The Virago Book of Ghost Stories ed. Richard Dalby

The Virago Book of Ghost Stories is an entertaining way of exploring the world of ghost stories.

The book is an anthology of ghost stories written by talented female authors of the 20th Century, including Edith Wharton, E Nesbit, Mrs Gaskell, Elizabeth Bowen, Angela Carter and Fay Weldon. Their talent ensures that as you read their stories the hair on the back of your neck stands on end and you are sitting on the edge of the seat as you wait to find out who and what the ghost is.

There is everything in this book from the more traditional ghost stories told around the fireside late in to the evening, to psychological experiments and manifestations. The ghosts are both real and imaginary. Some of the ghosts are human and some are not. Some are old and some are young. There are innocent victims, perpetrators of crime, disturbed men and women and of course there are haunted houses that are out to get their inhabitants. Some of the stories are written from the perspective of someone that is decidedly alive, and others are told from the perspective of the ghost themselves. If you are looking for variety, you will find it in the pages of The Virago Book of Ghost Stories.

The stories are collected in this anthology by Richard Dalby and his enthusiasm for the genre is very contagious. He has arranged the contents of The Virago Book of Ghost Stories in chronological order. This was a wonderful way to show how the ghost story has changed (or not changed) over time. I will admit to enjoying the ghost stories from the early 20th century that little bit more than the stories from the later 20th century. I think that this may be because the earlier the ghost story the more traditional it seemed to be. It could, however also be accounted for the fact that the book is quite long.

In the introduction to The Virago Book of Ghost Stories, Richard Dalby explains how hard he found it to cut the book down because of the sheer volume of quality ghost stories told by the talented female authors of the 20th century. In fact, I believe that there is a second volume, and that there is also The Virago Book of Victorian Ghost Stories. Although I don't doubt that it would have been extremely difficult to limit the number of stories to include in the anthology, I thought that there were a few too many and that I was ready to move on to another book before I had read all the stories it contained.

Despite that, Richard Dalby's The Virago Book of Ghost Stories was a mesmerising collection and has not dulled my enthusiasm for a good ghost story (click here to read more about my personal enthusiasm for the ghost story).

6 / 8: Really enjoyable and well written. I would recommend it. 


Two Questions: 1. Do you enjoy ghost stories? and 2. Do you enjoy reading anthologies?

Do you enjoy a good ghost story?

Image from ehow.com

"My 'attitude' towards ghost stories is one of enthralling interest and admiration if they are well told. I regard the ghost story as a perfectly legitimate form of art, and at the same time as the most difficult. Ghosts have their own atmosphere and their own reality, they have also their setting in the everyday reality we know; the storyteller is handling two realities at the same time..."

May Sinclair, The Bookman, 1923

Last year I read two ghost stories.

The first was Henry James's The Turn of the Screw and the second was Sarah Water's The Little Stranger.  Both were great stories, but especially James's The Turn of the Screw. I read it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end for most of it.

Ever since, I have been completely enthusiastic about exploring ghost stories as a literary genre… and my next foray into the world of ghosts has been my current read, The Virago Book of Ghost Stories. It is a collection of 20th Century ghost stories written by some of the most fabulous and talented female authors of that time, including Edith Wharton, Angela Carter and Elizabeth Bowen.

At the very beginning of the preface to this collection of ghost stories is the above quote by May Sinclair and when I read it I fell in love with her words. Not just because I loved Sinclair's own contribution to this collection, but because it captures so accurately how I feel about ghost stories.

They are enthralling.

When I read ghost stories I feel as close to the character telling the story as I might feel to a flesh and blood person telling me of their own ghostly stories.

What Sinclair says about the two realities is so true. A good ghost story blends the supernatural with the everyday reality in such a way as to make the supernatural feel natural, albeit spine chillingly sinister (most of the time). It is the atmosphere that this blend of the real and the 'imaginary' creates that is enthralling.

These stories have me completely sucked in and I wish that the Virago Book of Ghost Stories would never end.

It has, however, got me thinking.

Do I believe in ghosts?

Now I know this is a book and it's not real – don't worry. But I have always had a suspicion that ghosts really do exist, after a ghostly experience I had as a teenager.

This is my own ghost story.

First, let me set the scene. In the family home in which I grew up, there was a hallway that lead from the main living room towards the end of the house. As you walked down the hall, there were 2 doors going off to either side. On the right, the first door led my younger sister's bedroom. The second led to my parent's bedroom. On the left, the first door led to the kitchen and the second to the bathroom. My bedroom was directly at the end of the hall.

