A review by basil_touche
Our Haunted Shores: Tales from the Coasts of the British Isles by Emily Alder, Joan Passey, Jimmy Packham

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.25

Interesting collection of short stories about bizzare and haunting events around the British shorelines. The poetry that bookends the collection was a nice surprise, particularly "The Haunted Beach" by Mary Robinson and "Sonnet XLIV" by Charlotte Smith. Unfortunately I didn't really find any of the stories all that scary or haunting but seeing as the collection features stories from the late 18th century to the early 20th, what was considered eery or frightening back then may not be so to our modern perspectives.

Some stories also felt a bit too long winded (as per the style of the era, I know) which made it so that I tired of said tales. Some I rather enjoyed; "The Strange Student" and "What Was It?" (authors unknown) both do a good job of not revealing to much about the creatures that haunt the protagnists or what happens to them that did linger in my mind afterwards. "The Sea Raiders" does what you'd expect from H. G. Wells and is filled with some good action, while "Where the Tides Ebb and Flow" by Lord Dunsany ended up being my favourite of the whole lot, with a dream like quality with an ending that left me a little emotional.

Overall, I'd say that this is a mixed bag and not one I'm going to keep, but I can't lie and say I didn't get anything out of it.