Old board, old thread, but we don't have enough Gothic stuff on here! 
Mrs Utterson [ed.] - Tales Of The Dead: Ghost Stories Of The Villa Diodati (Gothic Society, 1992)
(originally
Fantasmagoriana (Paris, 1812: London, 1813)
Simon Marsden
Anon - The Family Portraits
Friedrich Shultz - The Fated Hour
Friedrich Shultz - The Death's Head
Friedrich Shultz - The Death-Bride
Sarah Elizabeth Brown Utterson - The Storm
J. K. Musaus - The Spectre BarberFrom the back cover blurb:
This highly influential little book was the first English translation of the Famous Fantasmagoriana; Ou Recueil d'Histories d'Apparitions, de Spectres, Revenans, Fantomes, etc. which was of such critical importance in the development of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Polidori's The Vampyre. Lord Byron, Mary and Percy Shelley, Claire Clairmont and Dr. Polidori were all inspired by the book to write their own ghost stories. Along with their classy quarterly magazine
Udolpho, Jennie Gray's Gothic Society were responsible for a series of invaluable reprints (including an edition of Peter Haining's
The Shilling Shockers). The stories in
Tales Of The Dead are some way short of terrifying when stood against the blood-splattered, nihilistic likes of M. G. Lewis (but then most novels are) or Hoffman's caper
The Sandman, but they're entertaining enough on their own slightly hysterical terms.
Marjorie Bowen reprinted a number of these in her collection
Great Tales Of Horror (John Lane, 1933).
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MaryFrom Wikipedia :
In 2005, the first full English translation of Fantasmagoriana was published by Fantasmagoriana Press. This edition included three additional tales that Mrs Utterson had omitted from her translation; translations of "Le Revenant," "La Chambre grise" and "La Chambre noire." The book also provided an academic essay by A.J.Day with possible evidence for Mary Shelley's visit to Burg Frankenstein in Germany, prior to the writing of her novel
From http://www.fantasmagoriana.com:
Owing to the fact that the full version of Fantasmagoriana had previously not been available in the English language, few scholars had an opportunity to explore the intertextual nature that this book played in relation to mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
In searching for the Muse (the academic essay included in the new translation of Fantasmagoriana) editor A.J.Day demonstrates some interesting similarities between the text of Frankenstein and one of the, previously untranslated, stories in Fantasmagoriana.
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demonik Thanks for that, Mary.
I'd have appreciated it if A.J.Day had listed the contents of this full version (or did I miss them?), if only to see if it includes the Anonymous
The Old Tower Of Frankenstein. According to Peter Haining - who revived it for his
The Shilling Shockers -
The Old Tower ... appeared in the edition of
Fantasmagoriana read by the Byron-Shelley part at Diodati, and he concludes that this is most likely where Mary got the name from.
The story itself is hardly remarkable. Two lovers (unnamed) rendezvous in the haunted castle at midnight despite the maiden's trepidation. The place has a bad reputation because "the spirit of a woman and her children were once sacrificed to the monster and [are] said to haunt the tower, though the creature lay slain by the Baron Frankenstein these many years".
As to the rest: the ghost duly appears, the curse is lifted and the murdered woman ascends to heaven.
"Mercy! Mercy!" was chanted in the air above. sweet sounds of harps were heard, and all had vanished in a flood of morning splendour. Soon all had disappeared, and in a calm and lovely morning, with the sun shedding brilliancy upon the waters of the noble Rhine, the guiltless lovers descended from the old tower of Frankenstein.
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MaryHi,
I bought my copy from a link on the fantasmagoriana website. There was also a free downloadable pdf intro which listed the contents as follows:
The Spectre Barber (J. Masaus)
The Family Portraits (A. Apel)
The Fated Hour (F. Laun)
The Death Head (F. Laun)
The Death-Bride (F. Laun)
The Ghost of the Departed (F. Laun)
The Grey Room (H.C)
The Black Chamber (A. Apel)
Afterword (A.Day)
The download is at
www.lulu.com/items/volume_4/157000/157386/4/preview/Fantasmagoriana_Tales_of_The_Dead.pdfThe contents are also on the 'ghost Stories' part of the website.
I really enjoyed the stories. The essay was a bit heavy going but it did seem to prove that Shelley got the name from the real castle Frankenstein which her stepmother may have told her about!
I havn't heard of the 'Tower' story. I will look it up...it's like a treasure hunt
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demonikAs luck would have it, you can download The Old Tower Of Frankenstein, and much else of interest besides, from the excellent Horror Masters site: It's in the 'Anonymous' section.
www.horrormasters.com/Themes/Early_gothic.htmThe Bride Of The Isles is worth a read too.
Thanks for the additional info on this complete
Fantasmagoriana. I'm tempted ...
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ColinI'm wondering about A.J. Day's academic credentials....He seems to attribute different authors for some of the stories than in previous editions of Fantasmagoriana, is quite free with what seems to me unfounded accusations of plagiarism vis-a-vis Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' and then seems to have himself invented a story of visit to Castle Frankenstein by her...
Has he taken up the mantle of Haining, I wonder...
Colin
Note: the first mention of Castle Frankenstein in relation to Mary Shelley's story was in 1935 with the release of the film 'Bride of Frankenstein'. In Mary Shelley's original story Victor Frankenstein lives in a bijou residence on Lake Geneva and is not a baron, or in any-way connected with the nobility. All these Gothic trappings came a lot, lot later (in 1935....).
Colin
