into a genuine panic or sense of hopelessness, the Victorian tales were effective because they weren't nearly as graphic and there was often a "life lesson" hidden inside. Instead, they usually left me with a delightful feeling of uneasiness or a thrill of being "slightly chilled" by supernatural possibilities. A couple of the tales have haunted me after the reading. (I thought that the last one was especially eerie.) However, none of them had me scurrying to look under the bed before retiring for the night.
The book reinforced a long-thought intuition that I have unusually strong Victorian leanings. Granted, that may put me out of step with what is popular today, but it can also lead to particularly cozy nights. I see that there are several books from Valancourt in this series. I'm sure that I will continue with another one next year.
maybe
October 7, 2021Victorian-era Christmas ghost stories! What better way to celebrate the season?
The Tapestried Chamber by Walter Scott https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1668/... - 3/5 - heavy thoughts tonight, and they aren't of Snow White
The Old Nurse's Story, by Elizabeth Gaskell http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0605... -
Horror: A True Tale, by John Berwick Harwood http://gaslight-lit.s3-website.ca-cen... -
Bring Me a Light, by Jane Margaret Hooper https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Once_a... -
Old Hooker's Ghost, by Anon. : https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3A... -
"The Ghost's Summons," by Ada Buisson https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?i... -
"Jack Layford's Friend," by LN https://books.google.com/books?id=TNk... -
"How Peter Parley Laid a Ghost: A Story of Owl's Abbey," anon https://books.google.com/books?id=HQg... -
"A Mysterious Visitor," by Ellen Wood https://archive.org/stream/adamgraing... -
"The Haunted Rock: A Legend of Port Guerron Cove ," by WW Fenn (not available online)
"The Lady's Walk," by Margaret Oliphant https://archive.org/details/TheLadysWalk -
"The Captain of the Polestar," by Arthur Conan Doyle http://www.gutenberg.org/files/294/29 -
"The Doll's Ghost," by F. Marian Crawford http://www.gutenberg.org/files/40386/ -
The Tapestried Chamber by Walter Scott https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1668/... - 3/5 - heavy thoughts tonight, and they aren't of Snow White
The Old Nurse's Story, by Elizabeth Gaskell http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0605... -
Horror: A True Tale, by John Berwick Harwood http://gaslight-lit.s3-website.ca-cen... -
Bring Me a Light, by Jane Margaret Hooper https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Once_a... -
Old Hooker's Ghost, by Anon. : https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3A... -
"The Ghost's Summons," by Ada Buisson https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?i... -
"Jack Layford's Friend," by LN https://books.google.com/books?id=TNk... -
"How Peter Parley Laid a Ghost: A Story of Owl's Abbey," anon https://books.google.com/books?id=HQg... -
"A Mysterious Visitor," by Ellen Wood https://archive.org/stream/adamgraing... -
"The Haunted Rock: A Legend of Port Guerron Cove ," by WW Fenn (not available online)
"The Lady's Walk," by Margaret Oliphant https://archive.org/details/TheLadysWalk -
"The Captain of the Polestar," by Arthur Conan Doyle http://www.gutenberg.org/files/294/29 -
"The Doll's Ghost," by F. Marian Crawford http://www.gutenberg.org/files/40386/ -
December 20, 2020
This was my final short story collection of the year and it was such a perfect way to start off holiday season and, as expected, I’m now itching to buy the next three volumes in the Valancourt Victorian Christmas ghost story collection. Aside from a few stories that were a miss for me (like any short story collection/ anthology), I definitely had my favorites:
• The Tapestried Chamber- Walter Scott
• The Old Nurse’s Story- Elizabeth Gaskell
• Bring Me A Light- Anonymous
• A Mysterious Visitor- Ellen Wood
If you venture to get your hands on this collection, my recommendation is to enjoy it one day at a time (preferably evenings) with a glass of wine or a hot cup of tea. Light a candle, curl up in bed or on the couch and really settle in.
