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Great Horror Stories
Previously published as: The great book of thrillers (1936) by Odhams Press; Great tales of terror (1991) Chancellor Press.
Contents: H2, Etc. / A.J. Alan -- The smell in the library / Michael Arlen -- The man in the bell / W.E. Aytoun -- The mysterious man / Honore de Balzac -- The folding doors / Marjorie Bowen -- The lady of Glenwith Grange / Wilkie Collins -- The new sun / J.S. Fletcher -- Hot water / Val Gielgud -- The island / L.P. Hartley -- Edward Randolph's portrait / Nathaniel Hawthorne -- The spectre bridegroom / Washington Irving -- The fasts in the case of M. Valdemar / Edgar Allan Poe -- The tarn / Hugh Walpole -- The resurrectionist / Samuel Warren -- The blue room / Prosper Merimee -- The cafe of terror / E. Phillips Oppenheim -- The avenging chance / Anthony Berkeley -- A lesson in crime / G.D.H. and M. Cole -- Mr. Pemberton's commission / Freeman Wills Crofts -- Who killed castelvetri? / Gilbert Frankau -- The aluminium dagger / R. Austin Freeman -- The Glyston slander / Herbert Jenkins -- Arsene Lupin in prison / Maurice Leblanc -- The Fenchurch street mystery / baroness Orczy -- Peacock house / Eden Phillpotts -- The vanishing diamond / John Rhode -- Staley Fleming's hallucination / Ambrose Bierce -- The Italian's story / Catherine Crowe -- The ghost of Dorothy Dingley / Daniel Defoe -- To be taken with a grain of salt / Charles Dickens -- The phantom coach / Amelia B. Edwards -- Madam Crowl's ghost / Sheridan Le Fanu -- Black coffee / Jeffery Farnol -- The black ferry / John Galt -- The dreamland bride / Theophile Gautier -- The dilemma of Phadrig / Gerald Griffin -- Mary Burnet / James Hogg -- The three sisters / W.W. Jacobs -- Mr. Kempe / Walter De La Mare -- The tapestried chamber / sir Walter Scott -- The frontier guards / Russell Wakefield -- The red room / H.G. Wells -- The sphinx without a secret / Oscar Wilde -- The gardener / E.F. Benson -- A Spanish ghost story / Anon -- The doctor's ghost / Norman Macleod.
Contents: H2, Etc. / A.J. Alan -- The smell in the library / Michael Arlen -- The man in the bell / W.E. Aytoun -- The mysterious man / Honore de Balzac -- The folding doors / Marjorie Bowen -- The lady of Glenwith Grange / Wilkie Collins -- The new sun / J.S. Fletcher -- Hot water / Val Gielgud -- The island / L.P. Hartley -- Edward Randolph's portrait / Nathaniel Hawthorne -- The spectre bridegroom / Washington Irving -- The fasts in the case of M. Valdemar / Edgar Allan Poe -- The tarn / Hugh Walpole -- The resurrectionist / Samuel Warren -- The blue room / Prosper Merimee -- The cafe of terror / E. Phillips Oppenheim -- The avenging chance / Anthony Berkeley -- A lesson in crime / G.D.H. and M. Cole -- Mr. Pemberton's commission / Freeman Wills Crofts -- Who killed castelvetri? / Gilbert Frankau -- The aluminium dagger / R. Austin Freeman -- The Glyston slander / Herbert Jenkins -- Arsene Lupin in prison / Maurice Leblanc -- The Fenchurch street mystery / baroness Orczy -- Peacock house / Eden Phillpotts -- The vanishing diamond / John Rhode -- Staley Fleming's hallucination / Ambrose Bierce -- The Italian's story / Catherine Crowe -- The ghost of Dorothy Dingley / Daniel Defoe -- To be taken with a grain of salt / Charles Dickens -- The phantom coach / Amelia B. Edwards -- Madam Crowl's ghost / Sheridan Le Fanu -- Black coffee / Jeffery Farnol -- The black ferry / John Galt -- The dreamland bride / Theophile Gautier -- The dilemma of Phadrig / Gerald Griffin -- Mary Burnet / James Hogg -- The three sisters / W.W. Jacobs -- Mr. Kempe / Walter De La Mare -- The tapestried chamber / sir Walter Scott -- The frontier guards / Russell Wakefield -- The red room / H.G. Wells -- The sphinx without a secret / Oscar Wilde -- The gardener / E.F. Benson -- A Spanish ghost story / Anon -- The doctor's ghost / Norman Macleod.
638 pages, Paperback
First published December 14, 1936
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117 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 1, 2011
I think it's pretty clear through a look at my bookshelf that I love short stories. I still haven't read some of the stories in this volume even though I bought this several years ago. A lot of them had been written by literature giants such as Balzac, Hawthorne, Washington Irving, Daniel Defoe and Ambrose Bierce, and some suffer from being predictable and outdated.
Some of my favorites:
Who killed Castelvetri? -- Gilbert Frankau
A classic whodunit.
Arsene Lupin in prison -- Maurice Leblanc
I bought this book because of this story. I've always been intrigued by the Lupin franchise but this is the first LeBlanc story I've read and it didn't disappoint.
The doctor's ghost -- Norman Macleod
Macleod gives a practical solution to a haunting
The phantom coach -- Amelia B. Edwards
THE classic phantom coach story. Always a favorite during rainy days
Black coffee -- Jeffery Farnol
There are side-effects to drinking too much coffee. Not too scary but still a fun read
The frontier guards -- Russell Wakefield
My definite favorite. Starts out simply like a walk through the neighborhood that takes a frightening turn
A Spanish ghost story -- Anon
A classic ghost story
Some of my favorites:
Who killed Castelvetri? -- Gilbert Frankau
A classic whodunit.
Arsene Lupin in prison -- Maurice Leblanc
I bought this book because of this story. I've always been intrigued by the Lupin franchise but this is the first LeBlanc story I've read and it didn't disappoint.
The doctor's ghost -- Norman Macleod
Macleod gives a practical solution to a haunting
The phantom coach -- Amelia B. Edwards
THE classic phantom coach story. Always a favorite during rainy days
Black coffee -- Jeffery Farnol
There are side-effects to drinking too much coffee. Not too scary but still a fun read
The frontier guards -- Russell Wakefield
My definite favorite. Starts out simply like a walk through the neighborhood that takes a frightening turn
A Spanish ghost story -- Anon
A classic ghost story
October 13, 2015
these stories are about as terrifying as watching paint dry they mave have been scary to 5 yr olds in the 1800s but we live in the modern age with horror films and tv shows and these stories today i doubt they could scare a 5 year old they're just fucking boring to read its the type of story that the simpsons used to spoof those incredibly lame stories theyd tell at campfires to frighten 5 yr olds and it never worked because they're horribly dated and lame well that's whats all these stories in this book are dated
January 14, 2020
This book has a fraudulent title, most of the stories have nothing to do with horror which usually deals with supernatural like vampires etc. Most of the stories can be classified as detective stories, some like melodrama, and even the horror stories are pretty lame - they definitely fail to scare you. It is still OK to have as a bedside book, I don't mind reading detective stories sometimes. But books should have proper titles, and this one doesn't deserve the title it was given. More like - Detective Stories Mixed With Not So Great Horror Stories and Some Cheesy Melodrama.
January 12, 2024
A fantastic bumper collection of classic horror tales that will appeal to all fans of horror, young and old, new and well versed. This collection has something for everyone from horror fantasy to out right spine chilling terror.
March 28, 2021
Sadly, these were a little lame for me. Definitely not what I would label as horror.
October 4, 2020
Some good stories, albeit sparse and few throughout the compendium, those most prominent being:
-The New Sun by J. S. Fletcher (Befits cosmic horror or Schopenhaurr's Fullest feeling of the sublime)
-The Tarn by Hugh Walpole
-The Avenging chance by Anthony Berkeley (would befit crime/mystery moreso than horror)
-Arsene Lupin in Prison by Maurice Leblanc ( id.)
-The Phantom Coach by Amelia B. Edwards (Best out of collection, ultimately slighty above par)
-Black Coffee by Jerrery Farnol (Sleep deprivation or Apparition the cause of his death?)
Ultimately the stories in aggregate would average below par
-The New Sun by J. S. Fletcher (Befits cosmic horror or Schopenhaurr's Fullest feeling of the sublime)
-The Tarn by Hugh Walpole
-The Avenging chance by Anthony Berkeley (would befit crime/mystery moreso than horror)
-Arsene Lupin in Prison by Maurice Leblanc ( id.)
-The Phantom Coach by Amelia B. Edwards (Best out of collection, ultimately slighty above par)
-Black Coffee by Jerrery Farnol (Sleep deprivation or Apparition the cause of his death?)
Ultimately the stories in aggregate would average below par
August 10, 2019
Please dont be kided into thinking this book is a horror book far from it. About a handful of stories could be classed as horror, the rest are murder mysteries
July 3, 2023
A collection of classic short stories, some by famous authors, linked by the "horror" theme, though most of them are not especially horrifying, but belong more to the unexplained supernatural mystery type, many of them being ghost stories.
I bought it at a book sale many years ago, and have picked it up and read a few stories over the years, and now at last have finished it. Most of them are the right length to read before going to sleep, and no, most of them are not such as to keep you awake at night.
I bought it at a book sale many years ago, and have picked it up and read a few stories over the years, and now at last have finished it. Most of them are the right length to read before going to sleep, and no, most of them are not such as to keep you awake at night.
