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The Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories #20
The Twentieth Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories
9 • Introduction (The Twentieth Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories) • essay by R. Chetwynd-Hayes
13 • Aunt Hester • (1975) • shortstory by Brian Lumley
31 • Skin Deep • shortfiction by Catherine Gleason and Rita Morris [as by Roger Malisson ]
41 • How Fear Departed from the Long Gallery • (1911) • shortstory by E. F. Benson
56 • Carrie Liddicoat's Cottage • shortfiction by Meg Buxton
65 • The Diary of William Carpenter • (1943) • shortfiction by John Atkins
79 • The Roads of Donnington • shortstory by Rick Kennett
88 • The Running Tide • (1931) • shortfiction by A. M. Burrage [as by Ex-Private X ]
101 • A Lady in the Night • shortfiction by Dorothy K. Haynes
108 • The Villa Désirée • (1921) • shortstory by May Sinclair
120 • Graveyard Lodge • shortfiction by Heather Vineham
132 • Ordeal by Fire • shortfiction by Gladys Law
139 • Our Lady of the Shadows • shortfiction by Tony Richards
13 • Aunt Hester • (1975) • shortstory by Brian Lumley
31 • Skin Deep • shortfiction by Catherine Gleason and Rita Morris [as by Roger Malisson ]
41 • How Fear Departed from the Long Gallery • (1911) • shortstory by E. F. Benson
56 • Carrie Liddicoat's Cottage • shortfiction by Meg Buxton
65 • The Diary of William Carpenter • (1943) • shortfiction by John Atkins
79 • The Roads of Donnington • shortstory by Rick Kennett
88 • The Running Tide • (1931) • shortfiction by A. M. Burrage [as by Ex-Private X ]
101 • A Lady in the Night • shortfiction by Dorothy K. Haynes
108 • The Villa Désirée • (1921) • shortstory by May Sinclair
120 • Graveyard Lodge • shortfiction by Heather Vineham
132 • Ordeal by Fire • shortfiction by Gladys Law
139 • Our Lady of the Shadows • shortfiction by Tony Richards
- GenresHorror
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
52 people want to read
About the author
R. Chetwynd-Hayes
139 books58 followersRonald Henry Glynn Chetwynd-Hayes aka Angus Campbell.
Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes was an author, best known for his ghost stories. His first published work was the science fiction novel The Man From The Bomb in 1959. He went on to publish many collections and ten other novels including The Grange, The Haunted Grange, And Love Survived and The Curse of the Snake God. He also edited over 20 anthologies. Several of his short works were adapted into anthology style movies in the United Kingdom, including The Monster Club and From Beyond the Grave. Chetwynd-Hayes' book The Monster Club contains references to a film-maker called Vinke Rocnnor, an anagram of Kevin Connor, the director of From Beyond the Grave.
He won the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement for 1988, and the British Fantasy Society Special Award in 1989.
Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes was an author, best known for his ghost stories. His first published work was the science fiction novel The Man From The Bomb in 1959. He went on to publish many collections and ten other novels including The Grange, The Haunted Grange, And Love Survived and The Curse of the Snake God. He also edited over 20 anthologies. Several of his short works were adapted into anthology style movies in the United Kingdom, including The Monster Club and From Beyond the Grave. Chetwynd-Hayes' book The Monster Club contains references to a film-maker called Vinke Rocnnor, an anagram of Kevin Connor, the director of From Beyond the Grave.
He won the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement for 1988, and the British Fantasy Society Special Award in 1989.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 1, 2021
The final volume in the ‘Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories’ ends the series on a high. Barring one (‘How Fear Departed from the Long Gallery,’ ironically by one of my favourites of the genre, E.F. Benson) all are of interest.
Of the fourteen, my favourites would be:-
‘Skin Deep’ by Roger Malisson. A man is excited that he is able to see the spectre of his recently killed wife; but then she begins to change. Atmospheric, with clean and straightforward prose. Malisson is in fact a pseudonym for Catherine Gleason and Rita Morris
‘A Lady in the Night’ by Dorothy K. Haynes. Who is the mysterious spindly prostitute that is eyed by a pregnant woman every night? Is she real? Or is she drug induced? A beautifully written story by this very consistent writer. The feel of the piece and the descriptions are typical Haynes.
