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A review by cranberry__sauce
The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories by
3.0
"The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell
more of a christmas ghost story but still good
rating: 4/5
"An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street" by J. S. Le Fanu
this story said i should read it after nightfall near a fireplace—i read it in a cold pit at 8:00 in the morning. so...vibes, i guess? not very scary but it was ok
rating: 3/5
"The Miniature" by J. Y. Ackerman
got to read about two men sword fighting over a girl they both loved—except one of the guys is the girl's cousin. that's the 1800s for ya! but it was kinda boring ngl
rating: 2.5/5
"The Last House in C— Street" by Dinah Mulock
not sure what to say about this one, but it was quite good
rating: 3.5/5
"To be Taken with a Grain of Salt" by Charles Dickens
a surprisingly good effort from Dickens—the twist ending made me reflect upon the story, which is something that ghost stories don't often do
rating: 4.5/5
"The Botathen Ghost" by R. S. Hawker
a lot of antiquated language here, but it wasn't terrible
rating: 2/5
"The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth" by Rhoda Broughton
i usually like epistolary storytelling, but this just sucked
rating: 1.5/5
"The Romance of Certain Old Clothes" by Henry James
a memorable effort from henry james of the turn of the screw fame. i thought the sister rivalry elements of this story were very intriguing, and while there weren't many ghosts in this story, the end twist was fun (if predictable).
rating: 4.5/5
"Pichon & Sons, of the Croix Rousse" by Anonymous
this one had a lot of stuff about france that i think i would only understand if i lived in france during the 1800s. in other words this was boring
rating: 1.5/5
"Reality or Delusion?" by Mrs. Henry Wood
rating: 3/5
"Uncle Cornelius His Story" by George MacDonald
i feel like george macdonald wanted to write about philosophy but no one would accept it so he just turned it into a ghost story
rating: 3.5/5
"The Shadow of a Shade" by Tom Hood
best one i've read so far; good job tom!
rating: 5/5
"At Chrighton Abbey" by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
rating: 3/5
"No Living Voice" by Thomas Street Millington
a day later i wanted to come back and write a bit about this story, only to discover that i had completely forgotten it. it's clearly not memorable
rating: 2/5
"Miss Jéromette and the Clergyman" by Wilkie Collins
a bit of a weak effort from Collins here, but this had potential; i will definitely read more of his works
rating: 2.5/5
"The Story of Clifford House" by Anonymous
rating: 5/5
"Was it an Illusion?" by Amelia B. Edwards
rating: 4/5
"The Open Door" by Charlotte Riddell
a fun story about a door that constantly stays open. the ending was a bit rushed here, but good overall
rating: 4/5
"The Captain of the 'Pole-star'" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
a fun story from the creator of Sherlock Holmes about a polar voyage. Doyle has proved he knows how to write good atmosphere as well as memorable characters—happily, this story contains both.
rating: 4.5/5
"The Body-Snatcher" by R. L. Stevenson
this is not a ghost story so idk why it was included
rating: 3/5
"The Story of the Rippling Train" by Mary Louisa Molesworth
rating: 2.5/5
"At the End of the Passage" by Rudyard Kipling
good story, but not a ghost story so i don't know why it was included in this collection
rating: 3/5
"'To Let'" by B. M. Croker
rating: 3/5
"John Charrington's Wedding" by E. Nesbit
rating: 3.5/5
"The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly" by Rosa Mulholland
by far the funniest story title i perhaps have ever seen, and it is about a haunted organ. what could be better? also this story is quite creepy, good job Rosa
rating: 4.5/5
"The Man of Science" by Jerome K. Jerome
rating: 2.5/5
"Canon Alberic's Scrap-book" by M. R. James
rating: 3.5/5
"Jerry Bundler" by W. W. Jacobs
rating: 4.5/5
"An Eddy on the Floor" by Bernard Capes
rating: 1.5/5
"The Tomb of Sarah" by F. G. Loring
rating: 3.5/5
"The Case of Vincent Pyrwhit" by Barry Pain
rating: 2.5/5
"The Shadows on the Wall" by Mary E. Wilkins
rating: 3/5
"Father Macclesfield's Tale" by R. H. Benson
rating: 2.5/5
"Thurnley Abbey" by Perceval Landon
rating: 4/5
"The Kit-bag" by Algernon Blackwood
rating: 4.5/5
Overall
overall, this story collection was a fun read. a lot of these stories exceeded my expectations, and many fell short. i personally recommend you read any of them that i rated a score of 3.5 or higher. instead of buying the book for yourself, look them up online—all of their copyrights have run out, so they're free to read!