This event happened in 2001, the year of my HSC exams (end of school exams for any non-Australians reading this). I was always a good studier, and as usual I was in my bedroom studying at my desk, which was right next to my bedroom door. It's my habit to keep my bedroom door closed, and this day was no exception. I remember being at home alone, although I can't remember anymore where everyone was. It was the afternoon, so it was very quiet around the neighbourhood and as such there was no background noise to distract me from my study.

I was completely engrossed in my study when all of a sudden I heard a sound. I wasn't even sure what the sound was, but there was a sound that made me look up from what I was doing and listen.

I listened very hard, and then I heard it again… a footstep in the hallway. I froze. I kept listening. Eventually I called out "Hello?" There was so response, but eventually I heard another footstep.

I went completely rigid. Every muscle in my body froze. I remember staring at the wall in front of me and not being able to move as I listened.

The footsteps started coming slowly up the hall towards me. I still couldn't move. I was so terrified. I held my breath. I gripped my pen. And I kept staring at the wall in front of me waiting for something to happen.

I think in my mind at the time I assumed that we had been broken into and that it was the offender that I was hearing moving down the hall towards me.

Eventually the footsteps stopped right outside my door and by this time I was completely panicking – internally that is. I was till frozen, unable to move or think or call for help.

Then nothing happened. I don't even know how long I sat there for. I never heard the footsteps retreat, or go into either of the rooms next to my own. They just stopped outside my door.

Eventually enough time passed for me to be able to move and think. I called out again, "Hello" and there was no response. I got up and slowly opened my bedroom door, and there was no one there.

I was so freaked out that I took a break from study (pretty unusual for me sadly) to have a cup of tea and I finished off my study in the bedroom with the door wide open until people came home.

Ok – you can see from that little story that I wasn't born to be a writer, but I hope that you can also see how an experience like that might make an impressionable teenager at least open to the possibility of ghosts, can’t you?!

My suspicion that ghosts might actually be real was almost confirmed when I went on an underground ghost tour in Edinburgh a few years later. We were in a room several floors under the ground and the tour guide was telling us ghost stories. I was standing right near the door into the corridor, which was so pitch black (as you can imagine) that you couldn't see into it. As the guide was talking I could feel a presence in the corridor. I was becoming more and more terrified and was nearly on the point of saying to the guide that I was too scared and I wanted to leave… when another employee of the tour company jumped into the room and screamed "BOO!" As you can imagine, I screamed the loudest out of everyone in the room, and obivously I was sensing the actual presense of this person standing right near me outside of the door. It confirmed that there was no ghostly presence at that time under the streets of Edinburgh.

But I have still always suspected…. that maybe they do exist.

Lately, I have been taking it a few steps further? I am not a religious person. I like to think that there probably is a God, but I definitely don't believe anything that man says about God (ie. follow a particular religion). I don't even know if I believe in life after death. But lately I have been wondering – how can I believe in ghosts if I don't know if I believe in life after death? Can you think that there is probably a God and still believe in ghosts? What is a ghost anyway and does it have anything at all do with the afterlife or not? Or anything to do with religion or not? Am I just a sentimental fool for even contemplating the existence of ghosts?

So many questions and so few answers. Now I have exposed my embarrassing secret and personal ghost story it's over to you.

Do you believe in ghosts – or have you had an experience that you can't explain? Do you like reading ghost stories and what is it about ghost stories that you enjoy? I want to know everything!

Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a classic in the true sense of the word; with timeless themes and an important place in literary history.

The story beings in the northern ice caps with Robert Walton, a young man seeking adventure in the uncharted areas of the world. His trip is interrupted when the boat he sails on comes upon a strange man stranded all alone in the ice caps needing assistance.

This man is Doctor Viktor Frankenstein, who proceeds to tell Walton an almost incomprehensible story about his journey to recreate human life. The result of this journey, is Frankenstein's monster.

The beauty of Frankenstein is just how human Frankenstein's monster really is. He is a man who desires love and companionship. In his early years of being he seeks friendship and family. He wants people's approval and notice in order that he can become the man that he feels that he is.

He is then deeply wounded by the sudden and cruel realisation that he is fated to a life of nameless isolation, where he will only ever be met with abhorrence and rejection. His grief and despair at this realisation force him to seek the assistance of the man that he himself despises, his creator, Viktor Frankenstein.

