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Post by dem bones on Apr 1, 2008 23:08:06 GMT
Amy Myers (ed.) - The Third Book of After Midnight Stories (William Kimber, 1987) ionicus Brian Lumley - The Thin People Alma Priestley - The Neapolitan Bedroom R. Chetwynd-Hayes - Moving Day A. L. Barker - Element Of Doubt J. C. Trewin - The Manse John Whitbourn - Waiting For A Bus Jean Stubbs - The Band in the Park Ross McKay - The Indian’s Grave Mike Sims - Warm As Snow Derek Stanford - Meeting Mr. Singleton Meg Buxton - The Neighbours John Marsh - The Whisperer Kelvin I. Jones - Mandrake Fred Urquhart - Swing High, Willie Brodie Lanyon Jones - The Nine Lessons and CarolsCertainly in my top five ionicus covers. As with the other After Midnight selection i've read, there's nothing remotely 'bad' about it, just that much of the material seems .... bloodless? Notable exceptions: John Whitbourn - Waiting For A Bus: Another Biscombe tale, this time old Bob Springer recounts his experiences at the local bus stop when a man asked him to wait with him. The taciturn stranger is a marvellous creation, a man of few words, never slow to see the worst in the human race ... Laymon Jones - The Nine Lessons And Carols ; Stevas discovers a beautifully bound handwritten book of classical 18th century church music among some works by de Sade and various treatises on necromancy which are hidden amongst some dusty volumes of Victorian theology. He decides that the music must be performed, and even attempts to pass it off as his own. Bad news for the boy treble who begins to suffer from nightmares of being fettered in a concealed room and forced to sing until his lungs burst, while his body begins to take on the shape of the cruelly crippled. Brian Lumley - The Thin People: Barrows Hill, London. Balmy Bill, The Railway's resident alcoholic, relates his experiences of an incredibly tall, skinny race who hide behind lampposts, disguise themselves as drain-pipes and neatly fold things .... R. Chetwynd-Hayes - Moving Day: David Greenfield, a typical RCH thirty-something bachelor, moves in with ancient aunts Edith, Edna and Mathilda to make sure they can't squander his inheritance before he receives it. The trio are shunned by the townsfolk on account of their preoccupation with the local churchyard whose population they speak of as though they were ever calling around for a social visit. Greenfield soon learns far more than he'd wished about their other obsession, "the moving day". Quite the weirdest zombie story I ever read (and if that sounds like a recommendation, it isn't), with a moment of delicious horror when David has to kiss that thing, but - Dear God - that infernal "hilarious" "poetry"! As with the Lumley story, Karl E. Wagner selected this for Years Best Horror Story XVI. Amy Myers (ed.) - The Fourth Book of After Midnight Stories (William Kimber, 1987) ionicus R. Chetwynd-Hayes - Regression Brian Lumley - Dead On Time Elizabeth Foust - Edna’s Good Fortune J. C. Trewin - Good Night, Good Night! Jean Stubbs - An Evening At The Cromers’ Janet S. Goldfinch - The Stockingers John Whitbourn - Roots Barbara Joan Eyre - Jessica Derek Stanford - The Masque Mary Williams - Three Of Us Fred Urquhart - Lillie Langtry’s Silver Cup Joan Rees - Enchanting Cottage Frances Stephens - Mountain Men Alma Priestley - Gowks Patricia Daly - Narcissus Ross McKay - The Woodshed Door "The last great series of anthologies in our field was The Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories and its successors. Nothing since has matched it for sustained quality. The After Midnight series makes a bold try but ... The overall impression given by this volume is one of bland insipidity. Not that there's anything actually bad here, and the writing is of uniformly high quality, but even Brian Lumley's Dead On Time is well-written and predictable hackwork without a sign of his usual quirky effervescence. With a very few honourable exceptions the rest of the stories offer nothing that merits the "after midnight" tag.
Thank goodness, Chetwynd-Hayes, in Regression has produced a tale with a real punch. The chance to change your past and avoid a tragedy would be a great thing, wouldn't it? David Masters thought so, but it didn't turn out like that. The Woodshed Door by Ross McKay is a satisfactory account of an anomaly in a family's history and its remarkable explanation. In Three Of Us, Mary Williams makes an unusual venture into the territory that Robert Bloch has made his own, producing an effective story of psychosis. Better than any of these is Barbara Joan Eyre's Jessica, which is that rare thing, a completely satisfactory short-short ghost story.
Best of all, though, is Roots by John Whitbourn, one of his Biscombe Tales. Here is genuine imagination, producing real atmosphere and a premise to turn the reader's notions about British legend upside-down. Whitbourn promises to be the most exciting new writer in our field for a long time. For including two of the Biscombe Tales in her anthologies, Amy Myers deserves our thanks. Still, five lumps of gold hardly justifies the issue of an otherwise played out vein." - Roger Johnson, The Ghost Story Society Newsletter #3, June 1989.includes: Mary Williams - Three Of Us: Cornwall. Mrs. Tilly Twist has a morbid hatred of mirrors; every time she catches sight of herself she sees three versions of Mrs. Twist. When the latest boarder at Blossom Cottage buys her an antique looking glass from the despised Mrs. Polcarnes, the third image cuts the girls throat - just as she had the previous lodgers. A neat variation on Robert Bloch's Lucy Comes To Stay Barbara Joan Eyre - Jessica: On Christmas Eve the friends gather around the fire to swap ghost stories. Noel's tale of the beautiful girl who haunts him - she drowned during their engagement - ensures a terrible holiday for his appalled audience; "She's everywhere, following me and watching me - I get no peace - I can't stand it any longer - what does she want?" Brian Lumley - Dead On Time: Northern Ireland. The mother of a bomb victim commits suicide, swearing "As God is my witness, I'll get the murdering devil who did this to my baby - in this world or the next." Sean, having planted his latest device behind a pile of bricks is followed by a woman in a grey raincoat who wishes to return him something he left behind ... R. Chetwynd-Hayes - Regression: David Masters decides to end his life. While waiting for his overdose to kick in, he wonders: "If I had a choice of a hereafter, which one would I choose?" Ruling out Heaven, Hell and the ghost world, he decides he'd like to return to the time when he was happiest. When he regains consciousness, he is back at his old school desk in 1936. To his horror, he realises that within a week his father will die under the wheels of a runaway lorry. Perhaps, though, he's been given a second chance to prevent the tragedy?
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Post by Johnlprobert on Apr 2, 2008 10:48:43 GMT
It might be an odd reason, but I started buying this series of books purely because I liked the Ionicus covers. Volumes two and three are gorgeous.
And I knew there was a John Whitbourn story in there
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alansjf
Devils Coach Horse
Posts: 107
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Post by alansjf on May 29, 2008 11:40:08 GMT
Ok, this one's 1979, but anyway: Stories of the Supernatural (William Kimber, 1979) (cover: Ionicus) Frank Baker - Tyme Tryeth Troth Roald Dahl - The Sound Machine Antonia Fraser - Whose Been Sitting in My Car? William Trevor - George and Alice and Isabel Ann Bridge - The Song in the House A.L. Rowse - The Beneficent Shoes L.P. Hartley - The Travelling Grave Christine Brooke-Rose - On Terms Charles Causley - Looking for Annie Ronald Blythe - A Bit Simple A.L. Barker - The Crab James Turner - Double Take Fred Urquhart - Water Water Wallflower Most of these authors crop up again and again in Val Baker's anthologies - quite a few were part of the Kimber stable - but as usual there's a couple of older reprints.
