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Great Ghost Stories
Keeping his promise / Algernon Blackwood --
Caterpillars / E. F. Benson --
The squaw / Bram Stoker --
The hand / Guy de Maupassant --
The middle toe of the right foot / Ambrose Bierce --
Dickon the devil / J. S. LeFanu.
Caterpillars / E. F. Benson --
The squaw / Bram Stoker --
The hand / Guy de Maupassant --
The middle toe of the right foot / Ambrose Bierce --
Dickon the devil / J. S. LeFanu.
91 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1993
60 people want to read
About the author
Algernon Blackwood
1,394 books1,197 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 4, 2017
This book is made up of 6 short stories by various authors. The following is a list of the stories in order of how well I liked them:
1. The Squaw by Bram Stoker (1893) *****
2. The Hand by Guy de Maupassant (1880?) ****
3. Keeping His Promise by Algernon Blackwood (1906) ***
4. Caterpillars by E. F. Benson (1912) ***
5. The Middle Toe of the Right Foot by Ambrose Bierce (1890) **
6. Dickon the Devil by J. S. LeFanu (1872) *
1. The Squaw by Bram Stoker (1893) *****
2. The Hand by Guy de Maupassant (1880?) ****
3. Keeping His Promise by Algernon Blackwood (1906) ***
4. Caterpillars by E. F. Benson (1912) ***
5. The Middle Toe of the Right Foot by Ambrose Bierce (1890) **
6. Dickon the Devil by J. S. LeFanu (1872) *
November 5, 2019
I loved these literary horror tales. A perfect seasonal book to keep in your back pocket and bust out during campfire revelry or alone at night. Spooky, well-crafted short stories. Will read again and again.
October 15, 2018
This anthology of six supernatural tales, published by Watermill Classics, gathers works by such famous scribes as Ambrose Bierce, Algernon Blackwood, Guy de Maupassant, and Bram Stoker. My favorites in the book are “Keeping His Promise” by Algernon Blackwood and “The Hand” by Guy de Maupassant. There are two in the collection that I would not consider ghost stories but were no less eerie— “Caterpillars” and “The Squaw.”
In “Keeping His Promise” by Algernon Blackwood, a university student pulls an all-nighter to study for an exam when a former classmate from elementary school arrives unexpectedly. Seeing that the man is in dire straits, the student invites him in for a meal and a place to spend the night while he studies. Things become a bit odd the following morning when his old friend can be heard but not seen…
In E.F. Benson’s “Caterpillars,” a man staying overnight at an Italian villa has visions of abnormally large glowing caterpillars amassing in various parts of the house. The following day, one of the other guests captures, then later kills, a smaller version of the same caterpillar—and suffers dire consequences.
A boisterous American visiting Nuremberg, Germany accidentally kills a kitten, sending its mother into a rage. Later, when the American visits the Torture Tower museum and tempts fate by placing himself in one of the devices, mother cat takes advantage of the opportunity in “The Squaw” by Bram Stoker.
In “The Hand” by Guy de Maupassant, a French judge meets an Englishman living in Marseilles and is eventually given a tour of the Englishman’s villa. Among the man’s gun collection is a severed human hand chained to the wall. The Englishman explains that the hand belonged to an enemy and must remained chained—lest it escape!
Ambrose Bierce brings us the tale of two men who use an abandoned mansion to hold a knife fight. One of the combatants ends up dead—but not at the end of a blade in “The Middle Toe of the Right Foot.”
A realtor is hired to partition a haunted estate inherited by three women. During his inspection of the property, he is confronted by the town idiot, a raving wild man named Dickon. The groundskeeper explains that while the previous owner of the estate was a kindly gentleman, he despised the three women, but died before he could change his will. Legend has it that the gentleman still roams the property, causing death and madness in “Dickon the Devil” by J.S. LeFanu.
In “Keeping His Promise” by Algernon Blackwood, a university student pulls an all-nighter to study for an exam when a former classmate from elementary school arrives unexpectedly. Seeing that the man is in dire straits, the student invites him in for a meal and a place to spend the night while he studies. Things become a bit odd the following morning when his old friend can be heard but not seen…
In E.F. Benson’s “Caterpillars,” a man staying overnight at an Italian villa has visions of abnormally large glowing caterpillars amassing in various parts of the house. The following day, one of the other guests captures, then later kills, a smaller version of the same caterpillar—and suffers dire consequences.
A boisterous American visiting Nuremberg, Germany accidentally kills a kitten, sending its mother into a rage. Later, when the American visits the Torture Tower museum and tempts fate by placing himself in one of the devices, mother cat takes advantage of the opportunity in “The Squaw” by Bram Stoker.
In “The Hand” by Guy de Maupassant, a French judge meets an Englishman living in Marseilles and is eventually given a tour of the Englishman’s villa. Among the man’s gun collection is a severed human hand chained to the wall. The Englishman explains that the hand belonged to an enemy and must remained chained—lest it escape!
Ambrose Bierce brings us the tale of two men who use an abandoned mansion to hold a knife fight. One of the combatants ends up dead—but not at the end of a blade in “The Middle Toe of the Right Foot.”
A realtor is hired to partition a haunted estate inherited by three women. During his inspection of the property, he is confronted by the town idiot, a raving wild man named Dickon. The groundskeeper explains that while the previous owner of the estate was a kindly gentleman, he despised the three women, but died before he could change his will. Legend has it that the gentleman still roams the property, causing death and madness in “Dickon the Devil” by J.S. LeFanu.
October 20, 2013
Nice collection of spooky short stories. Perfect for a chilly October night.
October 24, 2016
Written in days past when stories were so wordy. Nothing scary.
January 26, 2025
We're gonna have to redefine the word "great".
August 27, 2018
Keeping His Promise, The Squaw, and The Middle Toe of the Right Foot are all very good. The Hand and Dickon the Devil are ok. Caterpillars is more interesting for the 19th century beliefs on cancer than for anything that actually happens in the story. Overall a pretty good collection of older horror stories.
March 9, 2025
These are very old-fashioned spooky ghost stories.
Great stuff for nostalgia buffs, or anyone who grew up reading old timey horror.
Great stuff for nostalgia buffs, or anyone who grew up reading old timey horror.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews