Very nice, indeed!
_The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories_ includes a few old favorites but--more importantly, I believe--also includes quite a few tales that are less frequently anthologized. If, like me, you love a good book of ghost stories but seem to find the same dozen or so stories in every anthology on the market, you will be pleasantly surprised by the breadth of stories that Cox has chosen to include.
Cox's introduction lends a scholarly air to the volume and prefaces the collection well. However, a brief commentary (say, a paragraph or two) at the beginning or end of each story would have been nice. Also, the paperback cover is not the sturdiest, but light enough to carry (and, I'll admit, to read in the bathtub, a difficult task with a larger, heavier hardback volume of this size).
All in all, an excellent collection! I highly recommend it.
Wonderful Ghostly Collection
Having owned this book for many years, it is a treasured part of my library, and is worth at least one re-reading a year. A fantastic collection of English prose, with the emphasis of stories in the 1880s, which marked the highlight of ghostly literature, in my opinion. Those that prefer insightful and introspective literature dealing with the supernatural will feel right at home, but those of a contemporary ilk that require shock and gore over substance are advised to look elsewhere. Highly recommended, both for the editor's choices, and also the incredibly horrific "Smee"; one story that I have re-read dozens of times. The horror gradually creeps up on you in this fine collection....
A great book for any classic ghost story fan
This is a great anthology for anyone new to classic ghost literature (or even someone who isn't that new). It's a mixed bag of authors, with a smattering of stories by the obligatory writers as well as a number that are harder to find. It's important to note that these are _classic_ ghost stories - they depend largely on atmosphere and subtlety for their effect, and are often better on the second reading than on the first (and the third is just about perfect).
This book provides some great ways to learn more about the genre. There is a nice recap of and commentary on the history of the English ghost story included at the beginning, as well as some biographical details and criticism of the big names. The most helpful part to me, though, was the great bibliography in the back - it's a fantastic tool for finding more great stories that just wouldn't fit in the anthology. Overall, a great book for a beginning classic ghost story reader.
too many dull stories
some of the stories were good enough in this collection, but most were too boring too catch your attention (too obvious, boring descriptions, weak plot etc.). i guess you have to be into the old charm of the english ghost story to really appreciate this. i guess i am too modern to be scared by a guy who talks to a guy who turns out to be a ghost, and that's it.
Another nightmarish collection from Gilbert and Cox
The horror genre is cluttered with hackwork, and imitations of hackwork--H.P. Lovecraft seems to have spawned a particularly virulent strain of the latter. However one of its subgenres, i.e. the ghost story seems to attract a better quality of writer--perhaps because a truly frightening tale of the returned dead is so difficult to write. (Believe me, I've tried and after almost half a century of trying, have sold exactly one ghost story).
L. P. Hartley, who wrote "The Travelling Grave" and other great stories of the supernatural, described the ghost story as "certainly the most exacting form of literary art, and perhaps the only one in which there is almost no intermediate step between success and failure. Either it comes off or it is a flop."
Cox and Gilbert have collected mostly successes (and one or two flops) in "The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories" and its companion volume, "The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories." If you suffer from what Virginia Woolf called "the strange human craving for the pleasure of feeling afraid," both of these volumes will satisfy. Each contains a good mix of familiar and lesser-known ghost stories.
Here is a sampling from 'English Ghost Stories':
"The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs -- A horrible variant on 'Be careful what you wish for. It might just come true.' This is a sad, frightening story--maybe 'the' perfect tale of the supernatural.
"The Confession of Charles Linkworth" by E.F. Benson -- A telephone call from a hanged man.
"Man-Size in Marble" by E. Nesbit -- An overly sweet Victorian marriage comes to a tragic end on All Saints' Eve.
"The True History of Anthony Ffryar" -- When a fatal epidemic sweeps through Cambridge, a scholar witnesses an unusual Mass for the Dead: "'Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine,' chanted the hooded four; and one candle went out..."
"Smee" by A.M. Burrage -- A Christmas Eve game of hide-and-seek has one too many players.
"Bosworth Summit Pound" by L.T.C. Rolt -- A haunted English canal tunnel: "Not only was the narrow cavern of crumbling brickwork as cold and dark as a vault after the warmth and brilliance of the May sunshine, but water streamed from the roof and descended in cascades from the chimneys of the ventilation shafts. He had the utmost difficulty in keeping a straight course, for the damp atmosphere exhaled an evil-smelling mist which obscured the farther end of the tunnel..."
"Hand in Glove" by Elizabeth Bowen -- A young woman on the hunt for a titled husband is in desperate need of a clean pair of gloves.
"Bad Company" by Walter De La Mare -- A haunting encounter on the Underground.
"The Judge's House" by Bram Stoker -- A likeable young man seeks solitude to study for a mathematics exam.
(9 reviews)