• The Tapestried Chamber- Walter Scott
• The Old Nurse’s Story- Elizabeth Gaskell
• Bring Me A Light- Anonymous
• A Mysterious Visitor- Ellen Wood
If you venture to get your hands on this collection, my recommendation is to enjoy it one day at a time (preferably evenings) with a glass of wine or a hot cup of tea. Light a candle, curl up in bed or on the couch and really settle in.
dnf
December 18, 2020Finishing this up next year!
December 28, 2017
Modern day ghost stories often evoke terror and feature multiple plot twists. However, for my money give me the classics from the Victorian era such as the collection found in "The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories". The thirteen stories are all page turners you will not soon forget.
This collection offers stories originally published in Christmas Annuals during the mid-1800s. While I enjoyed them all I did have my favorites just as a few favorite authors crept into the volume. Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Captain of the Pole Star" and F. Marion Crawford's "The Doll's Ghost" were my favorites but I would reread any of these stories.
We often talk about modern-day movies relying too much on the blood, gore and special effects. Likewise, I believe many modern ghost stories rely more heavily on the descriptive effects than on the plot and plot twists.
The introduction by Tara Moore was an added bonus. She explains the importance and purpose of ghost stories, especially during long winter nights when they were shared by firelight. I was surprised to learn the women played a key role in developing, presenting, and spreading ghost stories. I think we owe these ladies a debt of gratitude!
This collection offers stories originally published in Christmas Annuals during the mid-1800s. While I enjoyed them all I did have my favorites just as a few favorite authors crept into the volume. Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Captain of the Pole Star" and F. Marion Crawford's "The Doll's Ghost" were my favorites but I would reread any of these stories.
We often talk about modern-day movies relying too much on the blood, gore and special effects. Likewise, I believe many modern ghost stories rely more heavily on the descriptive effects than on the plot and plot twists.
The introduction by Tara Moore was an added bonus. She explains the importance and purpose of ghost stories, especially during long winter nights when they were shared by firelight. I was surprised to learn the women played a key role in developing, presenting, and spreading ghost stories. I think we owe these ladies a debt of gratitude!
December 11, 2017
I found this to be a rather uneven collection. I enjoyed some of the stories, while others I found tedious. Plus, there were a couple that I would not even consider ghost stories, as they had rational explanations. The last three stories in the book: "The Lady's Walk" by Margaret Oliphant, "The Captain of the 'Pole-Star'" by Arthur Conan Doyle, and "The Doll's Ghost" by F. Marion Crawford, were all quite good and worth the price of the book.
December 27, 2020
This book just is not for me. I used to really like Victorian writing, and I love ghost stories. I was sure this would be a hit. It seems I no longer have any tolerance for Victorian writing. Reading these stories felt like crawling over broken glass - slow and painful and probably unnecessary. My problem is not so much with the complicated sentence structure or deep vocabulary. It is with the intense unnecessary detail and redundancy. When a 20 page ghost story includes 10 pages about the ride up to the haunted house, it is hard for me to maintain interest.
It's probably me, and not the book.
It's probably me, and not the book.
December 16, 2024
Well, this is a very mixed anthology! Some good ones like ‘The Lady’s Walk’ and ‘The Doll’s Ghost’, but also several that did not work for me.
December 31, 2017
What a great anthology. Some of the stories were a tad dull but overall it was just what I wanted it to be. Gothic, sometimes silly and sometimes eerie, the ghost stories were just perfect. I can’t wait to read the second anthology next year. If you are a fan of ghost stories and gothic literature, definitely give this one a go. 3.5 overall.
December 22, 2020
"To capture the Victorian ghost story experience is to whisper by candlelight, to feel the tendrils of December's chill reaching from the darkness outside the hearth's glow."
3.5 stars. I expected stories that would be suitable for this time of year, perfect with a cup of cocoa, but there was mostly quite a bit of narrative that bogged down the atmosphere (the first story, Walter Scott's The Tapestried Chamber really set the tone in that regard). Despite the unevenness, I still think this is worth checking out. Maybe compare it with British Library's fantastic Spirits of the Season and see which one you prefer? I did find a few that hiked up the overall rating, though:
The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell (1852): Women wrote a good amount of ghost stories, and the apparitions were often combined with social criticism. Gaskell's story is one of the best examples.
Horror: A True Tale by John Berwick Harwood (1861): Slightly too wordy, but the best scenes are very spooky. I would probably be outta there quicker than speed of light.
Old Hooker's Ghost by Anonymous (1865): Also very wordy, but I liked the light-hearted tone and the descriptions of Christmas and Twelfth Night festivities.
The Captain of the Pole-Star by Arthur Conan Doyle (1883): I've read this before, but here it really stands out. Set in the arctic ocean, it's beautiful, atmospheric, and eerie.
The Doll's Ghost by F. Marion Crawford (1896): Lovely final story that started spooky but ended up book-ending the collection with touching Christmas spirit.
December 29, 2019
Around the Christmas Holidays, I always like to read a book set during the season, offering information about the season, or something related. I remembered that the telling of Ghost stories was always part of the Christmas tradition in the 19th Century, so this year I picked up this volume of ghostly tales.
None of the stories were scary at all. Although hearing them told by an accomplished storyteller and surrounded by candle light or firelight with shadows in the room, might cause me to feel differently. They were all entertaining and many were published in the 19th Century periodicals that were popular then.
None of the stories were scary at all. Although hearing them told by an accomplished storyteller and surrounded by candle light or firelight with shadows in the room, might cause me to feel differently. They were all entertaining and many were published in the 19th Century periodicals that were popular then.
December 28, 2021
This is such a cool read. The stories aren’t scary but they read more like friends personal account of a spooky encounter, which makes every story feel a little more real and believable. It may not be for everyone because of the old language, but I found it to be a really entertaining book. Also the cover is really cool.
December 16, 2023
This was an enjoyable collection of “Christmas Ghost Stories.” These stories take place during the Victorian Era so it was quite wordy, using an “old English” format. Being a horror genre fan, I did not find these stories to be particularly creepy or scary, but an enjoyable read.
January 4, 2018
The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories
What are we to make of the ghost story? This is clearly not the place to answer such a complex question in its entirety, but I think such a book as this does at least offer a hint as to roots of this endlessly fascinating genre. We owe the popularity of the supernatural tale to the Victorians whose appetite for such works grew exponentially as the nineteenth century wore on, especially at Christmas. This fact alone has always led me to believe that, in part, the ghost story was a response to the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution and the resultant rise in mechanisation and the predominance of science. In contrast to detective fiction, which provided solutions to the most seemingly intractable problems, the ghost story posited an anti-modernist world which looked back to ancient beliefs, where the unexplained and the metaphysical defied the logic of the new order.
This historical context is precisely why an anthology like 'The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories' is of particular interest. I have to confess that five of the thirteen stories were known to me, amongst these Sir Walter Scott’s ‘The Tapestried Chamber’ (1828) is a seminal work. Not only is it one of the most chilling of all in the canon and an early example of a night-in-a-haunted-room tale, but it illustrates very well this intersection of reason and misrule. A battle-hardened, no nonsense, soldier is confronted by powers he cannot explain, let alone control. It is this tension between irreconcilable forces that generates so many ghost stories. The collection also includes Conan Doyle’s ‘The Captain of the Pole-Star’ and Elizabeth Gaskell’s ‘The Old Nurse’s Story’ both very familiar and fine examples of the form, but for me the real interest lay in the less well-known pieces. These were the stuff of the many nineteenth century journals such as 'Household Words' and 'All the Year Round' both edited by Dickens and they give an insight into what the everyday Victorian reader enjoyed. I particularly enjoyed ‘Horror: A True Tale’ by John Berwick Harwood, a name I hadn’t come across before, which, despite its melodramatic (and erroneous!) title, is a memorable study of terror, albeit in somewhat verbose Victorian prose.
The volume also contains an excellent introduction to reading a Victorian ghost story by the editor Tara Moore. Overall, an enjoyable read and an interesting historic memento.
What are we to make of the ghost story? This is clearly not the place to answer such a complex question in its entirety, but I think such a book as this does at least offer a hint as to roots of this endlessly fascinating genre. We owe the popularity of the supernatural tale to the Victorians whose appetite for such works grew exponentially as the nineteenth century wore on, especially at Christmas. This fact alone has always led me to believe that, in part, the ghost story was a response to the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution and the resultant rise in mechanisation and the predominance of science. In contrast to detective fiction, which provided solutions to the most seemingly intractable problems, the ghost story posited an anti-modernist world which looked back to ancient beliefs, where the unexplained and the metaphysical defied the logic of the new order.
This historical context is precisely why an anthology like 'The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories' is of particular interest. I have to confess that five of the thirteen stories were known to me, amongst these Sir Walter Scott’s ‘The Tapestried Chamber’ (1828) is a seminal work. Not only is it one of the most chilling of all in the canon and an early example of a night-in-a-haunted-room tale, but it illustrates very well this intersection of reason and misrule. A battle-hardened, no nonsense, soldier is confronted by powers he cannot explain, let alone control. It is this tension between irreconcilable forces that generates so many ghost stories. The collection also includes Conan Doyle’s ‘The Captain of the Pole-Star’ and Elizabeth Gaskell’s ‘The Old Nurse’s Story’ both very familiar and fine examples of the form, but for me the real interest lay in the less well-known pieces. These were the stuff of the many nineteenth century journals such as 'Household Words' and 'All the Year Round' both edited by Dickens and they give an insight into what the everyday Victorian reader enjoyed. I particularly enjoyed ‘Horror: A True Tale’ by John Berwick Harwood, a name I hadn’t come across before, which, despite its melodramatic (and erroneous!) title, is a memorable study of terror, albeit in somewhat verbose Victorian prose.
The volume also contains an excellent introduction to reading a Victorian ghost story by the editor Tara Moore. Overall, an enjoyable read and an interesting historic memento.
January 1, 2020
People always forget that the real spookiest time of the year are the days between Christmas and New Years. It is the darkest time of the year and therefore PERFECT for scary stories. This collection is full of delightfully horrifying wintery tales. You can read this anytime it's snowing--it's not just limited to the holidays. Would whole-heartedly recommend to anyone looking to get spooked out during this snowy season.
June 10, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
Overall this was a decent collection of ghost stories that were told around Christmas in Victorian times. I love that tradition. I found a few of these stories spooky, but I was hoping they would be scarier. I'll break down each story and then also share the notes I left for myself after I finished each one. I'll spoiler the notes I made since sometimes they give away the end.
1. "The Tapestried Chamber," by Sir Walter Scott
I did find this one pretty spooky and I was all in on the guy that wanted out of that creepy-ass room he had to spend the night in. I would nope right out of there too.
Note:
2. "The Old Nurse's Story," by Elizabeth Gaskell
This might have been my favorite one. I found it really creepy. Loved all the family secrets coming out through ghosts.
Note:
3. "Horror: A True Tale," by John Berwood Harwick
The true horror is when women get old. No one wants them.
Note:
4. "Bring Me a Light!" by Anonymous
This one I wanted to be scarier but I was mostly laughing at it.
Note:
5. "Old Hooker's Ghost," by Anonymous
Another one that I thought had potential but didn't do much for me.
Note:
6. "The Ghost's Summons," by Ada Buisson
This one was a little too confusing for me to have much of an opinion. I was left with a lot of questions about what was really going on.
Note:
7. "Jack Layford's Friend," by Anonymous
The story behind this was interesting but the ending left me wanting more.
Note:
8. "How Peter Parley Laid a Ghost," by Anonymous
Kinda similar to the last story, but I liked this one better. It wasn't scary to me but I did chuckle at the shenanigans.
Note:
9. "A Mysterious Visitor," by Ellen Wood
I did really like this one, especially with the colonization twist.
Note:
10. "The Haunted Rock," by W.W. Fenn
Good ghost story but didn't appreciate making some locals looking like superstitious idiots. I found this different than "How Peter Parley Laid a Ghost" which also has locals being very suspicious, but I really didn't like that it took an American to show up and debunk what was going on in this story.
