Richard Middleton - The Ghost Ship and Other Stori

[allthingshorror]

T. Fisher Unwin (1912)





CONTENTS

Preface by Arthur Machen
The Ghost Ship
A Drama of Youth
The New Boy
On the Brighton Road
A Tragedy in Little
Shepherd's Boy
The Passing of Edward
The Story of a Book
The Bird in the Garden
Children of the Moon
The Coffin Merchant
The Soul of a Policeman
The Conjurer
The Poet's Allegory
Who Shall Say?
The Biography of a Superman
Blue Blood
Fate and the Artist
The Great Man
A Wet Day

[dem bones]

The Ghost Ship: Middleton (1882-1911) committed suicide and much of his work reflects the bitterness and despondency he presumably felt, so it's pretty ironic that the whimsical The Ghost Ship is arguably his most famous story. Fairfield, the most haunted village in England is nonetheless a peaceful place where the ghosts and humans co-exist in harmony … until the Jubilee celebrations of 1897 when Captain Roberts’ spectral pirate galleon turns up in the garden behind The Fox & Grapes. The ship is well stocked with rum and soon all the phantoms have become anti-social binge-drinkers.

On The Brighton Road sees a tramp encounter a young waif, rootless like himself, who insists that he’s already died several times, only to revive and continue his aimless wandering.

The Passing Of Edward: Short quiet piece in which a dead boy, through a supreme effort, manages to partially appear and bring comfort to his sister. She hears him, but can’t see him.

The Conjurer: The audience at Hennings Theatre are in hostile mood due to the no-show of the star attraction, Cissie Bradford, while the washed out stage magician who is standing in for her is having a bad night. But their jeers turn to applause when the Conjurer makes his wife disappear before their eyes. Mr. Henning even gives him a contract, but it's no consolation now he can't bring back Molly. As sad in its way as On The Brighton Road.

The Coffin Merchant: Eustace Reynolds is wandering gloomily along the Charing Cross Road when he's presented with a handbill by a frozen, tramp-like figure: "You will soon be wanting a coffin! At 606 Grays Inn Road, your order will be attended to with civility and despatch. Call and see us." Eustace tries to laugh off the encounter but his doctor agrees that someone should put a stop to these aggressive undertakers. Eustace visits the shop ...

Shepherd's Boy: One misty night, possibly the worse for drink, he drove his flock over the crevice. His boy tried to stop them ...

Neither of these are in the book, but when Wordsworth get around to a Middleton collection i'd like to see 'em included.

The Wrong Turning: George finds himself stranded on treacherous marshland at night. Despite his misgivings, he stops at a cheerless homestead in the middle of nowhere, worryingly named 'The House of Woe'. Therein he finds two men, a mother and her baby, the woman, Mary, being the girl George deserted when she fell pregnant. Finding the atmosphere unbearable, George decides to leave. Mary kindly offers to show him the path through the bog ....

The Hand: A life-shattering experience for fanatical ornithologist Lord Scaife begins when he watches a young woman pass in the street below, her bonnet decorated with the rare tail-feather he thinks has been stolen from his collection. He tails her to a house in a part of London “which he had heard of but had not previously believed in.” There he encounters a feisty youth who mistakes him for a debt collector and locks him in a dark room with a severed hand for company.
All is explained at the end. Not really what I’d call horrific, but well told and Scaife’s mischievous sister Lady Arabella is eminently lovable.