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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
as always i must express my opinion per story but on the whole i really enjoyed this collection!
the four fifteen express - 3 stars
i enjoy a train mystery as much as the next golden age detective fan but i didn't think this was particularly christmas-centric (a theme which i will return to) and it was extremely obvious where it was going to go. thankfully it was written in an engaging enough way that i sped through it without much trouble
the curse of the catafalques - 3 stars
more of a satire than i expected and i DO love a bastard narrator, which this man certainly is. was a bit disappointed that the story was not set in a church which i expected when i asked my mum what a catafalque is. god do i wish we got to see a little more of the Curse than a red glowing door
christmas eve on a haunted hulk - 5 stars
LOVED IT. haunted shipwrecks are so so good and this was one of the better Stubborn Man narrators in the collection. also think this would be my dad's favourite mostly for all the boat stuff. there's something so visceral and unpleasant about the description of lying in the pitch black hull of this wreck listening to a murder being committed from decades past... scintillating
the christmas shadrach - 2 stars
underwhelming! earns points for christmas theming but i just was not interested in this misogynist's travails. no ghosts and no real menace because honestly i hope people cool towards this guy. i can see why the author has been forgotten when mark twain stuck around, there's not a lot of staying power
number ninety - 3 stars
a classic haunted house story and of course the stinger is very good; it's always satisfying when someone who refused to heed the warnings gets their comeuppance. i do wonder if it would be more effective as an m.r. james style epistolary piece
the shadow - 5 stars
absolutely menacing in the extreme. loved the class commentary and the sort of polyamorous subtext. might be wishful thinking but who knows, e. nesbit was cool! i've enjoyed every ghost story i've read of hers... maybe i should try the railway children
the kit-bag - 4 stars
this one had a slow start but holy shit does it build to a dramatic climax... i wasn't convinced by the survival of the protagonist but i'm glad he did because he seemed like a nice man. there's a fun implied legal drama in the befores and afters of this, especially the lack of chain of evidence for this big murder sack
the story of a disappearance and an appearance - 4 stars
MY GUY MONTY!!! this one is confusing so i cannot give it my guy's usual five stars but i do love the dream punch and judy show and trying to untangle exactly what did happen to the uncle between his disappearance and being found dead. punch and judy shows already inspire a great deal of dread so i will cherish any examples of Evil Punch. also i hope the toby dog got out okay
boxing night - 2 stars
think me and e.f. benson are unlikely to be bosom buddies. it's barely a ghost story and barely christmas themed, and the climax is extremely predictable. obviously the miserly uncle is going to try and steal the money! the little biography before the story mentioned that benson is generally viewed as a big misogynist and having read his portrayal of these women i have to agree
the prescription - 3.5 stars
this one has ups and downs... i think the reveal of the physical prescription isn't really needed for the story to be unnerving, especially when we have the doctor's narrative and the story of the wife's murder to draw our own conclusions from already. i've noticed in reading a lot of these anthologies that stories which insist on physical evidence of the ephemeral tend to interest me a lot less... like i'm already sold on the ghost marjorie. that's why i'm reading a ghost story
the snow - 3 stars
i love an unlikeable female protagonist as much as the next dyke but i'm not convinced by the portrayal here. i do love a revenge ghost but this one veered too close to Woman Scorned without much subversion for me to find it very interesting
smee - 4 stars
the invention of haunted sardines is incredible to me. i must play sardines with a ghost immediately. i think we would become good friends unlike these cowards who find the presence of the ghost "uncanny" and "spiritually upsetting". also the explanation of the ghost once again did not need to be repeated three or four times. i do have reading comprehension skills
the demon king - 5 stars
this one is probably not objectively a five star story but oh my god the premise. the vibes. the devil himself is like yknow what i think it's time for my PANTO DEBUT. and he just works really hard at it and tries to make it the best panto this town has ever seen! frankly i think they should book him for next year instead of kirk ireton.
lucky's grove - 4 stars
it was honestly surreal reading this story with its references to walt disney and central heating in the same volume as stories like disappearance and catafalques which feel so vastly removed from this setting despite being about as far distant from lucky's grove as lucky's grove is from me now. i enjoyed the oblivious blundering into certain doom as much as i always do but in a way i think this story over eggs the pudding a bit. like do we need menacing ornaments AND a snake apparition in the tree AND a haunted exploding cracker. i know it's christmas but sometimes more is less.
the four fifteen express - 3 stars
i enjoy a train mystery as much as the next golden age detective fan but i didn't think this was particularly christmas-centric (a theme which i will return to) and it was extremely obvious where it was going to go. thankfully it was written in an engaging enough way that i sped through it without much trouble
the curse of the catafalques - 3 stars
more of a satire than i expected and i DO love a bastard narrator, which this man certainly is. was a bit disappointed that the story was not set in a church which i expected when i asked my mum what a catafalque is. god do i wish we got to see a little more of the Curse than a red glowing door
christmas eve on a haunted hulk - 5 stars
LOVED IT. haunted shipwrecks are so so good and this was one of the better Stubborn Man narrators in the collection. also think this would be my dad's favourite mostly for all the boat stuff. there's something so visceral and unpleasant about the description of lying in the pitch black hull of this wreck listening to a murder being committed from decades past... scintillating
the christmas shadrach - 2 stars
underwhelming! earns points for christmas theming but i just was not interested in this misogynist's travails. no ghosts and no real menace because honestly i hope people cool towards this guy. i can see why the author has been forgotten when mark twain stuck around, there's not a lot of staying power
number ninety - 3 stars
a classic haunted house story and of course the stinger is very good; it's always satisfying when someone who refused to heed the warnings gets their comeuppance. i do wonder if it would be more effective as an m.r. james style epistolary piece
the shadow - 5 stars
absolutely menacing in the extreme. loved the class commentary and the sort of polyamorous subtext. might be wishful thinking but who knows, e. nesbit was cool! i've enjoyed every ghost story i've read of hers... maybe i should try the railway children
the kit-bag - 4 stars
this one had a slow start but holy shit does it build to a dramatic climax... i wasn't convinced by the survival of the protagonist but i'm glad he did because he seemed like a nice man. there's a fun implied legal drama in the befores and afters of this, especially the lack of chain of evidence for this big murder sack
the story of a disappearance and an appearance - 4 stars
MY GUY MONTY!!! this one is confusing so i cannot give it my guy's usual five stars but i do love the dream punch and judy show and trying to untangle exactly what did happen to the uncle between his disappearance and being found dead. punch and judy shows already inspire a great deal of dread so i will cherish any examples of Evil Punch. also i hope the toby dog got out okay
boxing night - 2 stars
think me and e.f. benson are unlikely to be bosom buddies. it's barely a ghost story and barely christmas themed, and the climax is extremely predictable. obviously the miserly uncle is going to try and steal the money! the little biography before the story mentioned that benson is generally viewed as a big misogynist and having read his portrayal of these women i have to agree
the prescription - 3.5 stars
this one has ups and downs... i think the reveal of the physical prescription isn't really needed for the story to be unnerving, especially when we have the doctor's narrative and the story of the wife's murder to draw our own conclusions from already. i've noticed in reading a lot of these anthologies that stories which insist on physical evidence of the ephemeral tend to interest me a lot less... like i'm already sold on the ghost marjorie. that's why i'm reading a ghost story
the snow - 3 stars
i love an unlikeable female protagonist as much as the next dyke but i'm not convinced by the portrayal here. i do love a revenge ghost but this one veered too close to Woman Scorned without much subversion for me to find it very interesting
smee - 4 stars
the invention of haunted sardines is incredible to me. i must play sardines with a ghost immediately. i think we would become good friends unlike these cowards who find the presence of the ghost "uncanny" and "spiritually upsetting". also the explanation of the ghost once again did not need to be repeated three or four times. i do have reading comprehension skills
the demon king - 5 stars
this one is probably not objectively a five star story but oh my god the premise. the vibes. the devil himself is like yknow what i think it's time for my PANTO DEBUT. and he just works really hard at it and tries to make it the best panto this town has ever seen! frankly i think they should book him for next year instead of kirk ireton.
lucky's grove - 4 stars
it was honestly surreal reading this story with its references to walt disney and central heating in the same volume as stories like disappearance and catafalques which feel so vastly removed from this setting despite being about as far distant from lucky's grove as lucky's grove is from me now. i enjoyed the oblivious blundering into certain doom as much as i always do but in a way i think this story over eggs the pudding a bit. like do we need menacing ornaments AND a snake apparition in the tree AND a haunted exploding cracker. i know it's christmas but sometimes more is less.
Spirits of the Season is only the second book of British Library's Tales of the Weird series that I've read, but it's even better than the first one. Apart from the baffling inclusion of The Christmas Shadrach (1891) by Frank R. Stockton (not creepy in any sense of the word nor interesting), there's no actual weak link that short story collections such as these usually have.
All of these could handle multiple readings, but most importantly: they're perfect for a cold winter night and can make you double-check the shadows in the room. The absolute best of the best:
The Kit-Bag by Algernon Blackwood (1908): An old favorite that really managed to creep me out the second time around as well. It can be hard to imagine that a ghost story concerning a bag could do that, but it's very intense.
The Snow by Hugh Walpole (1929): Beautifully written revenge story, an eerie atmosphere, and an excellent ending.
The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance by M. R. James (1913): The master of horror whose imagery in the nightmarish Punch and Judy show always gets me.
Smee by A. M. Burrage (1929): A game of hide and seek takes a chilling turn. There's something about lighting a match and seeing something you don't want to see, or coming into a slow realisation that there's something wrong with the group you're spending time with.
All of these could handle multiple readings, but most importantly: they're perfect for a cold winter night and can make you double-check the shadows in the room. The absolute best of the best:
The Kit-Bag by Algernon Blackwood (1908): An old favorite that really managed to creep me out the second time around as well. It can be hard to imagine that a ghost story concerning a bag could do that, but it's very intense.
The Snow by Hugh Walpole (1929): Beautifully written revenge story, an eerie atmosphere, and an excellent ending.
The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance by M. R. James (1913): The master of horror whose imagery in the nightmarish Punch and Judy show always gets me.
Smee by A. M. Burrage (1929): A game of hide and seek takes a chilling turn. There's something about lighting a match and seeing something you don't want to see, or coming into a slow realisation that there's something wrong with the group you're spending time with.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
I decided to reread the collection as I didn’t really remember the stories but it remains a very mixed bag for me. My favourites were The Prescription by Marjorie Bowen, The Shadow by E. Nesbit and The Kit-Bag by Algernon Blackwood.
dark
mysterious
dark
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
as in every short story collection some stories were good and some fell flat. my favorite stories were "The Shadow" and "Smee"! (and my least favorite "Christmas Eve on a Haunted Hulk" and "Lucky's Grove"). Also, I enjoyed the little snippets about the authors life's and the inclusion of some queer authors!