|
Post by dem bones on Dec 18, 2019 7:40:15 GMT
Peter Haining [ed.] - Nightcaps and Nightmares (William Kimber, 1983) Peter Haining - Introduction
Richard Harris Barham - The Spectre of Tappington Charles Dickens - The Lawyer and the Ghost F. Anstey - The Wraith of Barnjum Oscar Wilde - The Canterville Ghost Kenneth Grahame - The Ghost Aristocracy Jerome K. Jerome - The Haunted Mill John Kendrick Bangs - Ghosts That Have Haunted Me H. G. Wells - The Inexperienced Ghost Ambrose Bierce - The Clothing of Ghosts O. Henry - A Ghost of a Chance Richard Middleton - The Ghost Ship Stephen Leacock - Buggam Grange Robert Benchley - A Trip to Spirit Land James Thurber - The Night the Ghost Got In Robert Graves - The White Horse; or, the Great Southern Ghost Story John Collier - Half-Way to Hell Robert Bloch - The Indian Spirit GuideBlurb: In this entertaining collection Peter Haining takes us into the realms where the ghostly is often blended with humour. Here are seventeen master authors who have shown how these elements can be combinedOne day Peter Haining realised that, among his several thousand books of ghost stories, "nary a one [is] dedicated specifically to humorous, witty, satirical, even sardonic ghost stories by various authors." So; "Make yourself comfortable - in bed, preferably -puff up your pillow, prepare to don your nightcap and begin. The best collection of nightmares I could find now awaits you ..." Stephen Leacock - Buggam Grange: A Good Old Ghost Story: ( Winsome Winnie and Other New Nonsense Novels, 1920). Digby, a sceptic, accepts friend Sir Jeremy Buggam's challenge to spend the night of 15th November at his family's haunted property on the Fens. The Grange has stood empty for fifty years save for Horrod, the ancient, deaf mute family butler, who Sir Jeremy retains to tend the occasional ghost-hunter. Digby puts up in the tower room, where sure enough, the spectre of Buggan Duggam, wrongfully executed for the murder of his cousin, walks at midnight ..... Robert Benchley - A Trip to Spirit Land: (? 1924). Confessions of a phony medium. Dr. Rariborous famous "flying leg" manifestation exposed. Ambrose Bierce - The Clothing of Ghosts: (? 1902; Tangential Views, 1911). Reasonably asks why ghosts invariably dress for haunting. How and where do they procure phantom fabrics? Also, why aren't they bald? Kenneth Graham - The Ghost Aristocracy: ( National Observer, Nov. 1892). essay in defense of ghosts who, for all that they have some unattractive habits, are no more annoying than one's fellow man.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Dec 18, 2019 17:29:02 GMT
Richard Harris Barham - The Spectre of Tappington: ( Bentley's Miscellany, 2. February 1837). Christmas at Tappinton Everard Manor House, Kent. Night after night, someone - or something - steals into young Lieutenant Charles Seaforth's bedroom and makes away with his breeches. What is the spirit world coming to? Suspicion falls on the spectre of the Bad Sir Giles - or could it be that Seaforth's fiancée, Caroline, has turned terrifying trouser thief? Suspecting a human agency at work, Thomas Ingoldsby conceals himself in Seaforth's room, await's the culprit's next move. Charles Dickens - The Lawyer and the Ghost: Why, with all the beauty spots on earth to choose from, do ghosts persist in returning to the places that brought them misery?
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Dec 19, 2019 16:00:02 GMT
Peter Newell John Kendrick Bangs - Ghosts That Have Haunted Me: ( Harper's Weekly Magazine, 19 Dec., 1896). As a rule, the author gets on well with visitors from beyond the veil, though there are occasional exceptions. Cases in point, the xenophobic ghost in the haunted chamber at Brokedale Hall - "Race of low-class animals, those Americans - only fit for gentlemen's stables, you know" - and the loquacious not-so-phantom phantom who visited Bangs at home on Christmas Eve - and made away with the family silver. Robert Bloch - The Indian Spirit Guide: ( Weird Tales, Nov. 1948). Meet Orlando Crown, famous ghost hunter and self-styled scourge of fraudulent mediums. After publicly exposing "Mrs. Hubbard" for the phoney he is, Crown is invited by a Mrs. Brewster - one of Hubbard's swizzed clients - to attend the incredible Mrs. Prinn's next seance. It's Crown's misfortune that this particular medium is the real deal, while her spirit guide, 'Little Hatchet," has a very low tolerance of sceptics. John Collier - Halfway to Hell: ( The Devil and All, 1934). Thrown over by the lovely Celia, Louis Thurlow retires to his seedy London hotel room to overdose on pills. It is all very civilised - until a fiend shows up with instructions to escort him to the fiery pit. Louis's only hope is to detain the Devil's messenger in the Rat Trap Club and get him smashed on the fearsome house brandy. An insanely jolly tale of temporarily unrequited love and bodged suicide.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Dec 20, 2019 10:04:07 GMT
Of course I was disgusted by this exhibition of petty revenge and low malice on the part of Barnjum, which might be tolerated perhaps in a Christmas annual, with a full-page illustration, but which, in real life and the height of summer, was a glaring anachronism.
F. Anstey - The Wraith of Barnjum: (Temple Bar, March 1879). London lawyer Philiburt Bunting and hated pretend friend Barnjum share a hiking holiday in Wales. When the latter becomes insufferable, Bunting pushes him over a precipice on Cader Idris. He is subsequently driven to ruin by a spectral one-man fancy dress party.
Financially embarrassed and driven from his chambers, Bunting believes he's hit rock bottom, only for a second Barnjum - this one a rather more substantial proposition - to put in an appearance.
O. Henry - The Ghost of a Chance: (Sixes and Sevens, 1911). Mrs. Kinsolving is distraught when Mrs. Fischer-Suympkins maliciously informs all and sundry that the guest room at Clifftop is haunted by the ghost of a common pipe-smoking hod-carrier! The shame of it! Never again will she dare show her face in polite circles! If only the resident spook were that of the illustrious Captain Kinsolving who fought in General Greene’s army during the War of Independence. Young Terence, who dotes on his mother, and a family friend, Mrs. Bellmore, conspire to resurrect the war hero and thereby restore her social standing.
|
|