Tara Moore

I was somewhat disappointed with this collection of ghost stories. I was expecting the stories to have a Christmas connection, as in "A Christmas Carol", but they really have little or nothing to do with the holiday. The "Christmas connection" is that they were printed in magazines during the winter season, to be read (or read aloud) at night, a Victorian tradition. The Victorians were very fond of ghost stories, as they had a fascination with spiritualism and death. Now, I have read and enjoyed many Victorian ghost tales, so I knew what to expect in that aspect. This collection, however, is a very uneven and mixed lot of stories. My favorites were by Elizabeth Gaskell, Conan Doyle (pre-Sherlock Holmes), and F. Marion Crawford (a creepy story reminiscent of Algernon Blackwood's "The Doll"). Many of the others were just okay, and several not good at all. The longest, "The Lady's Walk" by Margaret Oliphant, was far too long and wordy and almost pointless. I kept flipping ahead to see when it ended. Valancourt has put together some nice collections of stories, but this one is at or near the bottom of my list. Except perhaps for one or two stories, this is one book that will not be re-read in the future.… (meer)

I am a freaky fan of all things Victorian, especially stories. Throw in ghosts, and I'm there! Throw in Christmas, and I'll meet you with a cup of peppermint Shnapps and hot cocoa. I can never get enough of these types of stories. Mind you, this was a collection, and I had never heard of any author, so these gems are hard to find. Some were hokey, some were serious, all were fun. There's even one from Doyle, and it's not Sherlock! You had to suspend your disbelief for all of them, but you know that going into a ghost story anyway, don't you? My favorite quote sums up the "cozy" feeling one gets when reading a Victorian ghost story. Here's the quote: "[If this story is] read aloud, to an undoubting audience by the doubtful light of the closing evening, or, in silence, by a decaying taper, and amidst the solitude of a half-lighted apartment, it may redeem its character as a good ghost-story." Time to sit by the fire and start reading!… (meer)

The Captain of the “Pole-star” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle I love me some Conan Doyle, but not this one. I’m not a fan of Arctic settings, nor of stories that take place at sea, so this was a double whammy against me liking it. Add to that, it isn’t really a spooky ghost story, so much as a second hand account of ghost sightings and their results.

In my opinion, Conan Doyle’s The Haunted Grange of Grosthorpe is a far superior ghost story.

How Peter Parley Laid a Ghost by Anonymous My first thought as I started reading this – a story aimed at Victorian children – was that the writing shines a sorry light on the state of today’s education. I doubt many children today would be able to pass a reading comprehension quiz based on this story, purely based on the vocabulary. I could be wrong, but the writing here is certainly more sophisticated than that of most of today’s books aimed at adults.

This story was better than Conan Doyle’s Captain of the Pole-Star; more interesting, amusing, and frankly, better written. But it’s still not a true ghost story; it’s a morality tale aimed at the folly of superstition. In this context, it’s a brilliant story; in the context of a spooky ghost story … not so much.… (meer)