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alansjf
Devils Coach Horse
Posts: 107
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Post by alansjf on May 29, 2008 11:43:00 GMT
When Churchyards Yawn (William Kimber, 1982) (cover: Ionicus) M.R. James - Rats Ronald Duncan - When We Dead Awaken Daphne du Maurier - Escort Fred Urquhart - Seven Ghosts in Search James Turner - Act of Contrition Frank Baker - In the Box Winston Graham - The Basket Chair R. Chetwynd-Hayes - The Sad Ghost Giles Gordon - In Spite of Himself Jean Stubbs - The Walking Shadow Hugh Walpole - Mrs Lunt Denys Val Baker - The Anniversary Peter Tinniswood - The Top Coat
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alansjf
Devils Coach Horse
Posts: 107
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Post by alansjf on May 29, 2008 11:50:01 GMT
Ghosts in Country Villages (William Kimber, 1983) (cover: Ionicus) Mary Butts - With and Without Buttons R. Chetwynd-Hayes - Coming Home J.C. Trewin - The Meadow M.R. James - A Warning to the Curious A.L. Rowse - The Wise Old Serpent of King’s Wood Hugh Walpole - The Tarn Fred Urquhart - Witch’s Kitten Derek Stanford - No Story For Nightshade Howard Spring - Corporal Strike Rosalind Wade - Which Room? Rosemary Timperley - Lost Pathways Mary Williams - The Eyes to See George Mackay Brown - The Hollander’s Book A.L. Barker - St Elmo
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Post by dem bones on May 31, 2008 19:38:33 GMT
Clive Leatherdale - The Origins Of Dracula: The Background To Bram Stoker's Gothic Masterpiece (William Kimber, 1987) A "non-fiction" anthology which I could never decide whether to include on the Kimber listing or no. At the time I made some remark to the effect that it was "mercifully" bereft of an Ionicus cover, now I've actually come to appreciate the guy's work! Blurb: When Stoker died he left research notes that have only recently been discovered at an American repository. Amongst them he makes reference to some two dozen sources for "Dracula." In this scholarly book Dr. Leatherdale, author of "Dracula: The Novel & The Legend", has assembled an anthology from these sources, which range from the folk legend to ancient lore on burial customs and vampires. The result provides the reader with new understanding of the fascination that "Dracula" exerts over all who read it.
Preface Acknowledgements Introduction
Sabine Baring-Gould - The Meaning Of Mourning Rushton M. Dorman - Fetishistic Superstitions And Burial Customs Herbert Mayo - Vampyrism Dom Augustine Calmet - Are Vampires Really Dead? William Wilkinson - An Account Of Wallachia, Moldavia ... And Dracula Major E. C. Johnson - On The Track Of Transylvania Emily Gerard - Transylvanian Superstitions Rev. W. Henry Jones & Lewis Kropf - The World's Beautiful Woman (A Magyar Folktale) Sabine Baring-Gould - Elizabeth Bathory And Werewolf Folklore Sarah Lee - The Habits And Instincts Of Bats William Jones - Credulities Of The Sea And Seamen Thomas Pettigrew - The Influence Of The Mind Upon The Body John Jones - Mesmerine Herbert Mayo - Trance-Sleep, Somnambulism, And Trance Walking Frederick Lee - Spiritual Powers Of The Church ... And Exorcism Albert Reville - The Devil Henry C. Lea - The Inquisitorial Process
Appendix: Complete List Of Bram Stoker's Sources For Dracula
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Post by dem bones on Dec 16, 2008 11:09:37 GMT
R. Chetwynd-Hayes (ed.) - Doomed to the Night (William Kimber, 1978) ionicus Acknowledgements - R. Chetwynd-Hayes Introduction - R. Chetwynd-Hayes
W. Somerset Maugham - A Man from Glasgow Barbara Joan Eyre - A Visit to Amelia Pride A. M. Burrage - Browdean Farm Daphne Froome - Strange Happenings at Canalps Miss Braddon - The Cold Embrace J. S. Le Fanu - An Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House The Marquess of Lorne - The Double-Bedded Room Mary E. Penn - In the Dark Margaret Chilvers Cooper - And Not One Penny to the Innkeeper Anonymous - At Ravenholme Junction Richard Middleton - The Conjurer Amelia Edwards - How the Third Floor Knew the Potteries Martin Armstrong - The Pipe Smoker Ambrose Bierce - A Jug of Syrup Anonymous - The Legend of Gorie Grange Eric Ambrose - The Man Who Died R. Chetwynd-Hayes - The Day that Father Brought Something Home One look at the contents and contemporary contributors and you suspect that RCH prepared this with the Fontana Great Ghost Stories series in mind. As with so many from the series, i've never seen a copy and it's possible it was another of Kimber's instant remainders. Thanks to Burlveneer for providing the contents and cover scan!
