The Bell in the Fog and Other Stories

by Gertrude Atherton

"The Bell in the Fog" is the tale of an author who buys a country estate. Along with the property come a furnished house -- and, of course, two paintings. They are paintings of a young boy and girl, siblings who died in childhood. When Orth -- the author -- sees these paintings, they begin to haunt his every thought until they finally become flesh and bone. . . .

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, Ghost Stories, Fantasy, Weird Fiction

174 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1905

About the author

Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton (October 30, 1857 – June 14, 1948) was a prominent and prolific American author. Many of her novels are set in her home state of California. Her bestseller Black Oxen (1923) was made into a silent movie of the same name. In addition to novels, she wrote short stories, essays, and articles for magazines and newspapers on such issues as feminism, politics, and war. She was strong-willed, independent-minded, and sometimes controversial.

She wrote using the pen names Asmodeus and Frank Lin, a play on her middle name.

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gertrude Atherton--a protegee of Bierce--is a very good writer, and the three supernatural stories included in this collection of ten--"Death and the Countess," The Striding Place" and"The Bell in the Fog"--are fine examples of the genre.

"Death and the Countess" tells an atmospheric tale of an obscure ancient Breton cemetery whose inhabitants have become restless due to the proximity of a recently added railroad line, "The Striding Place" delivers a brief brutal shock of horror surprising in an early 20th century story, and "The Bell in the Fog" . . . well, "The Bell in the Fog" is in a class by itself.

Dedicated to "the master" Henry James, this ambiguous ghostly tale is not only an homage to him, but also a fictionalized spiritual biography and an implied criticism. The expatriate American writer who is the protagonist of "The Bell and the Fog" is not only a "master" of fiction but also the "master" of the tale's haunted British castle, a man who appropriates and attempts to "master" both the narrative of a girl-child ghost in his house and the destiny of a real girl who uncannily resembles her.

For those interested in feminist criticism, in Henry James, or--for that matter--in the ethical implications of fiction in general, there is much in this story of interest--in addition to the much more important fact that it is a superb story in itself.

The other seven tales--most involving outsiders of one kind or another--are not really supernatural at all, although they do contain a few agreeable moments of unpleasantness or horror. All in all, this collection is an enjoyable read.

[Warren Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may associate names like Hugh Walpole, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Nathaniel Hawthorne with a unique kind of horror that has less to do with the supernatural than what is going on inside one's own head. San Francisco native Gertrude Atherton also needs to be added to that list.

Though not as well-known as the other authors I have mentioned, Atherton was quite a prolific writer for decades. Her work has been compared in many ways to that of Edith Wharton or Frances Hodgson Burnett, tackling feminist themes at the turn of the 20th Century, exploring the downfall of the British class system, the American anglophile's impact on peerage and nobility, and many other subjects. Many of her stories are also set in Spanish California, which is a culture and setting that she romanticized and was dear to her. This collection of short stories is a great sampling of Atherton's themes and passions.

For example, "Talbot of Ursula" and "A Monarch of a Small Survey" both take place amid the lands of dashing caballeros, whitewashed villas, and lost native American trails. Here Americans come to make their fortunes in a new frontier, but this land is not yet fully American, and despite their successes, they remain largely outsiders. These two stories are not supernatural in the slightest, but are wonderful character studies of two such outsiders in very different levels of society dealing with the passage of time, lost youth, and unrequited love. Of the two, "Monarch" packs more of an emotional punch and has an unexpected ending. It also has one of the best "haunted house" descriptions ever put to paper:

"There was an air of mystery about the great rambling sombre house; and yet no murder had been done there, no traveller had disappeared behind the sighing trees to be seen no more, no tale of horror claimed it as birthplace. The atmosphere was created by the footprints of time on a dwelling old in a new land. The lawns were unkempt, the bare windows stared at the trees like unlidded eyes. Children ran past it in the night. The unwelcomed of the spreading city maintained that if nothing ever had happened there something would; that the place spoke its manifest destiny to the least creative mind."

But the collection really shines in four stories. First of note is "Death and the Woman." This is quintessential genre goodness. A woman waits alone by her dying husband's bedside, but while listening to his heart slowly fade, she begins to give herself the willies, slowly panicking in the anticipation of Death's arrival. This is truly disturbing, sad, and downright terrifying. You will be startled out of bed from every unknown sound in the hall and the stairs for weeks to follow. A must read, especially alone in the dark.

"The Striding Place" is a supernatural shocker that is so short that it is easy to spoil. But it's a great ghost story.

"The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number" was probably my favorite of the bunch. A doctor decides to take matters in his own hands by refusing to give maintenance medication to an opioid addicted wife who has been terrorizing her family, hoping that the withdrawal will be suitably taxing enough to be fatal, thus relieving her husband and children of her burden. Though opioid withdrawal makes you WANT to die, Atherton seems to not be aware that there is little to no risk of opioid detox actually being fatal. However, the psychological and ethical dilemmas behind this story are powerful and make for terrific suspense.

Finally, there is the titular "Bell in the Fog." Though I did not find this in the least scary, there is something quite unsettling about it, and Atherton leaves it up to you to decipher what exactly is going on and the meaning behind the vagueness of the ending.

In all, this collection really highlights what can be done with the genre of horror. The genre isn't about zombies and vampires--it is a tool to unlock a deeper experience of the human condition, and Atherton proves herself to be one of the masters. Not every story is a masterpiece, but this collection is highly recommended. If you are a fan of horror or classic literature, or are interested in discovering the unheralded work of lesser known female writers and haven't yet read Gertrude Atherton, you certainly need to start here.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay I will admit now this was hard work - the style of the book though beautiful just didn't sit well with me and although there were only about 170 pages it felt like longer.

Reading the preface Gertrude Atherton was quite a character and a most formidable one at that- not only was she well read but also took inspiration by some of the greatest authors of her time, in fact the book was dedicated to Henry James.

The short stories concentrated a lot on the darker side of human nature from natural to the supernatural but all with an eye for the poetic never gratuitous although some of the phrases today would be interpreted in a totally different manner.

As part of the expansive series Tales of mystery and the supernatural this a perfect choice just not the easiest for me.

[denudatio_pulpae · Rating 3 out of 5]

W dorobku literackim Gertrude Atherton historii z dreszczykiem znajdziemy niewiele. W zbiorze opowiadań „Dzwon we mgle” znajduje się sześć nowel jej autorstwa, a jeżeli wierzyć okładkowemu opisowi, jej twórczość gotycka nie ustępuje takim autorom jak Edith Wharton czy Ambrose Bierce, których opowiadania grozy miałam już przyjemność czytać. Czy tak jest rzeczywiście?

Wydaje mi się, że tak. Niesamowitość tych historii, podobnie jak u Wharton i Bierce’a, tkwi w subtelnym klimacie i niedopowiedzeniach, bez epatowania makabrą. Oczywiście, znajdziemy tu lepsze i gorsze opowiadania, ale całość się broni. Moim numerem jeden, jak chyba u wielu czytelników, jest „Syrena mgłowa” – historia tragicznego w skutkach romansu panny i żonatego mężczyzny, w czasach, kiedy był to naprawdę okropny skandal. Nie mogę jednak przejść obojętnie obok historii opisanej w opowiadaniu „Największe szczęście największej liczbie ludzi” – z motywem wątpliwości moralnych lekarza, który ma możliwość decydowania o ludzkim życiu.

Czyli - zaliczyłam dobry powrót do Biblioteki Grozy :)
6/10

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of the author's short stories originally published in 1905. This current edition on the top, front cover has: "Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural", which on the whole is misleading, since most of these stories have no supernatural elements in them (apart from the first 2 or 3), and not much mystery either. What they do have though, are psychological studies of their characters; indeed the collection is dedicated to Henry James. So I would recommend this book to anyone who likes James' fiction or that of Edith Wharton. One story, "Death and the Woman", has an intensity to it that reminded me of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-tale Heart" (although a quite different story line).

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grim Themes! Some good mild chills appropriate for dark cold nights. But nothing that'll keep anyone awake. Atherton was a prodigious writer during the Gilded Age. Glad to have discovered her! Must give a nod to Patton Oswalt for advertising one of her short stories via subscription service, even though many of her works are available for free on Project Gutenberg. I agree with some of the reviews here on Goodreads. Many of these story endings are just kind of stupid. Nonetheless, I am always searching for women writers, huzzah! Short summaries below.

"THE BELL IN THE FOG"
A "great author," reminds me of confirmed bachelor Henry James, finds a creepy child in the woods, adopts her.

"THE STRIDING PLACE"
Another confirmed bachelor misses his best friend and goes searching, somewhere in that nighttime space between dream and reality.

"THE DEAD AND THE COUNTESS"
A newfangled locomotive engine screams through the wild, rural areas of France and disturbs the interred residents.

"THE GREATEST GOOD OF THE GREATEST NUMBER"
A young doctor decides that cruelty and neglect are appropriate treatments for an opium addicted patient.

"MONARCH OF A SMALL SURVEY"
A rich California man owns vast acres, builds mansions and leases them to rich tenants, treats his sister and employees terribly, and no one benefits from his money. Greed begets greed; the poor remain miserable as they age and remain dependent.

"THE TRAGEDY OF A SNOB"
Middle class man gets the impossible idea that money alone will allow him to rub elbows with the wealthy elite of New York City. Impossible. An invisible cage surrounds them; they care about no one.

"CROWNED WITH ONE CREST"
Beautiful widow is mentally torn with memories of a scandalous sensation from years ago, as she plans to remarry . . .

"DEATH AND THE WOMAN"
A woman watches her husband as he is on his deathbed.

"A PROLOGUE (TO AN UNWRITTEN PLAY)"
A wild hurricane in the West Indies is unable to keep James Hamilton away from his beloved Rachael. Slaves are treated horribly.

"TALBOT OF URSULA"
A self-made man, confirmed bachelor named Talbot, falls in love with a Spanish girl Delfina, who marries a Spanish man. Delfina has ten children, gains 100 pounds; her husband and six of her children die, the remaining children get married and have their own children. And at this point the woman is only 39 years old. Married as a teen, I assume, and her children also married as teens and immediately had some babies. Also, the lady luckily regains her beauty thanks to tuberculosis, so Talbot can reclaim his love for at least a brief time.

THE END

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these stories were really good, namely "The Dead and the Countess", "The Greatest Good of the Greatest Number", and my favorite, "Death and the Woman". That is to say that I especially liked the stories that dealt with death, although not necessarily in a supernatural way (the only supernatural story among the ones I've mentioned is the first one). On the other hand, the majority of these stories was weak at best. Some of them had some interesting points, for instance "The Tragedy of a Snob", which is the story of a young man whose only dream is to be part of the high New York society. But I can't say that I was really fond of most of them. I especially didn't like "The Bell in the Fog", which introduces us to a pedophile in disguise - a platonic one, to be sure, he would never touch a child, but still quite clearly a pedophile. I can't stomach such stories, however platonic.

[Jc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some intriguing stories, but very dated. I generally like Victorian/Edwardian era fiction, but Atherton's language and stories seem very moldy and stilted. While I did enjoy some of the collection (particularly "The Tragedy of a Snob," "Death and the Woman," and "Talbot of Ursula") I think the stories in this collection are best reserved at this stage for dedicated students of the attitudes of that era and no one else. Atherton is viewed by many as a great feminist writer of her time, but reading these works I found the stories, characters, and more so her moral leanings, to be extremely elitist, classist, and racist. True, she shows money destroying people, but only because they are not of the correct social rank (which seems to be highly racially determined) to properly appreciate and understand money. And true, her women try to compete with men, but only in that they try to be as greedy and classist as the men. The women and the men live only for social (i.e., "High Society") position, and suffer when they don't have it (or try to pretend they do). Her portrayals of Jews, Amerindians, Mexicans, and other non-British-origin Americans is very disturbing to an early 21st century ear (and probably to some liberal ears of her own time). And her love, make that worship, of the English upper crust (oh, if only we could all be like the British nobility!) is embarrassing.

But, some of the story telling (if you can dig through the dense language) does make this worth a 3 -- it is not trash, but it is from a different era – I hope.

[Krystelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a little obscure in its language, and puts itself across as a little untouchable as a result of the language that it uses. It's quite a shame, because sometimes simplest is best regarding horror- the innate fear from something plainly laid out can be rather impactful. I wish that there was a little more of a prudent approach to the language, but given the year it is from, it makes sense.

That's not to say the stories aren't good. When they get going, they're incredible. The title story is sufficiently eerie, and completely unfitting of a lady of that era (which is all the more reason to cheer it on). There's a lot of scare here, if you can wade through the language that sets itself a little too high.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was well written, with good characterisation but I just didn't care for it as much as the last book of scary stories. Most of these stories didn't really belong in a "tales of horror" type anthology but were stories about the sad lives of sad Americans. (Which was a bit disappointing). The few stories that did have a terror or supernatural angle were very good. I had a quick look at the biography of this author and she sounded really amazing, unfortunately I think her work is just a little too American for my tastes.