Note:
11. "The Lady's Walk," by Margaret Oliphant
More of a family drama/relationship story than a ghost one. I liked the way it started, but was very confused by the ending of it. It is most likely because I'm not understanding certain customs of the time.
Note:
12. "The Captain of the Pole-Star," by Arthur Conan Doyle
Some good spooky parts with a crazed ship captain taking his crew to super dangerous locations when they are running low on food.
Note:
13. "The Doll's Ghost," by F. Marion Crawford
I thought for sure this one would be scary based on the title of the short story, but it was only slightly creepy.
Note:
Overall this was a decent collection of ghost stories that were told around Christmas in Victorian times. I love that tradition. I found a few of these stories spooky, but I was hoping they would be scarier. I'll break down each story and then also share the notes I left for myself after I finished each one. I'll spoiler the notes I made since sometimes they give away the end.
1. "The Tapestried Chamber," by Sir Walter Scott
I did find this one pretty spooky and I was all in on the guy that wanted out of that creepy-ass room he had to spend the night in. I would nope right out of there too.
Note:
2. "The Old Nurse's Story," by Elizabeth Gaskell
This might have been my favorite one. I found it really creepy. Loved all the family secrets coming out through ghosts.
Note:
3. "Horror: A True Tale," by John Berwood Harwick
The true horror is when women get old. No one wants them.
Note:
4. "Bring Me a Light!" by Anonymous
This one I wanted to be scarier but I was mostly laughing at it.
Note:
5. "Old Hooker's Ghost," by Anonymous
Another one that I thought had potential but didn't do much for me.
Note:
6. "The Ghost's Summons," by Ada Buisson
This one was a little too confusing for me to have much of an opinion. I was left with a lot of questions about what was really going on.
Note:
7. "Jack Layford's Friend," by Anonymous
The story behind this was interesting but the ending left me wanting more.
Note:
8. "How Peter Parley Laid a Ghost," by Anonymous
Kinda similar to the last story, but I liked this one better. It wasn't scary to me but I did chuckle at the shenanigans.
Note:
9. "A Mysterious Visitor," by Ellen Wood
I did really like this one, especially with the colonization twist.
Note:
10. "The Haunted Rock," by W.W. Fenn
Good ghost story but didn't appreciate making some locals looking like superstitious idiots. I found this different than "How Peter Parley Laid a Ghost" which also has locals being very suspicious, but I really didn't like that it took an American to show up and debunk what was going on in this story.
Note:
11. "The Lady's Walk," by Margaret Oliphant
More of a family drama/relationship story than a ghost one. I liked the way it started, but was very confused by the ending of it. It is most likely because I'm not understanding certain customs of the time.
Note:
12. "The Captain of the Pole-Star," by Arthur Conan Doyle
Some good spooky parts with a crazed ship captain taking his crew to super dangerous locations when they are running low on food.
Note:
13. "The Doll's Ghost," by F. Marion Crawford
I thought for sure this one would be scary based on the title of the short story, but it was only slightly creepy.
Note:
December 21, 2020
Did you know that in the 1800s Christmas was a time for ghost stories?
It was actually tradition for publishers of newspapers, literary annuals, and magazines to print ghost stories during the Christmas season for families to enjoy. (I would have fit right in)
This four book collection has compiled various Christmas tales that were created during the 1800s and printed new for families to enjoy in the present. And look at those covers 😍 I know these books will entertain me now and for many holiday seasons to come.
Most of the tales are short enough to breeze through a few each night. Some of the stories that I read and stood out for me include The Old Nurse’s Story (Book 1), The Ghost of the Treasure Chamber (Book 2) The Haunter Manor (Book 3) and
According to the intro of Volume 1: “To capture the Victorian ghost story experience is to whisper it by candlelight, to feel the tendrils of December’s chill reaching from the darkness outside the hearths glow.”
So, grab a good drink, get cozy, and dip your toes into some ghost stories.
Tis the season. 👻🎄✨
🌙 FUN FACT: According to this collection, “scholars have estimated that perhaps between fifty and seventy percent of all ghost fiction from the nineteenth century was written by women.”