‘The Rip Current’ by Daphne Froome. Love between a surfer and body-boarder. But of course all is not straightforward, for this is a ghost story collection. I don’t know a great deal about Daphne Froome, but it’s quite remarkable looking back on my notes how someone whose contributions to this series I found so poor in volumes 13, 15 and 17, should improve so much through volumes 18, 19 and 20. This has the very different setting of taking place on a beach. Characters are well drawn, and the story builds nicely. Sadly Froome died in 1990, only six years after this book was first published.
‘My Very Best Friend’ by R. Chetwynd-Hayes. A boy, who becomes a young man, is followed through life by a beautiful, but jealous spectre. Another fine story by Chetwynd-Hayes, which has much of his humour, particularly when Madame Orloff (‘Clairvoyant Extraordinary’) makes a re-appearance. She was in the writer’s previous ‘The Elemental,’ which was one of the stories filmed for the 1974 Amicus film ‘From Beyond the Grave’ with Ian Carmichael.
Yes, it’s in the nature of such collections to be up and down in quality; but overall I’ve enjoyed my readings, often going to them after reading a sequence of disappointing novels, for some form of nostalgic comfort. The covers, in all the various editions that I’ve seen, are garishly eye-catching and of the period (they were published annually between 1964 and 1984). They all have introductions by their editors. The great Robert Aickman edited the first eight volumes. If this was intended to be a series from the start, it was rather foolish of him to write in the introduction to the first volume, ‘There are only about thirty or forty-first class ghost stories in the whole of western literature.’ The stylistically different, but also great, R. Chetwynd-Hayes then took over. Through his tenure he mixed old and new. Which is great. Favourite old names can be the initial attraction, but along the way you make new discoveries. The new names that spring to mind are Terry Tapp, Tony Richards, Roger Malisson and Heather Vineham.
Over the last few years I’ve read all seventeen volumes of ‘The Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories,’ and now all twenty volumes of ‘The Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories.’ Next up, all thirty volumes of ‘The Pan Book of Horror Stories’ (1959-1989).
The adventure continues…
Of the fourteen, my favourites would be:-
‘Skin Deep’ by Roger Malisson. A man is excited that he is able to see the spectre of his recently killed wife; but then she begins to change. Atmospheric, with clean and straightforward prose. Malisson is in fact a pseudonym for Catherine Gleason and Rita Morris
‘A Lady in the Night’ by Dorothy K. Haynes. Who is the mysterious spindly prostitute that is eyed by a pregnant woman every night? Is she real? Or is she drug induced? A beautifully written story by this very consistent writer. The feel of the piece and the descriptions are typical Haynes.
‘The Rip Current’ by Daphne Froome. Love between a surfer and body-boarder. But of course all is not straightforward, for this is a ghost story collection. I don’t know a great deal about Daphne Froome, but it’s quite remarkable looking back on my notes how someone whose contributions to this series I found so poor in volumes 13, 15 and 17, should improve so much through volumes 18, 19 and 20. This has the very different setting of taking place on a beach. Characters are well drawn, and the story builds nicely. Sadly Froome died in 1990, only six years after this book was first published.
‘My Very Best Friend’ by R. Chetwynd-Hayes. A boy, who becomes a young man, is followed through life by a beautiful, but jealous spectre. Another fine story by Chetwynd-Hayes, which has much of his humour, particularly when Madame Orloff (‘Clairvoyant Extraordinary’) makes a re-appearance. She was in the writer’s previous ‘The Elemental,’ which was one of the stories filmed for the 1974 Amicus film ‘From Beyond the Grave’ with Ian Carmichael.
Yes, it’s in the nature of such collections to be up and down in quality; but overall I’ve enjoyed my readings, often going to them after reading a sequence of disappointing novels, for some form of nostalgic comfort. The covers, in all the various editions that I’ve seen, are garishly eye-catching and of the period (they were published annually between 1964 and 1984). They all have introductions by their editors. The great Robert Aickman edited the first eight volumes. If this was intended to be a series from the start, it was rather foolish of him to write in the introduction to the first volume, ‘There are only about thirty or forty-first class ghost stories in the whole of western literature.’ The stylistically different, but also great, R. Chetwynd-Hayes then took over. Through his tenure he mixed old and new. Which is great. Favourite old names can be the initial attraction, but along the way you make new discoveries. The new names that spring to mind are Terry Tapp, Tony Richards, Roger Malisson and Heather Vineham.