October 18, 2023
Got bored
June 27, 2024
A happy mix of mysteries and horror.
Want to read
February 13, 2025Read so far:
H2, Etc. / A.J. Alan --2
The smell in the library / Michael Arlen --2
The man in the bell / W.E. Aytoun --2
The mysterious mansion / Honore de Balzac --3
The folding doors / Marjorie Bowen --2
The lady of Glenwith Grange / Wilkie Collins --3
The new sun / J.S. Fletcher --3
Hot water / Val Gielgud --3
The island / L.P. Hartley --2
*Edward Randolph's portrait / Nathaniel Hawthorne --
The spectre bridegroom / Washington Irving --3
The fasts in the case of M. Valdemar / Edgar Allan Poe --3
The tarn / Hugh Walpole --3
The resurrectionist / Samuel Warren --
The blue room / Prosper Merimee --3
The cafe of terror / E. Phillips Oppenheim --2
The avenging chance / Anthony Berkeley --3
A lesson in crime / G.D.H. and M. Cole --2
Mr. Pemberton's commission / Freeman Wills Crofts --3
Who killed castelvetri? / Gilbert Frankau --3
The aluminium dagger / R. Austin Freeman --2
*The Glyston slander / Herbert Jenkins --
*Arsene Lupin in prison / Maurice Leblanc --
The Fenchurch street mystery / Baroness Orczy --3
*Peacock house / Eden Phillpotts --
*The vanishing diamond / John Rhode --
Staley Fleming's hallucination / Ambrose Bierce --2
The Italian's story / Catherine Crowe --3
The ghost of Dorothy Dingley / Daniel Defoe --2
To be taken with a grain of salt / Charles Dickens --3
The phantom coach / Amelia B. Edwards --3
Madam Crowl's ghost / Sheridan Le Fanu --3
Black coffee / Jeffery Farnol --
The black ferry / John Galt --3
The dreamland bride (aka Clarimonde)/ Theophile Gautier --2
The dilemma of Phadrig / Gerald Griffin --
Mary Burnet / James Hogg --2
The three sisters / W.W. Jacobs --2
The doctor's ghost / Norman Macleod--
*Mr. Kempe / Walter De La Mare --
The tapestried chamber / Walter Scott --2
The frontier guards / Russell Wakefield --2
The red room / H.G. Wells --2
The sphinx without a secret / Oscar Wilde --2
*The gardener / E.F. Benson --
H2, Etc. / A.J. Alan --2
The smell in the library / Michael Arlen --2
The man in the bell / W.E. Aytoun --2
The mysterious mansion / Honore de Balzac --3
The folding doors / Marjorie Bowen --2
The lady of Glenwith Grange / Wilkie Collins --3
The new sun / J.S. Fletcher --3
Hot water / Val Gielgud --3
The island / L.P. Hartley --2
*Edward Randolph's portrait / Nathaniel Hawthorne --
The spectre bridegroom / Washington Irving --3
The fasts in the case of M. Valdemar / Edgar Allan Poe --3
The tarn / Hugh Walpole --3
The resurrectionist / Samuel Warren --
The blue room / Prosper Merimee --3
The cafe of terror / E. Phillips Oppenheim --2
The avenging chance / Anthony Berkeley --3
A lesson in crime / G.D.H. and M. Cole --2
Mr. Pemberton's commission / Freeman Wills Crofts --3
Who killed castelvetri? / Gilbert Frankau --3
The aluminium dagger / R. Austin Freeman --2
*The Glyston slander / Herbert Jenkins --
*Arsene Lupin in prison / Maurice Leblanc --
The Fenchurch street mystery / Baroness Orczy --3
*Peacock house / Eden Phillpotts --
*The vanishing diamond / John Rhode --
Staley Fleming's hallucination / Ambrose Bierce --2
The Italian's story / Catherine Crowe --3
The ghost of Dorothy Dingley / Daniel Defoe --2
To be taken with a grain of salt / Charles Dickens --3
The phantom coach / Amelia B. Edwards --3
Madam Crowl's ghost / Sheridan Le Fanu --3
Black coffee / Jeffery Farnol --
The black ferry / John Galt --3
The dreamland bride (aka Clarimonde)/ Theophile Gautier --2
The dilemma of Phadrig / Gerald Griffin --
Mary Burnet / James Hogg --2
The three sisters / W.W. Jacobs --2
The doctor's ghost / Norman Macleod--
*Mr. Kempe / Walter De La Mare --
The tapestried chamber / Walter Scott --2
The frontier guards / Russell Wakefield --2
The red room / H.G. Wells --2
The sphinx without a secret / Oscar Wilde --2
*The gardener / E.F. Benson --
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews