The 4th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories

Fontana's "Great Ghost Stories" Series #4

by Robert Aickman (Editor), Ann Bridge, Barry Pain

Contents
7 • Introduction (The Fourth Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories) • (1967) • essay by Robert Aickman
13 • The Accident • (1936) • novelette by Ann Bridge
36 • Not on the Passenger-List • (1915) • short story by Barry Pain
48 • The Sphinx Without a Secret • (1887) • short story by Oscar Wilde
53 • When I Was Dead • (1896) • short story by Vincent O'Sullivan
57 • The Queen of Spades • (1927) • novelette by Александр Пушкин? *translation of Пиковая дама? (1834) [as by Alexander Pushkin]
83 • Pargiton and Harby • (1926) • short story by Desmond MacCarthy
98 • The Snow • (1929) • short story by Hugh Walpole
107 • Carlton's Father • (1936) • short story by Eric Ambrose
119 • A School Story • (1911) • short story by M.R. James
126 • The Wolves of Cernogratz • (1913) • short story by Saki
131 • Mad Monkton • (1931) • novella by Wilkie Collins [as by William Wilkie Collins]

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Ghost Stories, Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1967

About the author

Author of: close to 50 "strange stories" in the weird-tale and ghost-story traditions, two novels (The Late Breakfasters and The Model), two volumes of memoir (The Attempted Rescue and The River Runs Uphill), and two books on the canals of England (Know Your Waterways and The Story of Our Inland Waterways).

Co-founder and longtime president of the Inland Waterways Association, an organization that in the middle of the 20th century restored a great part of England's deteriorating system of canals, now a major draw for recreation nationally and for tourism internationally.

Grandson of author Richard Marsh.

Reviews

[Cecily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Accident, by Ann Bridge, in this anthology.
“She seemed to forget all her fears, and her spirits to mount within her as her body, triumphing over gravitation, mounted towards that sky of intensest blue overhead.”
A chilling story, set in the Alps, drawing on the author’s own experience as a skilled young climber in the region, and her interest in the paranormal.

““The sun by now had risen, and they were already high enough to look out southward over the peaks beyond the Zermatt valley; they glowed a furious rose, beautiful to see but threatening for the future””
An early mention of a graveyard where a pair of climbers were recently buried foreshadows what can happen in bright sunlight.


Image: Footprints in the snow (Source)

“She sat in a trance of rapture, right on the edge of the overhanging drop, her feet dangling gaily into several hundred feet of blue air, eating her lunch and gazing at the view.”
There is a lot of landscape description and a slow start before it cuts to the chase - literally. It held the fascination of realising a car crash is about to happen, but being powerless to prevent it.

Sinister

When I first read Kafka’s The Castle (see my review HERE), I mused ‘Who else can make snow sinister (scary perhaps, but surely not sinister)? Here, Ann Bridge achieves the same with postcards.

Spirits - and an alienist

Early on, Dr Allard is described as an ‘alienist’. It’s an archaic American word for those who studied and treated those alienated from society by mental disorders.

Short story club

I read this in Black Water 2: More Tales of the Fantastic, by Alberto Manguel, from which I’m reading one story a week with The Short Story Club, starting 24 March 2025.

You can read this story in the group.

You can join the group here.

[George Ilsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Accident, by Ann Bridge (which is part of this anthology).

Read this as part of the Short Story Club here on Goodreads.

The Accident is a thrilling story, ominous and gripping. What happened? There are some possible explanations, to which the the rational mind may clings, as well as suggestions which must be impossible.

So much is impossible, until it happens.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Fontana ghost story collections are noteworthy in that the editors went out of their way to collect specific-era stories – 19th century through to early 20th – that weren’t widely known or regarded. This volume is no exception, with Robert Aickman doing a good job of selecting unknown or forgotten efforts. The result is a mixed, sometimes rewarding collection.

THE ACCIDENT by Ann Bridge is a spooky little read set in the evocative mountains of Switzerland. It’s good, and better than Barry Pain’s NOT ON THE PASSENGER LIST, which I found understated and too slow and talky to be much fun. Even Pain’s writing is better than Oscar Wilde’s in THE SPHINX WITHOUT A SECRET, which I found tame and utterly without merit.

Vincent O’Sullivan’s WHEN I WAS DEAD is better, a fitfully amusing story told by a ghost. Alexander Pushkin’s THE QUEEN OF SPADES is a classic Russian yarn, which I had already encountered until the title THE ACE OF SPADES. Desmond MacCarthy’s PARGITON AND HARBY is the unusual story of a doppelganger or perhaps a schizophrenic and one of the best in the book.

Hugh Walpole’s THE SNOW is chilly and old-fashioned; Eric Ambrose’s CARLTON’S FATHER is science fiction, but don’t let that put you off – this has a brilliant story and is utterly engrossing. The last three stories are all by masters of the craft. A SCHOOL STORY is M. R. James at his most contrived, with a good climax finishing off a rather undeveloped story. Saki’s THE WOLVES OF CERNOGRATZ is atmospheric but undemanding. Still, Wilkie Collins’s MAD MONKTON is superlative stuff, completely engaging and never less than spellbinding. Packed with evocative scenes and lengthy enough to be called a novella, this is a reminder that Collins was once an author equal only to Dickens in terms of popularity and success.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always reread with great pleasure these old anthologies because they have so many fine older writers (conveniently out of copyright!) such as Saki, Wilde, Pushkin, James and Collins and I have no doubt that via these stories many readers were introduced too and lead on to read novels they would otherwise have missed. Clearly there was an element of false advertising both in the over illustration (but then I can't think of any anthology of horror/ghost/short stories whose cover illustration was not essentially fraudulent) and in the rather over-the-top descriptions, but I don't think anyone was ever completely deceived or disappointed.

I would happily reread almost all of the stories in this collection.

[Des Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I personally thank Aickman for drawing this work to my attention. It feels as it must be an influence on his own work. And I still have one chapter yet to read!

The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of my observations at the time of the review.

[Steve Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the books in this series edited by Robert Aickman (that's the first 8), this is perhaps the best. Of the 11 stories, I'd say 7 are pretty good. These 7 are Ann Bridge's 'The Accident' (atmospheric story of a woman amongst mountaineers who receives a letter from deceased climbers); Barry Pain's 'Not On The Passenger List' (I like this straightforwardly told story of a woman who believes she's seen her dead husband on board a ship); Oscar Wilde's 'The Sphinx Without A Secret' (fine little story of a woman who has doubts about her husband and so follows him); Desmond MacCarthy's 'Pargiton And Harby' (good atmospheric character story of two men, one of whom is a go-getter - a pity about the unsatisfying ending); Hugh Walpole's 'The Snow' (another atmospheric story of a woman haunted by her husband's dead first wife); M.R.James's 'A School Story' (a teacher is visited by a strange figure in the night); and lastly the best of the lot, Eric Ambrose's 'Carlton's Father' (a very good character-driven horror/fantasy story in which two boys kind of become friends - one of the boys, who's odd and quiet, does not like any talk of his family).

There's actually no out and out dud in the collection.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been slowly making my way through this series in order. The stories are always good but Robert Aickman’s introductions are the best part of them for me. I can’t get enough of reading his thoughts on writing, respecting mystery, and his love of ghost stories and hatred of modern life. Right there with you buddy!

[Sabrina Ettey · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my best reads of this month. I've always been a fan of classic horror anthologies, and this one has somehow escaped me until now. I'm glad I found this gem and devoured it in hours. Absolutely recommend it!

[Rupert Grech · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are not for fans of modern stories with lots of action, but rather for those who enjoy more subtle, Victorian-type stories and writing.

[Petergiaquinta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only "The Accident" by Ann Bridge, read for my GR short story group
++++++++++++++++++++++

Mountain climbing ghost story set in the Alps and a bit of a slog, to tell you the truth...

[Johnny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some of these tales are well written even though I enjoyed only two of them. Mad Monkton was a long boring drag about two people searching for a dead body in Italy and trying to find and bring it back to England. I was waiting and waiting for something fun or scary to happen but nothing would, then it ended. The first few stories were fun to read but most I found boring

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good collection of short and one longer story, mad Monkton, all of which were good some great, this collection has everything from MR James to Wilke Collins and other notable writers of the 19th century. If you see this in a second hand book shop then I would suggest you pick it up.

[Katrien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy!

[Rob Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

The usual mix of good and average stories complete this collection of ghost stories. At least there are no clunkers!