Over the last few years I’ve read all seventeen volumes of ‘The Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories,’ and now all twenty volumes of ‘The Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories.’ Next up, all thirty volumes of ‘The Pan Book of Horror Stories’ (1959-1989).
The adventure continues…
January 19, 2020
Throughout the two decades from 1964 to 1984, Fontana published a remarkable skein of ghost story collections, piloted by R. Aikman and later by R. Chetwynd-Hayes, no mean supernatural authors themselves. Some of the paperbacks in this series, which winds its way up to the "20th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories" are now collectors' items and worth over a hundred dollars apiece.
For the last book in the series, R. Chetwynd-Hayes has assembled a worthy anthology of ghost stories that are both chilling and relatively unknown. Even the humorous stories in this collection carry a supernatural bite, including the editor's "My Very Best Friend."
These are the tales in the 20th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories:
"Aunt Hester" by Brian Lumley--A young girl accidentally discovers that she can switch bodies with her twin brother, with unforeseen consequences. He finally walks her body out of a window to keep Hester from doing her swap. He moves to Australia to get away from her, but this isn't the end of their story.
"Skin Deep" by Roger Malisson--A beautiful but insecure young woman finds work at a modeling agency and ends up marrying one of the top male models. Their problems begin even before she dies.
"How Fear Departed from the Long Gallery" by E. F. Benson--"Church-Peveril is a house so beset and frequented by specters...that none of the family...takes psychical phenomena with any seriousness." Except for the ghosts of twin boys who suffered a horrible death when they were only two-years-old.
"Carrie Liddicoat's Cottage" by Meg Buxton--Strange folks keep showing up at the door of Moira Montague's renovated cottage. Are they somehow connected with the ghostly cat on her mantle and the ghostly chickens roosting on her furniture?
"The Diary of William Carpenter" by John Atkins--A man buys an old farmhouse for a song and discovers the diary of the previous resident. This story has a pretty standard plot, but there's a surprising twist at the end.
"The Roads of Donnington" by Rick Kennett--The ghost of Lawrence of Arabia reputedly rides his motorcycle through the country lanes of Dorset. This ghost does the same Down Under on the roads of Donnington, and one of his distant relatives sets out to discover why he still rides.
"The Running Tide" by Ex-Private X--A. M. Burrage (Ex-Private X) was a gifted writer of ghost stories, a couple of which are on my Top Fifty list, e.g. "The Sweeper" and "Smee." This story of a haunted inn is "creepy without being horrific and has some really first class characters" according to the editor. There is also a cool parrot.
"A Lady in the Night" by Dorothy K. Haynes--Right before she gives birth, a woman thinks she hears a streetwalker tapping up and down the road by her house. Her imagination (or is it the pain medication) supplies her with an image of the wayward woman, along with her supposedly gruesome fate.
"The Villa Désirée" by May Sinclair--A young woman who can't afford an expensive hotel room in Monte Carlo, decides to spend her vacation at her fiancé's villa nearby, even though her friends beg her not to spend the night there. If not top 50, then definitely top 100 material.
"Graveyard Lodge" by Heather Vineham--Ruth Ghavri and her Indian husband move into an old house that is almost surrounded by a neglected cemetery. Darshama has seen the house before in a dream and believes he has some unfinished karmic business there.
"Ordeal by Fire" by Gladys Law--A young couple finally locates an affordable bungalow near Oxford, after the husband is promoted and transferred. Unfortunately, the wife has several near-misses with accidentally-started fires.
"Our Lady of the Shadows" by Tony Richards--I don't think I ever want to go to Paris again after reading this story. An American college student gets lost in the dark, narrow streets of the West Bank and follows a cloaked figure down into a grubby basement apartment to ask for directions.
"The Rip Current" by Daphne Froome--A rather unusual story about a ghostly surfer. Don't read this story if you have any fear at all of going into the water. I found myself gasping for breath while reading it.
"My Very Best Friend" by R. Chetwynd-Hayes--A young boy acquires an over-protective guardian angel who leaves a trail of death amongst his relatives, schoolmates, and wife-to-be. I usually don't care for humorous ghost stories (yes, this one's humorous) but this is a good writer at his ironic best. Read his "The Liberated Tiger (1973)" for a really bad scare.
If you are as fond of supernatural fiction as I am, and you've read through all twenty of the Fontana ghost books, check out the web site at homepages.pavilion.co.uk/users/tartar... for additional reading suggestions.
For the last book in the series, R. Chetwynd-Hayes has assembled a worthy anthology of ghost stories that are both chilling and relatively unknown. Even the humorous stories in this collection carry a supernatural bite, including the editor's "My Very Best Friend."
These are the tales in the 20th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories:
"Aunt Hester" by Brian Lumley--A young girl accidentally discovers that she can switch bodies with her twin brother, with unforeseen consequences. He finally walks her body out of a window to keep Hester from doing her swap. He moves to Australia to get away from her, but this isn't the end of their story.
"Skin Deep" by Roger Malisson--A beautiful but insecure young woman finds work at a modeling agency and ends up marrying one of the top male models. Their problems begin even before she dies.
"How Fear Departed from the Long Gallery" by E. F. Benson--"Church-Peveril is a house so beset and frequented by specters...that none of the family...takes psychical phenomena with any seriousness." Except for the ghosts of twin boys who suffered a horrible death when they were only two-years-old.
"Carrie Liddicoat's Cottage" by Meg Buxton--Strange folks keep showing up at the door of Moira Montague's renovated cottage. Are they somehow connected with the ghostly cat on her mantle and the ghostly chickens roosting on her furniture?
"The Diary of William Carpenter" by John Atkins--A man buys an old farmhouse for a song and discovers the diary of the previous resident. This story has a pretty standard plot, but there's a surprising twist at the end.
"The Roads of Donnington" by Rick Kennett--The ghost of Lawrence of Arabia reputedly rides his motorcycle through the country lanes of Dorset. This ghost does the same Down Under on the roads of Donnington, and one of his distant relatives sets out to discover why he still rides.
"The Running Tide" by Ex-Private X--A. M. Burrage (Ex-Private X) was a gifted writer of ghost stories, a couple of which are on my Top Fifty list, e.g. "The Sweeper" and "Smee." This story of a haunted inn is "creepy without being horrific and has some really first class characters" according to the editor. There is also a cool parrot.
"A Lady in the Night" by Dorothy K. Haynes--Right before she gives birth, a woman thinks she hears a streetwalker tapping up and down the road by her house. Her imagination (or is it the pain medication) supplies her with an image of the wayward woman, along with her supposedly gruesome fate.
"The Villa Désirée" by May Sinclair--A young woman who can't afford an expensive hotel room in Monte Carlo, decides to spend her vacation at her fiancé's villa nearby, even though her friends beg her not to spend the night there. If not top 50, then definitely top 100 material.
"Graveyard Lodge" by Heather Vineham--Ruth Ghavri and her Indian husband move into an old house that is almost surrounded by a neglected cemetery. Darshama has seen the house before in a dream and believes he has some unfinished karmic business there.
"Ordeal by Fire" by Gladys Law--A young couple finally locates an affordable bungalow near Oxford, after the husband is promoted and transferred. Unfortunately, the wife has several near-misses with accidentally-started fires.
"Our Lady of the Shadows" by Tony Richards--I don't think I ever want to go to Paris again after reading this story. An American college student gets lost in the dark, narrow streets of the West Bank and follows a cloaked figure down into a grubby basement apartment to ask for directions.
"The Rip Current" by Daphne Froome--A rather unusual story about a ghostly surfer. Don't read this story if you have any fear at all of going into the water. I found myself gasping for breath while reading it.
"My Very Best Friend" by R. Chetwynd-Hayes--A young boy acquires an over-protective guardian angel who leaves a trail of death amongst his relatives, schoolmates, and wife-to-be. I usually don't care for humorous ghost stories (yes, this one's humorous) but this is a good writer at his ironic best. Read his "The Liberated Tiger (1973)" for a really bad scare.
If you are as fond of supernatural fiction as I am, and you've read through all twenty of the Fontana ghost books, check out the web site at homepages.pavilion.co.uk/users/tartar... for additional reading suggestions.
February 15, 2013
Brian Lumley - Aunt Hester
This was a very chill-inducing tale. The Necronomicon reference adds texture, and the theme of hopping bodies is one that HPL did touch upon, but Lumley's tale isn't essentially Lovecraftian in spirit.
Roger Malisson - Skin Deep
I liked this. The characters are convincing and the plight of the ghost is especially pathetic.
E. F. Benson - How Fear Departed From The Long Gallery
I am never completely happy with a ghost story that has so happy, even sentimental an ending but Benson brings in some wonderfully macabre effects, especially the dream of the woman who saw herself merging with the couch.
Meg Buxton - Carrie Liddicoat's Cottage
A gem of a tale in which time and identity are slowly distorted.
John Atkins - The Diary Of William Carpenter
A slow builder, and one of a few too many tales to revolve around a haunted building of some sort, but with a very effective twist ending.
Rick Kennett - The Roads Of Donnington
This time, a motorbike is the haunted object, but this far more than a gimmick tale.
'Ex-Private X' (A. M. Burrage) - The Running Tide
Again, someone acquires a building haunted by some past crime, but there's some great atmosphere here.
Dorothy K. Haynes - A Lady In The Night
This was incredibly good. The frantic thoughts of a pregnant woman entwine with her feverish partly clairvoyant perceptions of a foul deed in the night.
May Sinclair - The Villa Desiree
Yet another haunted house - but this time by a very unique creature, not really a ghost but a sort of manifestation of the evil of a living man.
Heather Vineham - Graveyard Lodge
A conventional tale of crime, rebirth and revenge.
Gladys Law - Ordeal By Fire
One too many haunted house tales, as I said, and this one may well be it.
Tony Richards - Our Lady Of The Shadows
A most macabre, even weird tale set in Paris. Some elements of the final revelation are close to cliche, but the story is most disturbing and skilfully told, beginning with the death of its protagonist but still holding interest.
Daphne Froome - The Rip Current
A haunted surf board? This one didn't do a lot for me.
R. Chetwynd-Hayes - My Very Best Friend
A superb blend of unease and black humour.
All in all, I enjoyed most of these stories, some a great deal. I believe this was the last in the series, and RCH quite prophetically wonders in his introduction if this book will be a collector's item some day.
This was a very chill-inducing tale. The Necronomicon reference adds texture, and the theme of hopping bodies is one that HPL did touch upon, but Lumley's tale isn't essentially Lovecraftian in spirit.
Roger Malisson - Skin Deep
I liked this. The characters are convincing and the plight of the ghost is especially pathetic.
E. F. Benson - How Fear Departed From The Long Gallery
I am never completely happy with a ghost story that has so happy, even sentimental an ending but Benson brings in some wonderfully macabre effects, especially the dream of the woman who saw herself merging with the couch.
Meg Buxton - Carrie Liddicoat's Cottage
A gem of a tale in which time and identity are slowly distorted.
John Atkins - The Diary Of William Carpenter
A slow builder, and one of a few too many tales to revolve around a haunted building of some sort, but with a very effective twist ending.
Rick Kennett - The Roads Of Donnington
This time, a motorbike is the haunted object, but this far more than a gimmick tale.
'Ex-Private X' (A. M. Burrage) - The Running Tide
Again, someone acquires a building haunted by some past crime, but there's some great atmosphere here.
Dorothy K. Haynes - A Lady In The Night
This was incredibly good. The frantic thoughts of a pregnant woman entwine with her feverish partly clairvoyant perceptions of a foul deed in the night.
May Sinclair - The Villa Desiree
Yet another haunted house - but this time by a very unique creature, not really a ghost but a sort of manifestation of the evil of a living man.
Heather Vineham - Graveyard Lodge
A conventional tale of crime, rebirth and revenge.
Gladys Law - Ordeal By Fire
One too many haunted house tales, as I said, and this one may well be it.
Tony Richards - Our Lady Of The Shadows
A most macabre, even weird tale set in Paris. Some elements of the final revelation are close to cliche, but the story is most disturbing and skilfully told, beginning with the death of its protagonist but still holding interest.
Daphne Froome - The Rip Current
A haunted surf board? This one didn't do a lot for me.
R. Chetwynd-Hayes - My Very Best Friend
A superb blend of unease and black humour.
All in all, I enjoyed most of these stories, some a great deal. I believe this was the last in the series, and RCH quite prophetically wonders in his introduction if this book will be a collector's item some day.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews