Horror by Lamplight

by Matthew Gregory Lewis, J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Wilkie Collins

The Terror that lurks in the shadows speaks with a whisper, not a shout. Horror by Lamplight is effective proof of this. There are Blood-chilling tales from the great writers of yesterday, as well as a few atmospheric modern classics. Monstors, apparitions, horror and cruelty, both supernatural and man-made, make up a haunting collection with a period feel.

Cover Photograph: Paul Williams

Contents

1 • Wandering Willie's Tale (excerpt from Redgauntlet) • [Redgauntlet Excerpts] • (1888) • short story by Sir Walter Scott (variant of Wandering Willie's Tale 1824)
15 • The Monk (excerpt) • short fiction by Matthew Gregory Lewis [as by Matthew Lewis]
25 • The White Wolf "Krantz's Narrative", chapter 39 of The Phantom Ship • short story by Frederick Marryat (variant of The Werewolf 1837) [as by Captain Frederick Marryat]
41 • Transformation • (1976) • short story by Mary Shelley (variant of The Transformation 1830)
54 • The Queen of Spades • (1927) • novelette by Александр Пушкин? (trans. of Пиковая дама? 1834) [as by Alexander Pushkin]
74 • The Blue Room • (1935) • short story by Prosper Mérimée? (trans. of La chambre bleue 1866)
84 • Young Goodman Brown • (1835) • short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne
94 • The Masque of the Red Death • (1845) • short story by Edgar Allan Poe (variant of The Mask of the Red Death 1842)
99 • The Old Nurse's Story • (1935) • novelette by Mrs. Gaskell [as by Elizabeth Gaskell]
115 • The Dreamland Bride • (1935) • novelette by Théophile Gautier? (trans. of La morte amoureuse 1836)
130 • Captain Murderer • (1860) • short story by Charles Dickens
133 • Mr Justice Harbottle • [Martin Hesselius] • novelette by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (variant of Mr. Justice Harbottle 1872) [as by Sheridan Le Fanu]
157 • A Terribly Strange Bed • (1852) • short story by Wilkie Collins [as by William Wilkie Collins]
169 • The Banshee's Warning • (1970) • novelette by Mrs. J. H. Riddell (variant of Hertford O'Donnell's Warning 1867) [as by Charlotte Riddell]
184 • The Bird Woman • (1863) • short story by Henry Spicer
187 • Eveline's Visitant • (1867) • short story by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
195 • A Torture by Hope • (1891) • short story by Villiers de l'Isle-Adam (trans. of La torture par l'espérance 1883)
199 • Barbara of the House of Grebe • (1890) • novelette by Thomas Hardy
223 • The Man and the Snake • (1890) • short story by Ambrose Bierce
229 • The Romance of Certain Old Clothes • (1868) • short story by Henry James
244 • Ken's Mystery • (1883) • novelette by Julian Hawthorne
261 • The Squaw • (1893) • short story by Bram Stoker
270 • The Wind in the Rose-Bush • (1903) • short story by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman [as by Mary E. Wilkins]
284 • The Golem • (1955) • short fiction by י. ל. פרץ? (trans. of דער גולם? 1893) [as by Isaac Loeb Peretz]
285 • Only a Dream • (1905) • short story by H. Rider Haggard
291 • Marsyas in Flanders • (1900) • short story by Vernon Lee
301 • The Witch of the Marsh • (1893) • short story by H. B. Marriott Watson (variant of The Devil of the Marsh) [as by H. B. Marriott-Watson]
305 • The Power of Darkness • non-genre • (1905) • short story by E. Nesbit
316 • Lot No. 249 • (1892) • novelette by Arthur Conan Doyle
341 • The Yellow Wallpaper • short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (variant of The Yellow Wall-Paper 1892) [as by Charlotte Perkins Stetson]
354 • The Mezzotint • (1904) • short story by M. R. James
363 • The Courting of Dinah Shadd • (1890) • novelette by Rudyard Kipling
381 • The Red Room • (1896) • short story by H. G. Wells
388 • Ancient Sorceries • [John Silence] • (1908) • novelette by Algernon Blackwood
423 • The Interlopers • (1912) • short story by Saki
428 • The Ghost Ship • (1912) • short story by Richard Middleton (variant of The Ghost-Ship)
436 • The Lifting of the Veil • (1912) • short story by Dermot O'Byrne
443 • The Tarn • (1923) • short story by Hugh Walpole
454 • A Place of No Return • (1981) • short story by Hugh B. Cave
464 • Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper • (1943) • short story by Robert Bloch
480 • Peter and the Wolf • (1982) • short story by Angela Carter
488 • Interview with the Vampire (excerpt) • (1976) • short fiction by Anne Rice

Genres: Short Stories, Horror

504 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Matthew Gregory Lewis was an English novelist and dramatist, often referred to as "Monk" Lewis, because of the success of his classic Gothic novel, The Monk.

Matthew Gregory Lewis was the firstborn child of Matthew and Frances Maria Sewell Lewis. Both his parents' families had connections with Jamaica. Lewis' father owned considerable property in Jamaica, within four miles of Savanna-la-Mer, or Savanna-la-Mar, which was hit by a devastating earthquake and hurricane in 1779. Lewis would later inherit this property.

In addition to Matthew Gregory Lewis, Matthew and Frances had three other children: Maria, Barrington, and Sophia Elizabeth. On 23 July 1781, when Matthew was six and his youngest sister was one and a half years old, Frances left her husband, taking the music master, Samuel Harrison, as her lover. During their estrangement, Frances lived under a different name, Langley, in order to hide her location from her husband. He still, however, knew her whereabouts. On 3 July 1782, Frances gave birth to a child. That same day, hearing of the birth, her estranged husband returned. Afterwards, he began to arrange a legal separation from his wife. After formally accusing his wife of adultery through the Consistory Court of the Bishop of London on 27 February 1783, he petitioned the House of Lords for permission to bring about a bill of divorce. However, as these bills were rarely granted, it was rejected when brought to voting. Consequently, Matthew and Frances remained married until his death in 1812. Frances, though withdrawing from society and temporarily moving to France, was always supported financially by her husband and then later, her son. She later returned to London and then finally finished her days at Leatherhead, rejoining society and even becoming a lady-in-waiting to the Princess of Wales. Frances and her son remained quite close, with her taking on the responsibility of helping him with his literary career. She even became a published author, much to her son’s dislike.

Matthew Gregory Lewis began his education at a preparatory school under Reverend Dr. John Fountain, Dean of York at Marylebone Seminary, a friend of both the Lewis and Sewell families. Here, Lewis learned Latin, Greek, French, writing, arithmetic, drawing, dancing, and fencing. Throughout the school day, he and his classmates were only permitted to converse in French. Like many of his classmates, Lewis used the Marylebone Seminary as a stepping stone, proceeding from there to the Westminster School, like his father, at age eight. Here, he acted in the Town Boys’ Play as Falconbridge in King John and then My Lord Duke in High Life Below Stairs. Later, again like his father, he began studying at Christ Church, Oxford on 27 April 1790 at the age of fifteen. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1794. He later earned a master's degree from the same school in 1797.

Reviews

[Ellie Kidger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Horror is a subjective genre, and this issue of subjectivity is clear in this collection.
Whilst many of the short stories or extracts are successful in their intent to scare or creep out, some just fall flat. Also, the inclusion of The Yellow Wallpaper was odd, as I consider that more modernist and psychological than horror. However, I enjoyed the choice of extracts used from The Monk and Interview with the Vampire, and my favourites from this collection include The White Wolf, Transformation, The Power of Darkness, and Yours Truly Jack the Ripper.

[Andrew Ives · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good stories mixed with some silly, crazy stories. All are very well written, despite some slightly iffy OCR in places. Lots of text per page means this book takes a lot longer to read than one might expect. A mixed bag.