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Post by dem on May 4, 2023 7:01:44 GMT
"The May Tree" was an effective bit of horror. The finale strained credulity, but was very creepy nonetheless. H. would be my pick to date. Also liked Duty and the macabre comedy, Falsies. The latter has a touch of the Chetwynd-Hayes when-he's-good about it - seems that way to me, anyhow. Having said that, I'm not so sure The Haunted Valley is Mary Williams' most dynamic collection. The Unknown Shore: His employment on a Fleet Street gutter rag now become too loathsome to endure, our journalist narrator elopes to Cornwall with Cordelia Carew-Scott, the dishy, 'with it' heiress with whom he is passionately in love. Everything would be perfect were it not that he can recall nothing of his life leading up to this adventure .... Wait Till The Spring: Laura Winter, 20, crippled for life in a riding accident, meets a kindred spirit in a forest bordering the Welsh Marches. The Bell: A mountaineer is lured to a phantom chapel on Hellscarne (?). The Devil's Gap is so named for good reason. |
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Post by dem on May 24, 2023 7:41:10 GMT
Concluding The Haunted Valley. Wasn't particularly keen on Sitting Tennant the obligatory happy one to end on, very much enjoyed the rest.
Todd's: Sheldon, an author of minor acclaim, relocates to Porthzakka, Cornwall, to recover from a breakdown. His obsession with the abandoned house of a long dead, lecherous miser has fatal consequences. One of Mrs. Williams' sleazier efforts - come to think of it, I don't recall any others.
Haven't We Met Before: Following her mother's death, Ann Treen, 30, reluctantly accepts an invitation to spend Christmas in Cornwall with Phyllida, a friend she's not seen in eight years. Carnwikki is haunted by ghosts dating from the Civil War — the daughter of the house and her fiancé perished in flames when Roundheads torched the house. A mirror replays the tragedy and, in so doing, prevents another in the present day. All ends in wedding joys.
The Circle: Narrator, convalescing after illness at Trendragon, takes an irrational dislike to his landlady of the local inn, and vice versa. Far as he's concerned, there's something lewd and sadistic about her. A night lost in the mist at the ancient stone circle sees the invalid lashed to a sacrificial altar before a Druidess with knife. Guess who.
The Thingummyjig: On the death of her parents, Clarissa, is taken in by her grandfather, a sadistic invalid who daily insists of the little girl's governess that she thrash sense into her. Her miserable life at Froggett's would be unendurable were it not for the loyal companionship of 'Thingummyjig' who always knows just what to do! For her eleventh birthday, Clarissa's demonic, not-so-imaginary friend wheels the tyrannical old man out on the marshes to watch him sink in the ooze. What a beautiful present! The aunts and uncles decide that the time has come for their charge to attend a private board school. Free at last! Clarissa's fatal mistake is in telling Thingummyjig to get lost now she no longer has use for it ....
Sitting Tennant: Trengate is available at such a reasonable price as it comes with sitting tenant in an upstairs room. The aged Miss Alice Treen so cares for the place, it would be heartless to demand she leave. A nice, friendly young family move in at Christmas and you know the rest.
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