Scan barcode
A review by fictionfan
Our Haunted Shores: Tales from the Coasts of the British Isles by Emily Alder, Joan Passey, Jimmy Packham
3.0
Get out of the water!
Another anthology from the British Library’s Tales of the Weird series, this one has twenty entries, all with settings around the shores of Britain. I say entries rather than stories because several of these are not stories, and often not at all what I would describe as horror or weird. There are poems, which I freely admit are not my thing and none of them made me want to change my mind. There are recountings of folk myths, which are interesting but not developed as stories. And there are pieces which recount natural disasters, such as drownings and tragedies at sea, which are done more as faux reportage than, again, being developed as horror stories. Of the twenty, I’d call fifteen of them stories, but there are only eleven that I’d classify as in any way weird, even by the most generous definition of that genre.
Unfortunately, even among those fifteen I found the quality of the selections pretty disappointing. While there are some stand-out stories, most are rather unimpressive and a few are frankly poor, feeling to me as if they’re included only because of their connection to the overarching theme rather than for any intrinsic quality in the stories. I said recently that these anthologies work best when the editor and the reader are in tune. While I don’t know Emily Alder or Jimmy Packham, I have found in the past that Joan Passey and I are not in tune – she is far more interested in the little poems and folk myths she includes than I am, and we clearly don’t share a definition of what ‘weird’ or even ‘horror’ means. So as always my reaction to the collection is subjective, and other readers may find themselves more in synch with the selections than I.
As always, here’s a flavour of the ones I enjoyed most – a rather restricted list this time, since I gave only 4 of the entries five stars:
The Sea-Fit by Algernon Blackwood – a deliciously scary story of ancient sea gods and those who worship them. Three men are staying in a dilapidated bungalow on the shore, when one of them succumbs to what is known as his sea-fit, and the mist rolls in and the waves seem to be singing a haunting song. The “wierdest” story in the collection, and while it’s obvious where it’s heading, Blackwood still manages to create an atmosphere of tension and dread.
Crooken Sands by Bram Stoker – a surprisingly humorous tale of a visitor to Scotland who insists on wearing full Highland rig despite the warnings of the local seer that his vanity and the local quicksands will lead him into danger.
A Ghost of the Sea by Francis Prevost – The narrator is on a walking holiday in Cornwall and Devon when he meets an old acquaintance who had withdrawn from the world some time back. He explains to the narrator that he behaved badly towards a woman who subsequently drowned, and now he sees her dead body in the sea. Bad enough, but now he has come to see other dead people in the sea too. The writing in this one is great with some powerful imagery, and there’s a real sense of unease. The narrator wishes to be a cynic, but he gradually becomes less certain. Quite an unsettling story that reminds us of the many lives lost around our shores and the many bodies never recovered.
On the Isle of Blue Men by Robert W Sneddon – A manuscript is found after the death of a madman who had appeared on the Portuguese shore one day and lived out his remaining life there. The manuscript tells of how the narrator and his wife, Alice, sailed out to an island inhabited only by three lighthouse keepers, all Highland men. One of them Jamieson, is reputed to be a seer. He is horrified that a woman is on the island, especially a red-haired one. He warns that it will bring on them the curse of the Blue Men! And indeed it does! An excellent story, based on a Scottish myth, with some terrifying octopus-like creatures that would certainly deter me from taking a job on a lonely island!
So a few goodies, but one of the less successful of these anthologies overall. 2½ stars for me, so rounded up.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.
Another anthology from the British Library’s Tales of the Weird series, this one has twenty entries, all with settings around the shores of Britain. I say entries rather than stories because several of these are not stories, and often not at all what I would describe as horror or weird. There are poems, which I freely admit are not my thing and none of them made me want to change my mind. There are recountings of folk myths, which are interesting but not developed as stories. And there are pieces which recount natural disasters, such as drownings and tragedies at sea, which are done more as faux reportage than, again, being developed as horror stories. Of the twenty, I’d call fifteen of them stories, but there are only eleven that I’d classify as in any way weird, even by the most generous definition of that genre.
Unfortunately, even among those fifteen I found the quality of the selections pretty disappointing. While there are some stand-out stories, most are rather unimpressive and a few are frankly poor, feeling to me as if they’re included only because of their connection to the overarching theme rather than for any intrinsic quality in the stories. I said recently that these anthologies work best when the editor and the reader are in tune. While I don’t know Emily Alder or Jimmy Packham, I have found in the past that Joan Passey and I are not in tune – she is far more interested in the little poems and folk myths she includes than I am, and we clearly don’t share a definition of what ‘weird’ or even ‘horror’ means. So as always my reaction to the collection is subjective, and other readers may find themselves more in synch with the selections than I.
As always, here’s a flavour of the ones I enjoyed most – a rather restricted list this time, since I gave only 4 of the entries five stars:
The Sea-Fit by Algernon Blackwood – a deliciously scary story of ancient sea gods and those who worship them. Three men are staying in a dilapidated bungalow on the shore, when one of them succumbs to what is known as his sea-fit, and the mist rolls in and the waves seem to be singing a haunting song. The “wierdest” story in the collection, and while it’s obvious where it’s heading, Blackwood still manages to create an atmosphere of tension and dread.
Crooken Sands by Bram Stoker – a surprisingly humorous tale of a visitor to Scotland who insists on wearing full Highland rig despite the warnings of the local seer that his vanity and the local quicksands will lead him into danger.
A Ghost of the Sea by Francis Prevost – The narrator is on a walking holiday in Cornwall and Devon when he meets an old acquaintance who had withdrawn from the world some time back. He explains to the narrator that he behaved badly towards a woman who subsequently drowned, and now he sees her dead body in the sea. Bad enough, but now he has come to see other dead people in the sea too. The writing in this one is great with some powerful imagery, and there’s a real sense of unease. The narrator wishes to be a cynic, but he gradually becomes less certain. Quite an unsettling story that reminds us of the many lives lost around our shores and the many bodies never recovered.
On the Isle of Blue Men by Robert W Sneddon – A manuscript is found after the death of a madman who had appeared on the Portuguese shore one day and lived out his remaining life there. The manuscript tells of how the narrator and his wife, Alice, sailed out to an island inhabited only by three lighthouse keepers, all Highland men. One of them Jamieson, is reputed to be a seer. He is horrified that a woman is on the island, especially a red-haired one. He warns that it will bring on them the curse of the Blue Men! And indeed it does! An excellent story, based on a Scottish myth, with some terrifying octopus-like creatures that would certainly deter me from taking a job on a lonely island!
So a few goodies, but one of the less successful of these anthologies overall. 2½ stars for me, so rounded up.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.