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Classic Ghost Stories
Classic Ghost Stories is a treasure trove of tales of ghosts and hauntings with 36 stories published in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The book's distinguished lineup of writers includes Edgar Allan Poe, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, M. R. James, William Hope Hodgson, Vernon Lee, Ambrose Bierce, Edith Wharton, H. G. Wells, and others. Its selections include some of the finest ghost stories ever published, among them the short novels "The Haunted Baronet" by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, "The Lost Stradivarius" by J. Meade Falkner, and "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James.
806 pages, Leather Bound
Published January 1, 2017
39 people are currently reading
379 people want to read
About the author
Algernon Blackwood
1,364 books1,182 followersAlgernon Henry Blackwood (1869–1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary critic S. T. Joshi stated, "His work is more consistently meritorious than any weird writer's except Dunsany's" and that his short story collection Incredible Adventures (1914) "may be the premier weird collection of this or any other century".
Blackwood was born in Shooter's Hill (today part of south-east London, but then part of northwest Kent) and educated at Wellington College. His father was a Post Office administrator who, according to Peter Penzoldt, "though not devoid of genuine good-heartedness, had appallingly narrow religious ideas." Blackwood had a varied career, farming in Canada, operating a hotel, as a newspaper reporter in New York City, and, throughout his adult life, an occasional essayist for various periodicals. In his late thirties, he moved back to England and started to write stories of the supernatural. He was very successful, writing at least ten original collections of short stories and eventually appearing on both radio and television to tell them. He also wrote fourteen novels, several children's books, and a number of plays, most of which were produced but not published. He was an avid lover of nature and the outdoors, and many of his stories reflect this.
H.P. Lovecraft wrote of Blackwood: "He is the one absolute and unquestioned master of weird atmosphere." His powerful story "The Willows," which effectively describes another dimension impinging upon our own, was reckoned by Lovecraft to be not only "foremost of all" Blackwood's tales but the best "weird tale" of all time.
Among his thirty-odd books, Blackwood wrote a series of stories and short novels published as John Silence, Physician Extraordinary (1908), which featured a "psychic detective" who combined the skills of a Sherlock Holmes and a psychic medium. Blackwood also wrote light fantasy and juvenile books.
Blackwood was born in Shooter's Hill (today part of south-east London, but then part of northwest Kent) and educated at Wellington College. His father was a Post Office administrator who, according to Peter Penzoldt, "though not devoid of genuine good-heartedness, had appallingly narrow religious ideas." Blackwood had a varied career, farming in Canada, operating a hotel, as a newspaper reporter in New York City, and, throughout his adult life, an occasional essayist for various periodicals. In his late thirties, he moved back to England and started to write stories of the supernatural. He was very successful, writing at least ten original collections of short stories and eventually appearing on both radio and television to tell them. He also wrote fourteen novels, several children's books, and a number of plays, most of which were produced but not published. He was an avid lover of nature and the outdoors, and many of his stories reflect this.
H.P. Lovecraft wrote of Blackwood: "He is the one absolute and unquestioned master of weird atmosphere." His powerful story "The Willows," which effectively describes another dimension impinging upon our own, was reckoned by Lovecraft to be not only "foremost of all" Blackwood's tales but the best "weird tale" of all time.
Among his thirty-odd books, Blackwood wrote a series of stories and short novels published as John Silence, Physician Extraordinary (1908), which featured a "psychic detective" who combined the skills of a Sherlock Holmes and a psychic medium. Blackwood also wrote light fantasy and juvenile books.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 27, 2019
4.5
“I seem like one who treads alone
Some banquet-hall deserted,
Whose guests are fled, whose garlands dead,
And all but he- departed!”
Classic Ghost Stories is a great collection of some short and some not-so-short stories of famous classic writers such as Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, Edith Wharton, H. G. Wells, etc. One of my favorites was The Lost Stradivarius by J. Meade Falkner.
“Out of this light; alas! alas! for some the light is darkness.”
Some of the stories are spooky, some chilling, some dark and sinister and some will haunt you for a very long time!
“How easy are the paths of ill;
How steep and hard the upward ways;
A child can roll the stone down hill
That breaks a giant’s arm to raise.”
“I seem like one who treads alone
Some banquet-hall deserted,
Whose guests are fled, whose garlands dead,
And all but he- departed!”
Classic Ghost Stories is a great collection of some short and some not-so-short stories of famous classic writers such as Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, Edith Wharton, H. G. Wells, etc. One of my favorites was The Lost Stradivarius by J. Meade Falkner.
“Out of this light; alas! alas! for some the light is darkness.”
Some of the stories are spooky, some chilling, some dark and sinister and some will haunt you for a very long time!
“How easy are the paths of ill;
How steep and hard the upward ways;
A child can roll the stone down hill
That breaks a giant’s arm to raise.”
November 30, 2022
There were a few stories that stood out, but overall, this wasn't the best spooky collection I've read. I feel some of the names printed on the cover provide the book what the content inside could not.
3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
April 11, 2022
Some really good ones and a few not so much. Favorites were Turn of the Screw, Haunted Baronet, Lost Stradivarius (although that one could have a bit shorter in length), Signal Man, North Mail and Moonlit Road. Lots of fun if you like fictional ghost stories of psychological nature
June 26, 2020
A fine collection of ghost short stories/noveles first published from 1855 to 1919. They are not particularly scary to the modern reader used to much more graphic 20th century horror literature. Their charm lies instead in the psychological drama of people of this period, especially do their concepts of death and the afterlife.
June 10, 2023
3.75 - Not sure this is the right copy of the edition of the book I read with the same title with Various authors short stories in it but alas
This collection was pretty good. I found the first half of the stories very strong while the last half was a bit weaker. I enjoyed quite a few of these tales in this collection!
This collection was pretty good. I found the first half of the stories very strong while the last half was a bit weaker. I enjoyed quite a few of these tales in this collection!
August 4, 2022
So many good stories! There was only one that i had to skip because i found it so boring.
January 24, 2026
I actually really enjoyed these classic ghost stories! They were a lot more entertaining than I thought they would be.
August 21, 2020
Some really entertaining stories in this collection. You just have to remember when these were written - scary in today's world is different.
October 22, 2023
I have enjoyed reading a few stories from this book every year around Halloween. Some of the stories are more exciting than others, but all were fun to read. Definitely recommend.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews