An Eddy on the Floor

by Bernard Capes, Seth (Illustrator)

After attending a séance at an acquaintance’s home, a man receives an unexpected job offer from another guest: resident doctor at the prison he directs. But when a prisoner begs to have his cell moved, terrified of what’s behind the next door, the young doctor starts to question his luck.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Christmas, Fiction, Classics, Gothic

128 pages, Paperback

Published October 26, 2021

About the author

Bernard Edward Joseph Capes was an English author.

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know nothing of Bernard Capes beyond this one story, but based on it, I can say he knows how to draw out a story and how to get a social-justice message into it too, a la Dickens. The story bogged down a couple of times for me, but the ending was worth it.

[Ashley T · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Well paced and felt complete despite how short it is. I did have a little trouble with understanding some of the dialogue at times, but it was written in an accent I think. Sufficiently creepy and has commentary on prison reform, which again is impressive given the short length of the story.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Robert Bone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up as it would be a nice short read whilst chilling in London waiting for some comedy to begin in between seeing my sister for her birthday.

It’s a book in two half’s - the first being a more philosophical debate on the role of reform, redemption and prison (which does make you stop and think), and then the juicy horror.

The quirky Britishness of old-English sometimes made me smile, but overall, just made it a difficult read, needing to re-read, or just glance over moments, which made the short read no longer short and stopped making it enjoyable. Still, the juicy reveal ending certainly stays in my mind…

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

An Eddy on the Floor: A Ghost Story for Christmas by Bernard Capes, illustrated by Seth, 128 pages. 2.5-star rating rounded down to 2 stars on Goodreads.

This is a 2.5-star rating rounded down because it was so dark. I appreciated the message on prison reform woven into the story, but that also made it less of a "ghost story" for me. It felt quite Dickensian in the writing and the approach to preaching reform. There was a creep factor, but it was not a favourite in this series.

"Listen to this fellow," he said, tapping the page with his finger: "The most tolerable sort of revenge is for those wrongs which there is no law to remedy; but then let a man take heed the revenge be such as there is no law to punish; else a man's enemy is still beforehand, and it is two for one. Some, when they take revenge, are desirous the party should know whence it cometh. This is the more generous. For the delight seemeth to be not so much in doing the hurt as in making the party repent. But base and crafty cowards are like the arrow that flieth in the dark. Cosmos, Duke of Florence, had a desperate saying against perfidious or neglecting friends, as if those wrongs were unpardonable: You shall read (saith he) that we are commanded to forgive our enemies; but you never read that we are commanded to forgive our friends."
"Is he not a rare fellow?"
"Who?" said I.
"Francis Bacon, who screwed his wit to his philosophy, like a hammer-head to its handle, and knocked a nail in at every blow."

[Ron Kerrigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

What the H___? An interesting premise and chillingly told, once the author gets to it. But like other writings of the period (this was published in 1899), the author uses dashes to represent some words, like G__ or H___. And uses that tiresome affectation to name the prison and one of the characters. Why not just make up a name? It throws the rhythm off. The beginning is taken up with a long (for this book) narrative where two characters discuss the philosophy of prison reform, which was pretty boring and a bit abstruse.

[DaShannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Christmas ghost short story was recommended to me by the shop owner at Naughty Dogs Bookstore in Little Nashville. There is a little writing in front of the book that explains the tradition of telling ghost stories around the fire at Christmas time. This 1899 classic is what you would expect from that time period. It is part of The Haunted Bookshelf. The small, black and white design is by Seth and makes the presentation that much more enjoyable. It is bizarre and creepy and yet, I would pick up the others in the series to try in the coming years.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up on a whim at the library, I knew nothing about this book, well…more like long-short story. First few pages felt like a convoluted attempt at recreating an Edgar Allan Poe story until I realised it was first published in 1899. Once I got a few pages in though, my interest was piqued and it turned into a real classic ghost story with lurking menace within the pages. I’m not sure the illustrations by Seth added to the story in any way, but I admit, it was the striking cover that made me pick it up in the first place, so who knows…. 3 & 1/2 stars.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

And on to the second of the titles I read from this series (there is an ever growing number with a new batch I believe to be released later this year).

This time a more impersonal story in that you see the effects and less of the explanation - something that can have great impact I think as it makes things less predictable when you can neither name or identify what is going on.

This story I will say was written in a style I struggled with - but that is the nature of a series where you showcase so many different stories from all walks of life and time.

[Paul Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Penguin Books] (2023). SB. 95 Pages. Purchased from Amazon.co.uk.

One of the stronger entries in the “A Ghost Story for Christmas” series. Unsettling, original and well executed.

The drab, naive drawings by “Seth” (Gregory Gallant (1962-)) bring nothing worthwhile to this book. Additional contextual information, for instance a more detailed biographical sketch of the author*, would have been a welcome substitute. (*A mere six lines… but ten for the illustrator…)

[Noelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had no idea what happened in this book. It was hard to keep characters straight. There was intense vocabulary that interrupted the flow of prose—I don’t want to constantly look up words to understand what is happening.

It could be where I am in my life right now and other environmental factors impacting my experience with this story. Although I don’t like it now, I am willing to give it a reread with a clearer conscience in the future.

[Rebecca Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a good scary story, and this one is Victorian in all its elements. But there is something about these older narratives that seems to get lost in translation. The language is stilted and the ideas so unbelievable. Perhaps it's because we are so used to psychological terror these days that these old mysteries don't quite make the cut. It was good, but not horrifying.

[October Murilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This overly-long and often bogged down short story earned an extra star from me based entirely on the "There's something uncanny in my neighbourhood" line. A little bit of comedy almost a hundred years before its time.

[Cloie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was hard for me to understand at first due to the style of writing and language at the time. It’s just not my usual go to of literature. But once I adjusted to the curve it was pretty exciting! Overall a decent mystery and ghost story for a quick read.

[Kev]

"Near morning I fell into a troubled sleep, throughout which the drawn twitch of muscle seemed an accent on every word of ill-omen I had ever spelt out of the alphabet of fear. If my body rested, my brain was an open chamber for any toad of ugliness that listed to 'sit at squat' in."

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is revenge the mark of the supreme hypocrite? Old-fashioned ghosts, such as the one in this tale, bring to light evils deeds otherwise unknown—the ghosts serve to restore the world's moral balance.

[JA · Rating 5 out of 5]

People are monsters, that’s the real horror

[matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Snoozefest

[Nina Vlu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Aburrido la verdad

[Grainne Cullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, grand.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A typical late Victorian gothic story.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastically creepy after you swim through a bit of Victorian prose.

[Katelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The low rating is primarily due to the writing style (of the time, not the author’s fault) and my expectation for a real ghost story being disappointed.

I appreciate the effort to build fear and anticipation, as well as the overall message of the story, which is why I have it two stars.

[Drew Canole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Long-winded and kind of boring. There's something here though, and I could understand why people enjoy it. I just wanted it to get to the point! The twist/reveal at the end is good.

[Roger O · Rating 3 out of 5]

a little dated but has some real dreadful descriptions