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Post by dem bones on Jan 8, 2009 16:44:10 GMT
It might be an odd reason, but I started buying this series of books purely because I liked the Ionicus covers. Volumes two and three are gorgeous. And I knew there was a John Whitbourn story in there Three, with the gleaming church clock is maybe my favourite and will be going on here very shortly i shouldn't wonder. Please excuse slight Kimber overkill the rest of you, but while I'm on a minor FU kick: Fred Urquhart - Lillie Langtry’s Silver Cup: Charming multiple ghost story, told from the viewpoint of a ghostly parlourmaid to the famous actress and courtesan who, unable to decide between two suitors, chose both. Mina Calder, dashing Corporal Josh Hodges of the Hussars and modest Chris Norman all get along famously in death as in life, but their menage a trois was temporarily terminated when an attempt to nobble a racehorse went awry and Josh hung on the gallows. At the stories end, the spectre of Lillie Langtry launches into a passionate outburst against Capital Punishment and those who advocate a return to Victorian values. Blatantly anti-Thatcherite in sentiment, my favourite Urquhart after the nasty, very different Proud Lady In A Cage. John Whitbourn - Roots: Another of Whitbourn's delightfully skewed Binscombe tales. The hapless "outsider" Mr. Oakley is deliberately overlooked when Alfred Bretwalda and his bruiser sons solemly pass a collection tin among the regulars at The Argyll so, as ever, he turns to Mr. Disvan for an explanation - and wishes he hadn't. I mean, what kind of community requires mass-donations toward a "concrete fund" so they can further strengthen a huge slab of the stuff cleverly disguised as an Electricity sub-station. As ever, there's method in the Biscombites' seeming madness and it has all to do with making sure the Once and Future King remains slumbering in this tomb ....
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Post by dem bones on Jan 8, 2009 18:52:42 GMT
Denys Val Baker's anthologies for William Kimber Haunted Cornwall (1973) Stories of the Macabre (1976) Stories of the Night (1976) Stories of Horror and Suspense (1977) Stories of The Occult (1978) Stories of the Supernatural (1979) Stories of Fear (1980) Cornish Ghost Stories (1980) Ghosts in Country Houses (1981) When Churchyards Yawn (1982) Stories of Haunted Inns (1982) Ghosts in Country Villages (1983) Phantom Lovers (1984) Haunted Travellers (1985) Here, in no particular order, are most of 'em. This is the result of a big fat Vault effort with Alan Frackelton, Steve, Bob 'The Duke' Rothwell and Severance providing most of the spadework. Denys Val Baker (ed.) - Ghosts In Country Villages (William Kimber, 1983) Ionicus Mary Butts - With and Without Buttons R. Chetwynd-Hayes - Coming Home J.C. Trewin - The Meadow M.R. James - A Warning to the Curious A.L. Rowse - The Wise Old Serpent of King’s Wood Hugh Walpole - The Tarn Fred Urquhart - Witch’s Kitten Derek Stanford - No Story For Nightshade Howard Spring - Corporal Strike Rosalind Wade - Which Room? Rosemary Timperley - Lost Pathways Mary Williams - The Eyes to See George Mackay Brown - The Hollander’s Book A.L. Barker - St ElmoDenys Val Baker (ed.) - Stories Of Haunted Inns (William Kimber, 1983) Ionicus J.C. Trewin - The Jolly Waterman W.B. Maxwell - The Last Man In M.R. James - Number 13 Gordon Williams - The Horseshoe Inn A.L. Rowse - The Guest House Rosemary Timperley - The Artist’s Model Denys Val Baker - The Anniversary Richard Selmer - The Terrible Stone of Chalcombe Manor Fred Urquhart - Alice, the Baby and Bonnie Dundee A.L. Baker - The