more of a christmas ghost story but still good
rating: 4/5
"An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street" by J. S. Le Fanu
this story said i should read it after nightfall near a fireplace—i read it in a cold pit at 8:00 in the morning. so...vibes, i guess? not very scary but it was ok
rating: 3/5
"The Miniature" by J. Y. Ackerman
got to read about two men sword fighting over a girl they both loved—except one of the guys is the girl's cousin. that's the 1800s for ya! but it was kinda boring ngl
rating: 2.5/5
"The Last House in C— Street" by Dinah Mulock
not sure what to say about this one, but it was quite good
rating: 3.5/5
"To be Taken with a Grain of Salt" by Charles Dickens
a surprisingly good effort from Dickens—the twist ending made me reflect upon the story, which is something that ghost stories don't often do
rating: 4.5/5
"The Botathen Ghost" by R. S. Hawker
a lot of antiquated language here, but it wasn't terrible
rating: 2/5
"The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth" by Rhoda Broughton
i usually like epistolary storytelling, but this just sucked
rating: 1.5/5
"The Romance of Certain Old Clothes" by Henry James
a memorable effort from henry james of the turn of the screw fame. i thought the sister rivalry elements of this story were very intriguing, and while there weren't many ghosts in this story, the end twist was fun (if predictable).
rating: 4.5/5
"Pichon & Sons, of the Croix Rousse" by Anonymous
this one had a lot of stuff about france that i think i would only understand if i lived in france during the 1800s. in other words this was boring
rating: 1.5/5
"Reality or Delusion?" by Mrs. Henry Wood
rating: 3/5
"Uncle Cornelius His Story" by George MacDonald
i feel like george macdonald wanted to write about philosophy but no one would accept it so he just turned it into a ghost story
rating: 3.5/5
"The Shadow of a Shade" by Tom Hood
best one i've read so far; good job tom!
rating: 5/5
"At Chrighton Abbey" by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
rating: 3/5
"No Living Voice" by Thomas Street Millington
a day later i wanted to come back and write a bit about this story, only to discover that i had completely forgotten it. it's clearly not memorable
rating: 2/5
"Miss Jéromette and the Clergyman" by Wilkie Collins
a bit of a weak effort from Collins here, but this had potential; i will definitely read more of his works
rating: 2.5/5
"The Story of Clifford House" by Anonymous
rating: 5/5
"Was it an Illusion?" by Amelia B. Edwards
rating: 4/5
"The Open Door" by Charlotte Riddell
a fun story about a door that constantly stays open. the ending was a bit rushed here, but good overall
rating: 4/5
"The Captain of the 'Pole-star'" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
a fun story from the creator of Sherlock Holmes about a polar voyage. Doyle has proved he knows how to write good atmosphere as well as memorable characters—happily, this story contains both.
rating: 4.5/5
"The Body-Snatcher" by R. L. Stevenson
this is not a ghost story so idk why it was included
rating: 3/5
"The Story of the Rippling Train" by Mary Louisa Molesworth
rating: 2.5/5
"At the End of the Passage" by Rudyard Kipling
good story, but not a ghost story so i don't know why it was included in this collection
rating: 3/5
"'To Let'" by B. M. Croker
rating: 3/5
"John Charrington's Wedding" by E. Nesbit
rating: 3.5/5
"The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly" by Rosa Mulholland
by far the funniest story title i perhaps have ever seen, and it is about a haunted organ. what could be better? also this story is quite creepy, good job Rosa
rating: 4.5/5
"The Man of Science" by Jerome K. Jerome
rating: 2.5/5
"Canon Alberic's Scrap-book" by M. R. James
rating: 3.5/5
"Jerry Bundler" by W. W. Jacobs
rating: 4.5/5
"An Eddy on the Floor" by Bernard Capes
rating: 1.5/5
"The Tomb of Sarah" by F. G. Loring
rating: 3.5/5
"The Case of Vincent Pyrwhit" by Barry Pain
rating: 2.5/5
"The Shadows on the Wall" by Mary E. Wilkins
rating: 3/5
"Father Macclesfield's Tale" by R. H. Benson
rating: 2.5/5
"Thurnley Abbey" by Perceval Landon
rating: 4/5
"The Kit-bag" by Algernon Blackwood
rating: 4.5/5
Overall
overall, this story collection was a fun read. a lot of these stories exceeded my expectations, and many fell short. i personally recommend you read any of them that i rated a score of 3.5 or higher. instead of buying the book for yourself, look them up online—all of their copyrights have run out, so they're free to read!