[Rachel K · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was really just ok. Some of the stories were interesting but nothing shocking or terrifying more so looking inward and existential dread. I finished 90% of the stories with; 'That's it? Right...well that wasn't scary or strange just....stupid'.

[Cameron Trost · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite some rather eloquent prose, particularly in "The Bell in the Fog", this collection was lacking in concept, structure, and plot. It may appeal to you if Pride and Prejudice tickled your fancy, as there is plenty of gossip, posing, aristocratic self-pity, and American cultural insecurity. The only two stories that caught my attention were "The Greatest Good of the Greatest Number", which is suspenseful and thought-provoking, and "Death and the Woman", for its tension and sentiment.

[Tam May · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed most of Gertrude Atherton's work that I've read so far and this short book of stories is no exception. I was especially pleased to find a few horror stories here in the vein of 19th century psychological horror, as I have just recently become interested in 19th century women horror writers (like Mary Wilkins Freeman) and didn't know Atherton also had some stories like this up her sleeve. The last story in the collection was a bit un-PC for our time, as there was some body shaming and fatphobia in it but other than that, a great collection.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gothic short stories of some interest to the connoisseur. Possibly not for the casual reader. I'm very taken with Gothic literature in general, so was pleased to come across and read this interesting selection from a lesser known author.

[delete · Rating 3 out of 5]

the greatest good of the greatest number

[Niall O'Leary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Obviously an admirer of both Abrose Bierce and Henry James, she tries to make a virtue of the worst instincts of each. Dull at best, annoying at worst ('Prologue to a Play' is detestable).

[John Yelverton · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story starts off extremely well and builds and builds in the tension, and then abruptly comes to a stop with an ending that is anything but rewarding for the reader.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a collection of ghost stories, this book falls a little flat as only 3 or 4 tales include supernatural elements. However as other reviewers have pointed out, Gertrude Atherton is an excellent writer worthy of further discovery.

Atherton’s style is modern, wry, and confident, and her non-supernatural stories are psychologically insightful explorations of class and social ambition, obsession, love, death, and similarly grand themes. Her approach to these subjects is reminiscent of Henry James and Edith Wharton, with hints of Virginia Woolf and Charlotte Perkins Gilman as well.

The noteworthy title story is dedicated to James and has some thematic overlap with “The Turn of the Screw,” but the story I enjoyed most is “Death and the Woman,” a short yet powerful tale written from the perspective of a woman anticipating the death of her husband.

There are surely stronger and more thrilling entries in Wordsworth Classics’ horror and supernatural series, but I am grateful they published Atherton’s stories because I might have never discovered her work.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Striding Place • (1896) • short story 3⭐
The Bell in the Fog • (1903) • novelette 2⭐
Crowned with One Crest • (1900) • short fiction 3⭐
The Dead and the Countess • (1902) • short story 3.25⭐
Death and the Woman • (1892) • short story 5⭐
The Greatest Good of the Greatest Number • (1905) • short fiction 2.5⭐
A Monarch of a Small Survey • (1901) • short fiction 3⭐
Talbot of Ursula • (1899) • short fiction 3⭐
A Prologue 1⭐
The Tragedy of a Snob • (1905) 3⭐

[Larry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting at all. Why this book is part of a series of supernatural horror is beyond me.
2 good stories but the majority are just OK stories with often disappointing or confusing endings.

[Naticia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written short stories, with horror and Gothic notes, many of them including themes of class and class relations.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 stars.

"The Dead and the Countess"

[Jerfus · Rating 2 out of 5]

A couple of the stories where entertaining but most were meh

[Bill Borre]

The Striding Place is also printed in the Big Book of the Masters of Horror
The Tragedy of a Snob is also printed in the Big Book of the Masters of Horror

[Razzle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong start with diminishing returns.

The first, titular story was fantastic, and a favorite that I'll return to in the future (especially around Halloween).

I also enjoyed "Monarch of a Small Survey" and "The Tragedy of a Snob" for the poignant and well-realized unhappiness of their characters.

I should have expected some problematic unpleasantness from the time period, and "Prologue to a Play" is stupid and racist. "Talbot of Ursula," though interesting for its (romanticized? fabricated? racist) portraits of Californios, was generally creepy and had a messed-up fatphobic ending.

[Shaun? · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read and enjoy a variety of classic novels, but found what I read of this to be really dull and boring. Onto the DNF pile it goes...

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a little short story collection that kept my interest, namely for the psychological aspect, a la Henry James. My favorite is "The Dead and the Countess." The characters in these stories are believable and well-developed, and the writing style is