Dream of Fair Women Rosalind Wade - Carrot Quintet Derek Stanford - In Another Room Patricia Daly - In My Father’s House are Many MansionsDenys Val Baker (ed.) - Stories Of The Supernatural (William Kimber, 1979) Ionicus Frank Baker - Tyme Tryeth Troth Roald Dahl - The Sound Machine Antonia Fraser - Whose Been Sitting in My Car? William Trevor - George and Alice and Isabel Ann Bridge - The Song in the House A.L. Rowse - The Beneficent Shoes L.P. Hartley - The Travelling Grave Christine Brooke-Rose - On Terms Charles Causley - Looking for Annie Ronald Blythe - A Bit Simple A.L. Barker - The Crab James Turner - Double Take Fred Urquhart - Water Water WallflowerDenys Val Baker (ed.) - When Churchyards Yawn (William Kimber, 1982) Ionicus M.R. James - Rats Ronald Duncan - When We Dead Awaken Daphne du Maurier - Escort Fred Urquhart - Seven Ghosts in Search James Turner - Act of Contrition Frank Baker - In the Box Winston Graham - The Basket Chair R. Chetwynd-Hayes - The Sad Ghost Giles Gordon - In Spite of Himself Jean Stubbs - The Walking Shadow Hugh Walpole - Mrs Lunt Denys Val Baker - The Anniversary Peter Tinniswood - The Top CoatDenys Val Baker (ed.) - Phantom Lovers (William Kimber 1984) R. Chetwynd-Hayes - Lord Dunwilliam and the Cwn Annwn Fred Urquhart - Dust Fills Helen's Eyes James Turner - Love Affair James Lasdun - The Cat Maggie Ross - Kevin J.C. Trewin - Special Performance Washington Irving - The Spectre Bridegroom Ronald Blythe - Everything a Man Needs A.L. Barker - The Old Man's Story Derek Stanford - Window-Dressing Denys Val Baker - The Haunting of Angela Prendergast Rosemary Timperley - The Walker-Out Rosalind Wade - Guch Cottage Mary Williams - Anna Cover by IonicusHaunted Travellers Ed. Denys Val Baker William Kimber, May 1985 Introduction by Denys Val Baker Double Crossing by Rosalind Wade Station Cab by J. C. Trewin The Saracen’s Stick by Fred Urquhart All in the Mind by Chris Simons The Labyrinth by R. Chetwynd-Hayes A Descent into the Maelström by Edgar Allan Poe The Day Trip by Patricia Daly Poor Kate by Mary Williams The Coastguard by Lanyon Jones A Trip to the Forest by Derek Stanford The Lerryn-Brown Line by Meg Buxton Voice from the Past by Denys Val Baker Lost Journey by A. L. Barker Here's Stories of the Night (1976) South Sea Bubble by Hammond Innes Danse Macabre by L. A. G. Strong All Through the Night by Rhys Davies The Case of the Thing that Whimpered by Dennis Wheatley The Shadow on the Wall by L. P. Hartley The Red Signal by Agatha Christie The Snake by John Steinbeck Consanguinity by Ronald Duncan Signs and Symbols by Vladimir Nabokov Tredynham's Folly by A. L. Rowse Various Temptations by William Sansom Escape by Denys Val Baker The Lady of Sweetheart Abbey by Fred Urquhart The Guardian by Walter de la Mare The Story of the Late Mr Elvesham by H. G. Wells.And..... Cover by Claire GammonStories of Horror and Suspense : An Anthologyed. Denys Val Baker Wm. Kimber, 1977 Introduction by Denys Val Baker The Man with the Moon in him William Sansom The Sack Frank Baker The Apple Tree Elizabeth Bowen S.O.S. Agatha Christie Genesis and Catastrophe Roald Dahl Ganymede Daphne du Maurier The Golden Spaniard Dennis Wheatley The Island Winston Graham Enoch's Two Letters Alan Sillitoe The Sisters Jame Joyce Death of a Principal A.L. Rowse Circumstantial Evidence Edgar Wallace A Diver in China Seas Fred Urquhart What Became of Fairfax? James Hanley Quite possibly some more from old board to follow. Phew!
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Post by carolinec on Jan 8, 2009 19:51:53 GMT
Ooo, lovely - more Ionicus covers! Think I'm getting obsessed by his covers now ...
