Richard Dalby (ed.) - Mystery For Christmas

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Richard Dalby (ed.) - Mystery for Christmas (Michael O'Mara, 1990)

William Geldart

Richard Dalby – Foreword

Charles Dickens – The Black Veil
Mrs. J. H. Riddell – The Banshee’s Warning
Erckmann-Chatrian – The Citizen’s Watch
Thomas Hardy – What The Shepherd Saw
Edward Lucas White – The Picture Puzzle
Dolf Wyllarde – Ellison’s Christmas Dinner
Marjorie Bowen – Marwood’s Ghost Story
Margery H. Lawrence – The Man Who Came Back
Joseph Shearing – The Chinese Apple
Ronald Duncan – Diary Of A Poltergeist
Muriel Spark – The Leaf-Sweeper
Derek Stanford – The Illuminated Office
H. R. F. Keating – The Case Of Seven Santas
Sydney J. Bounds – Mage Of The Monkeys
Maggie Ross – Nostalgia
Roger F. Dunkley – The Reluctant Murderer
John S. Glasby – Cyanide For Christmas
Elizabeth Fancett – The Cloak Of DeSouvre
Roger Johnson – The Soldier
Ron Weighell – The Case Of The Fiery Messengers
David G. Rowlands – The Codex
John Whitbourn – Peace On Earth, Goodwill To Most Men
Mary Williams – Christmas Rose


Blurb:

Ghosts, murders, bizarre disappearances and journeys back through time, every conceivable type of mystery can be found within the pages of Mystery for Christmas, but with one thing in common: they all take place during the short days and dark nights, the festivities and tensions of Christmas time.

Writers have long been inspired by this season of peace and goodwill to tell tales of murder, mystery and the supernatural, and the stories in this collection range from work by classic nineteenth-century writers such as Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy to popular contemporary writers like Muriel Spark and H.R.F. Keating. Several of the stories have been written especially for this volume.

Mysteries can take many different forms — as the stories in this intriguing collection prove. There are seasonal crime mysteries: an apparently impossible murder at a family gathering ; a homicidal Santa Claus, and a chilling case of mistaken identity in Victorian London. There are some atmospheric encounters with the supernatural; some nightmarish, as in the murdered husband who returns to confront his murderer; others less frightening than bewildering or even amusing.

And as Christmas, a festival around which traditions abound, can also be a time at which the past seems particularly close, Mystery for Christmas included stories in which the past becomes indistinct from the present, and in one case threatens to take over the present.

Excuse the stub post, am trying to fill in some gaps. Had this from the library soon after publication. Liked John Whitbourn's story of gargoyle (?) attack in hooligan disrupter's of a midnight mass so much that I took a photocopy (and spent the last hour and a half seeking it out).

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John Whitbourn – Peace On Earth, Goodwill To Most Men: At Mr. Disvan's insistence, Mr. Oakley forgoes the joys of The Argyll on Christmas Eve to attend midnight mass at St. Joseph's, C. of E., and experience the annual macabre entertainment. Sure enough, the Rev. Jagger's service is repeatedly interrupted by loutish drunken gatecrashers only for the culprits to be dragged screaming to the crypt by St. Joseph's resident novelty bouncers. Not a gargoyle in sight but otherwise as delightful as I'd (mis)remembered it.

Mary Williams – Christmas Rose: Alice absconds from hospital on December 23rd and jumps the bus toward Haymere, determined to be home in time for darling Richard's return from the front ....

Not sure why the author has The Golden Cow regulars refer to 'Richard' as 'Luke' - it just confuses the issue - but a decent short sharp creeper from my flavour of the moment.

Sydney J. Bounds – Mage Of The Monkeys: Ginger Hayler, a keeper at London Zoo, is horribly hexed by Ramada, the leader of an Indian dance troupe, for his maltreatment of monkeys. Master Weaver of the Guild negotiates with Ramada to lift the curse.

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Roger F. Dunkley - The Reluctant Murderer: 'The Great Antonio and Midge.' The billing tells you all you need to know about which is the star performer and which the disposable stooge of the operation. True, Midge is resentful at living in his brother's shadow, though not to the extent of wishing him harm. But these days the blackouts are arriving with greater frequency, along with awful premonitions about their forthcoming New Year's night performance. The poor man is suicidal.

Seeing as The Great Antonio is aka 'Uncle Tony, the Kiddies' friend, the brothers' stage show is surprisingly macabre. Climax sees Midge padlocked inside a coffin and ran through with a sword. No potential for that to go horribly wrong.

David G. Rowlands - The Codex: Stoneground's finest, Mr. Batchel, spends Christmas at Eton with his old friend M. R. James who is struggling to raise sufficient funds to purchase the Codex Sinaiticus for the British Museum. Help arrives in the unlikely form of James' late tutor, Henry Luxmoore, whose ghost has taken to haunting the college and was recently caught on camera attending the opening of his monumental garden. What is he trying to communicate? Studying the photograph for clues, mr. Batchel resolves to investigate the sundial in the garden. Inspired by a line in an M. R. J. letter to Gwendolyn McBride, 14 June 1933 ("A capital view of Luxmoore has come out in the photograph of the function in the garden.")

Marjorie Bowen - Marwood's Ghost Story: (John o’ London’s Weekly Dec 6th 1925). The author rents a secluded country cottage for the winter, determined to write a ghost story even though they are trashy, flimsy, silly, childish things and only the most credulous fool would waste any time reading such rubbish. To get a feel for his subject, Marwood bones up on the so called "classics" - Defoe, Scott, Poe - which only confirms his opinion that all his predecessors in the field are hopeless. As he fast accumulates too many books, so wife Janet, who shares his scepticism, wishes he'd hurry up and get this stupid obsession with ghosts out of his system. And then come Christmas Eve, something terrifying approaches the snowbound cottage ....

Roger Johnson - The Soldier: As exhumed by Paul Finch for Terror Tales Of London.

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H. R. F. Keating - The Case Of The Seven Santas: Mr. Ebenezer invites seven of his rapacious relatives to spend Christmas at The Manor, Princefinger, where he intends to announce the terms of his will. Ebenezer warns that, while some of his guests will receive £100,000 on his death, those in whom he is disappointed shall benefit not a single penny from his passing. Evidently this sits badly with one of the seven as, come Christmas Eve, Ebenezer is shot dead and buried to the neck in crackers at close of a fancy dress caper. Suspicion falls on everyone - bar Tiny Tom, the butler-valet, on account of he's a half-wit. A challenging investigation for Inspector Hummbugg is made no easier by the seven suspects' attempts to frame one another, and it ultimately falls to Mrs Craggs, the crime-busting cleaner to crack the case.

Dolf Wyllarde - Ellison's Christmas Dinner: (Tropical Tales, 1909). Harry Ellison's arrival in Koom, Northern Persia, coincides with Christmas Eve and a devastating famine, the dusty streets littered with the corpses of the dead and dying. Ellison is not to be denied his festive blow-out and when he learns that a locally ostracised butcher has reputedly stashed away a flock of kid at a secret location, demands introduction. The butcher, said to be possessed of the evil eye, charges top dollar for his meat treats but Ellison has to admit that he's never tasted kebabs quite as delicious in all his days!

Ronald Duncan - Diary Of A Poltergeist: (James Turner [ed.] Unlikely Ghosts, 1967). "The dead feel no remorse for the sins they have committed, only for those temptations they needlessly overcame."

Mischievous post-mortem adventures of Mr. Staniforth, whose car skidded under a stationary Esso lorry on the drive home from the office, killing him outright. Staniforth learns of his condition when a Police Officer arrives at his Maidenhead address to break the news to his wife, who, much to his amusement, milks her "grieving widow" status for all the sympathy she can wring from friends and associates. Staniforth's main outstanding beef, however, is with his slimy elder brother, Sir Charles, a self-serving cabinet minister (education). Even his equally ambitious homosexual lover, Geoffrey Mortimer, secretly despises the conniving creep.

Tonight Charles is hosting a dinner party for the Prime Minister and select V.I.P.'s providing Staniforth a perfect opportunity for poltergeist mayhem (including a sexual assault by celery stalk on top heavy 'T.V. Personality' Lady Hartland). A Misanthropic-misogynistic comedy. Provides convincing explanation why ghosts seldom stick around for long. Following death's enlightenment, humans are too boring to endure.

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This particular volume of Dalby's "...for Christmas" series wasn't among my favourites, yet it gradually grew on me over the years. It was, I believe, the place where I first encountered John Whitbourn, Roger Johnson and David G. Rowlands. I particularly liked the Whitbourn story, but it was some years before I managed to read more of his work.

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Charles Dickens - The Black Veil: (Sketches by Boz, 1836). London during the winter of 1800. A young doctor despairs that his surgery has yet to receive a single patient. Late one evening, a strange woman in full mourning attire pays a call. It seems she has had a premonition of death, not of her own - which can't be far away - but of a young man who, she assures, is presently in as rude health as his circumstances permit, but this time tomorrow will be a different matter. She refuses to elaborate but requests he pay a visit to a South London address the following night where all will be revealed. The Doctor duly obliges. It is not a pleasant journey. Walworth is a squalid ill-lit den of starving paupers and vicious criminals. Is he being set up? Will the mystery woman - assuming she's even there - lift her veil to reveal a really horrible face? Why is she so certain that some hale and hearty fellow is at Death's door?

Dickens in crusading mode. Relatively optimistic final paragraphs read as though they were grafted on to meet the day's public dictates but it's a proper grim old read up until that point.