It was actually tradition for publishers of newspapers, literary annuals, and magazines to print ghost stories during the Christmas season for families to enjoy. (I would have fit right in)
This four book collection has compiled various Christmas tales that were created during the 1800s and printed new for families to enjoy in the present. And look at those covers 😍 I know these books will entertain me now and for many holiday seasons to come.
Most of the tales are short enough to breeze through a few each night. Some of the stories that I read and stood out for me include The Old Nurse’s Story (Book 1), The Ghost of the Treasure Chamber (Book 2) The Haunter Manor (Book 3) and
According to the intro of Volume 1: “To capture the Victorian ghost story experience is to whisper it by candlelight, to feel the tendrils of December’s chill reaching from the darkness outside the hearths glow.”
So, grab a good drink, get cozy, and dip your toes into some ghost stories.
Tis the season. 👻🎄✨
🌙 FUN FACT: According to this collection, “scholars have estimated that perhaps between fifty and seventy percent of all ghost fiction from the nineteenth century was written by women.”
January 22, 2020
I am spoiled, I guess, by M. R. James. Ok, I've only read the first three of thirteen stories in this collection of Victorian Ghost Stories, so I won't be helpful or representative for you, dear reader, but for me, I have seen enough. Much more interesting as sociological history than as spooky stories that would make a modern reader's spine tingle. Which I would like to point out that M. R. James, writing in the early 1900's, perfectly capable of.
But he was a Cambridge scholar, though, wasn't he?
I'll try again next Christmas :)
But he was a Cambridge scholar, though, wasn't he?
I'll try again next Christmas :)
January 4, 2022
Lots of good, creepy, buttoned down Victorian ghoulies. I love that Victorian Christmas horror is an actual genera. It makes sense. Travel was difficult then. Folks would gather in dark, lamp lit halls and talk about relatives who have passed through the veil. As you'd expect for this time, lots of heteronormative romance based pieces featuring weak or wasting women who were tragically beautiful. The Old Nurse's Story and Bring Me a Light did a nice job of bucking that trend with some sinister twists. I also enjoyed The Polestar and The Doll's Ghost. Really, winter is early spooky season (Halloween), then late spooky season (Christmas). The later is more of the former, but covered with glitter. I enjoy the spooky, festive vibes that these Christmas Horror anthologies evoke. Pour a glass of scotch, pull up a cat, and enjoy the holidays on ice.
January 15, 2022
Quite a departure from Dickens' ultimately heartwarming Christmas ghost story - the selections in this volume reveal the dark underbelly of Victorian culture as well as this period's obsession with different types of ghosts (snow maiden! burned-alive daughter-in-law! porcelain doll! local scammer! local escaped lunatic!) and the different techniques for testing the spiritual world through emerging scientific methods. Tara Moore's introductions for each story provide helpful historical context and overall background on the Victorian Christmas ghost story as a literary trend.
January 2, 2020
A well-curated collection of stories that gives readers a good set of examples of the Victorian Christmas ghost story genre. Some are by renowned authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle and F. Marion Crawford but many are by that immortal and overworked author, Anonymous. Not all have actual hauntings and not all are that entertaining but from an educational standpoint, this collection offers great insight into the Victorian mind.
December 13, 2023
3.5 Stars
These were all very interesting examples of Victorian Ghost Stories though the stories themselves didn't give me any Christmas vibes. This is more of a case of Victorian Ghost stories that were published around Christmas in magazines or annuals. Still there were some great notables, especially 'The Old Nurse's Story' by Elizabeth Gaskell, 'Old Hooker's Ghost' by Anonymous, and 'The Lady's Walk' by Margaret Oliphant.
These were all very interesting examples of Victorian Ghost Stories though the stories themselves didn't give me any Christmas vibes. This is more of a case of Victorian Ghost stories that were published around Christmas in magazines or annuals. Still there were some great notables, especially 'The Old Nurse's Story' by Elizabeth Gaskell, 'Old Hooker's Ghost' by Anonymous, and 'The Lady's Walk' by Margaret Oliphant.
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