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Post by dem bones on Jan 8, 2009 23:08:11 GMT
This one is neither ionicus or Kimber and i'm not entirely sure how much horror or supernatural content we'll find if any. From the blurb it sounds like it would be more at home with all the lovely phwoar! stuff, but Val Baker was usually good for a spook story or two, so this can hang around here until i feel strangely possessed to read it. Denys Val Baker - Strange Possession (Pyramid, April 1965) The Private hells and heavens of men and women who are different - written with the passion and power of D. H. Lawrence Beauty And The Beast The Sisters Tommo By Moonlight The Inheritance The Stepfather The Way Of The Healer The Baroness The Girl On The Beach The Way The Wind Blows The Prophet The Summer To Remember The Key In The Door The Road The Taste Of PowerBlurb: Floodtide Of Passion
Harsh with the raw energy of reality, here are thirteen potent stories of men and women possessed by demonic desires they do not understand.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST - in a desolate beach cottage, a voluptuous beauty draws strange delight from a lover more brute than man.
MANSON THE HEALER - who finds his soothing hands have made him the slave of a twisted woman.
THE STEPFATHER - driven to corrupt his wife's daughter, he finds himself enmeshed in a bizarre battle of desire and revenge.
WENDELL - who finds that the strange affair with his patron's wife unleashes a cycle of suicide and murder - and retribution.
ELLY - the beautiful heiress who kept one last passionate rendezvous - with the man in the moon.
With compassion and profound insight, a master story-teller reveals the urges and fears that erupt and possess these troubled lives.
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Post by dem bones on Jan 9, 2009 13:56:52 GMT
Peter Haining in Kimber Dead Of Night (1981) Greasepaint And Ghosts (1982) Shades Of Dracula: The Uncollected Stories Of Bram Stoker (1982) Nightcaps And Nightmares Christmas Spirits (1983) Ghost Tour: An Armchair Journey Through the Supernatural (1984) Hallowe'en Hauntings (1984) The Ghost Ship: Stories of the Phantom Flying Dutchman (1985) Tune in for Fear: A Choice of Supernatural Radio Stories (1985) Supernatural Sleuths (1986) Peter Haining (ed.) - Shades Of Dracula: The Uncollected Stories Of Bram Stoker (William Kimber, 1982) ionicus Peter Haining - Christmas Spirits: Ghost Stories Of The Festive Season (William Kimber, 1983) ionicus Peter Haining (ed.) - Hallowe’en Hauntings (William Kimber, 1984) ionicus Peter Haining - Supernatural Sleuths (William Kimber 1986) ionicus As with R. Chetwynd-Hayes, Peter Haining has his own justly deserved section, though for contents of the above you're best to look to the Vault 'site', ho ho. If anyone can fill in the missing blanks as to covers and contents, i would be, as ever, scandalously grateful. Thanks to Sev and Steve!
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Post by allthingshorror on May 18, 2009 9:23:45 GMT
Thought that this might be an interesting oddity - came with the copy of Doomed To The Night when I bought it a while back.
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Post by allthingshorror on May 18, 2009 9:27:43 GMT
Where Phantoms Stir - Ghost Stories by Mary Williams
William Kimber (1976)
Ionicus
CONTENTS:
Love Me, Love Me Julian and Jo Rustle of Spring Perfection Pink Knickers Where Phantoms Stir The Boat Nothing Widgett's End A Pinch of Salt The Bad Land The Swing The Second Man No Dream Legend Poor Kate
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Post by allthingshorror on May 18, 2009 9:35:58 GMT
Nightcaps and Nightmares - ed. Peter Haining (William Kimber 1983)IonicusCONTENTS:
Introduction The Spectre of Tappington - Thomas Ingoldsby The Lawyer and the Ghost - Charles Dickens The Wraith of Barnjum - F. Antsey The Canterville Ghost - Oscar Wilde The Ghost Aristocracy - Kenneth Graham The Haunted Mill - Jerome K. Jerome Ghosts That Have Haunted Me - John Kendrick Bangs The Inexperienced Ghost - H G Wells The Clothing of Ghosts - Ambrose Bierce A Ghost of a Chance - O. Henry The Ghost Ship - Richard Middleton Buggam Grange - Stephen Leacock A Trip to Spirit Land - Robert Benchley The Night the Ghost Got In - James Thurber The White Horse - Robert Graves Half-way To Hell - John Collier The Indian Spirit Guide - Robert Bloch
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