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 into 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.

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?

Originally posted 24 March 2011 Page Turners

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 led 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 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 still 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 obviously I was sensing the actual presence 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.

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!

Originally posted 10 February 2011 Page Turners

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 something a bit spooky.

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 ill. 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 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 wallpaper 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 presence 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?

Originally posted 13 December 2010 Page Turners

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

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 rooftop 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 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 scarier 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.

Originally posted 20 June 2010 Page Turners