Sadly, when he finds that even this avenue cannot bring him relief from his pitiful situation he dedicates his life to destroying his creator, hoping to find peace but only to discover that his destructive acts cannot satisfy his all too human desires.

Because of this, it is the nameless monster created by Frankenstein that holds our sympathy, despite his murderous acts. Frankenstein himself becomes a selfish figure that having achieved his desired outcome, refuses to take responsibility for the life that he has created. He suffers for this undoubtedly, but it is his creation that you cannot help but feel fascinated by and feel pity for.

It is incredible to think that at the age of 18 Shelley was able to write such a book; a book that so accurately captures the depths of human nature and feeling.

Not only this, but Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus played a significant role in the development of the horror genre, as well as having an important place in romantic and gothic literature, and to a lesser extent science fiction as well.

This is a classic in the true sense of the word, and a book that I recommend to everyone with a love of literature.

7 / 8

Brilliant, couldn't put it down. Recommend that you buy it.

Have you read this book? How did you feel about Doctor Frankenstein himself? Did you think that he did the right thing is failing to assist his creation or did he fail to responsibility for his actions?

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters; a ghost story

Sarah Water's The Little Stranger is a modern day ghost story, and a great read for those of you who like a good ghost story.

The Little Stranger is a modern day ghost story set in post WWII at Hundreds Hall, an old English mansion that has fallen into disrepair. It is owned and inhabited by the Ayres family, a mother and her daughter and son. Doctor Faraday, the local doctor, becomes involved with the family when he is called out to see one of the Hall's servants when she falls in. Gradually though, strange happenings begin to occur around the house that slowly send the family spiralling out of control.

The story is told through the eyes of Doctor Faraday, who plays the role of the non-believer that is essential in every ghost story. He is a rational man with a scientific mind, who tries throughout the novel to make rational sense of the strange ghostly occurrences at Hundreds Hall.

Initially, we are made to think that Doctor Faraday is an objective observer but it slowly becomes clear that perhaps he is not as objective as we might think. We begin to get a sense the Doctor Faraday has a growing obsession with Hundreds Hall; he thinks about it all the time and makes every effort to ingratiate himself with the family as often as he can. I couldn't help but wonder whether he had designs on the property and how this effected his ability to analyse what was occurring within the house.

Waters did an an excellent job of combining a spooky ghost story with social commentary. The darkness of the ghost story fit in very well with the dark and sombre mood of England post WWII.

Hundreds Hall imposes itself upon the story so well that it almost becomes a character in its own right. The large rambling mansion is falling into disrepair because its owners are unable to afford the upkeep. The garden is taking over the house, the steps are crumbling to pieces and inside the wall paper is peeling from the walls. In a way, Hundreds Hall is used a metaphor for the country itself.

Much like James' The Turn of the Screw, the reader is left wondering at the end about what, if any, the ghostly present was. I know this allows for additional mystery - but I would have preferred a more conclusive outcome after investing so much time in the story. Waters makes a bold attempt to create a spooky atmosphere with the mystery - but it fell a little short of the mark for me. I often felt that the story was moving just a little too slowly, and was a little too focussed on Doctor Faraday and not enough on the ghostly elements of the story. Although I enjoyed it, it definitely wasn't in the same league as the Turn of the Screw for fear and tension.


Summary

What kind of read is this?
It is an easy read, but the book is rather thick and it takes longer to read than you might expect.

Do I recommend this book?
I recommend it to people who enjoy ghost stories but it won't be the best ghost story that they read.

Do I recommend that you buy this book?
No, borrow it.

Star Rating

5 / 8

Good and worth reading if you have the opportunity, but there's no need to prioritise it.

Are you a fan of ghost stories? I would love to know what you think of this book if you have read it or any of Sarah Waters other books?

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (a real ghost story)

I was keen to read another Henry James novel after finishing The Portrait of a Lady earlier this year and having very mixed feelings toward it.  So I was very grateful to the wonderful Bethany from Words, Words, Words (definitely worth having a look at this great blog), who sent me a copy of The Turn of the Screw after she had finished with it.

This novella is your classic ghost story. It begins with a group of people sitting around a fire in an old house, on Christmas Eve, telling each other ghost stories. One of these people then agrees to tell the others a story he was once told by a woman he once greatly admired. The scene is set, a few nights later they all settle in to listen to his tale.

The story then switches into the first person, and the remainder of the book is written from the perspective of a governess who recounts her experiences as a live in governess at a property in the country called Bly. She is hired by a well-to-do man who has become the carer for his niece and nephew after their parents have passed away, leaving them orphans. He has sent his charges to live in the country, and he hired this governess to care for them, giving her the only condition that she is in no way to contact him about the children. As she settles into the house and routine, and falls in love with the children, she begins to experience increasingly strange occurrences and see apparitions. It begins with seeing a sinister man standing on their roof top and later staring in through a window, and later she sees an equally sinister woman staring longingly at the children. She becomes increasingly disturbed when she believes that the children can see them too, and she determines to save them from any evil influences in the house.

The ghost story is so perfectly formed that I was totally caught up in it, and totally freaked out. I read it in almost one sitting, and was surprised to see that 2.5 hours had passed in barely the blink of an eye.

The language is typical of James; there are very long sentences that often go off on tangents, and it can be hard to lose the train of thought without concentrating on what is being said. Having said that, I actually love language like that; that old fashioned language that winds all over the place, but I am sure that it is a matter of taste.

I have been surprised to discover that there is actually debate about whether this a true ghost story or the governess was actually just going crazy and making it all up in her psychotic mind. I personally think that anyone who thinks that the governess was crazy is crazy themselves. It couldn't be clearer to me that these ghosts were 'real' and they meant harm.

What made it all the more real to me was that the ghosts weren't white floaty things, making things mysteriously move about and all that typical ghost like behaviour. Instead that were just the reincarnation of certain people's evil intentions during life. They behaved liked real people and looked like real people, and they were all the more scary because of it.

To further emphasise the creepiness of the occurrences in this house, I loved the way that James described the children. You are never quite sure what they are really thinking, and what really motivates their angelic behaviour. It makes the children themselves seem sinister, adding to the creepiness of the story.

The tension that James created made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I loved being freaked out by a book. This is one that I would definitely recommend.

Summary

What kind of read is this?
It is a ghost story, and a scary one. Also, although it is a very small book, it takes longer to read than you might think simply because of the complexities of James's writing.

Do I recommend this book?
Yes, especially for those of you who like some real tension. I am not usually a reader of mysteries, but this was tense.

Do I recommend that you buy this book?
Yes I do. It is creepy enough to warrant a second or third (or more) reading. I feel like it is one of those books that the more times you read it, the more things you will pick up.

Star Rating

7 / 8

Brilliant, couldn't put it down. Recommend that you buy it.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Dracula by Bram Stoker is a very original and creepy classic that I think everyone should read at some point in their reading lives.

The story begins with one of the main characters Jonathan Harker, a new lawyer, making his way to Count Dracula's castle in Transylvania to complete some legal business his form has with Count Dracula. The villagers he meet all warn him against his plan, however he puts this down to traditional superstition at most, and dismisses their warnings. Once at the castle, Jonathan Harker becomes more and more suspicious of Count Dracula's behaviour, until eventually his suspicions are proved to be true and he finds himself a prisoner in the castle.

I can't recreate the thoroughly evil atmosphere that Stokercreates, nor would I want to. I hope that you will experience it for yourself. Suffice to say that what happens on the castle is the scariest part of the book and I almost wondered whether I would be able to finish reading it. Fortunately I did finish reading it and I was rewarded. The story moves between different countries and cities and the entire time I was riveted.

The book is written from many different characters perspectives by way of diary entries, journal entries, letters and newspaper clippings. This was apparently a very new and different way of writing a novel in 1897. I was nervous when I first started reading it that this method of story telling would act as a barrier between me and the story but it worked well, ensuring the suspense is intense throughout the entire book. The story does become less and less creepy as it progresses. Don't get me wrong, there are some evil images Bram Stoker creates all the way through, but it is never quite as creepy as it is at first in Count Dracula's castle.

 I couldn't put Dracula down, despite there being points in time when I really wanted to put it down. This is easily the creepiest book I have ever read. I remember watching parts of Nosferatu when I was a child and being really terrified. Now, having read Dracula by Bram Stoker I would like to watch again as an adult.

All in all, I think that if you are in for a very different read and you're not afraid of a bit of blood, I think you should give this classic a go.

Star Rating

6.5 / 8

Brilliant, couldn't put it down.