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Post by dem bones on Apr 6, 2008 0:02:40 GMT
Richard Dalby (ed.) - The Virago Book of Ghost Stories (Virago, 1987) Richard Dalby - Preface Jennifer Uglow - Introduction
Edith Wharton -The Eyes E. Nesbit - The Violet Car Henrietta D. Everett - The Crimson Blind May Sinclair - The Token Ellen Glasgow - The Shadowy Third Marjory E. Lambe - The Return Margery H. Lawrence - The Haunted Saucepan Mary Webb - Mr. Tallent’s Ghost Enid Bagnold - The Amorous Ghost Marjorie Bowen - The Accident Marjorie Bowen - A Persistent Woman Phyllis Bottome - The Waiting-Room Catherine Wells - The Ghost Eleanor Scott - ‘Will Ye No’ Come Back Again?’ E. M. Delafield - Sophy Mason Comes Back Hester Gorst - The Doll’s House Edith Olivier - The Night Nurse’s Story Winifred Holtby - The Voice of God Cynthia Asquith - The Follower F. M. Mayor - Miss De Mannering Of Asham Stella Gibbons - Roaring Tower D. K. Broster - Juggernaut Elizabeth Bowen - The Happy Autumn Fields Pamela Hansford Johnson - The Empty Schoolroom Elizabeth Jane Howard - Three Miles Up Rose Macaulay - Whitewash Elizabeth Taylor - Poor Girl Elizabeth Jenkins - On No Account, My Love Rosemary Timperley - The Mistress in Black Norah Lofts - A Curious Experience Fay Weldon - Breakages Elizabeth Walter - Dual Control Sara Maitland - Lady With Unicorn Lisa St. Aubin De Teran - Diamond Jim Angela Carter - Ashputtle
Notes on the Authors A real change of pace - I've been on a diet of Not At Night's and Charles Birkin for a fortnight - but this is a truly special collection. No surprise to see Lady Cynthia Asquith's groundbreaking Ghost Book's so well represented, but I certainly wasn't expecting three (admittedly, non-sadistic: Asquith's own The Follower would have suited the series admirably) from Birkin's Creeps to make the cut. I was a little disappointed to see that Marjory Bowen was represented by two 150 word vignettes ... until I read them: The Accident, in particular, is terrific, an E.C. strip in microcosm. It's very difficult to pick a 'best' from such a strong, varied selection, but if pushed, I'd probably opt for Elizabeth Jane Howard's Three Miles Up which has one of the most jaw-dropping finales in this - or any other - form of literature. Mind you, I could've done without Whitewash and A Curious Experience, and I'm still trying to figure out how Lady With Unicorn sneaked in ... Some tasters/ spoilers:Cynthia Asquith - The Follower:Mrs. Meade is plagued by a Hyde-like figure who she first encounters leering and gesticulating at her outside Baker Street Station. Soon he has taken to following her, and with each meeting her terror mounts. He is seen gloating over the body of a little girl who's been run down, then, as a taxi-driver, he nearly brings about the death of his passenger - Mrs. Meade - by driving the cab into railings. She recovers, but is sent to a nursing home to recover. She's not the only patient ... Elizabeth Jane Howard - Three Miles Up: Clifford and John decide to spend a holiday on the canals despite neither of them having the least experience of boating. They soon find themselves hopelessly unsuited to life on the waterways and argue incessantly until one day they see a young girl asleep on the bank and decide to invite her along. She introduces herself as Sharon (they maybe should have asked how she spells her name) and proves to be "a friendly but uncommunicative creature", ultra-efficient and not given to outbursts of temper. Both men fall for her but things improve between them until they arrive at a junction which branches into three tributaries, only two of which are shown on their map ... This first appeared in the We Are For The Dark collaboration with Robert Aickman and although he credits Three Miles Up as "mostly" Howards, there are some touches that seem to me to be recognisably his work. Not that it matters who wrote what. This is as good a ghost story I've ever read. Hester Gorst - The Dolls House: The narrator buys a Georgian Dolls house at an auction and immediately begins to suffer from nightmares in which he becomes "A rake ... coming home very late and very drunk", ascending the staircase of the original for his recent purchase. It becomes apparent that his dream-self is on some terrible errand, and he convinces himself that this is the murder of a woman. Best friend Jack offers to spend the night with him to see what he gets up to when he's asleep ... Elizabeth Walter - Dual Control: Told entirely in dialogue - and a very hostile exchange it is too - between Eric, a ruthless businessman on the make, and his alcoholic wife, Freda, as they drive to and from the Bradey's party, having knocked down a girl on the way. The girl, Giselle, arrived at the same party, seemingly none the worse for wear, but as they drive home they encounter her again at the scene of the accident, blood pouring from a terrible wound .... Edith Bagnold - The Amorous Ghost: While his wife is away, two of the maids hand in their notice after discovering a woman's underclothes in the master's room. That night, he watches transfixed as a figure half-materialises in a chair with her back to him, slowly slipping out of her clothes. It's with great relief he hears his wife return, undress and slip into bed beside him. It must be freezing outside because she's cold enough to chill the entire room .... Mrs. Everett - The Crimson Blind: In his youth, Ronald McEwen had spent a fortnight at Swanmere Rectory as a guest of his uncle, Rev. Sylvanus Applegarth. The reverend's sons are wont to tease Ronald about his belief in ghosts and one night persuaded him to visit a derelict house which - they tell him - has a reputation of being haunted. Ronald is well aware that the boys are planning a prank, but they seem as surprised as he when an upstairs blind is raised and a deranged figure comes crashing through the glass at them. Twenty years later, when the property is incorporated into his friend's luxurious manor house, McEwen learns the truth. It transpires that the place was once a lunatic asylum, and an inmate had tried to burn his room to the ground, killing himself when he jumped out through the window. Stella Gibbons - Roaring Tower: Clara's parents disapprove of her lover, and pack her off to Aunt Julia in Cornwall to recuperate. Clara is instrumental in releasing the trapped spirit of a ghostly bear, imprisoned in a pit at the base of the roaring tower, so named after the tormented creature's bellows for assistance. Marjory E. Lambe - The Return: A murderer returns to the house of his victim, the old miser who once employed him who he surprised counting his treasure. The skinflint's spectre (or his guilty conscience) proves the killer's undoing. When he is recognised in The White Horse, and Bessie the barmaid raises the alarm, the old boy's son decides to look over the house. The burglar, when faced with the unexpected visitor, sees "the white hair ... streaked with blood, the skin yellow across the skeleton face ... the bloodless lips ... drawn back into a grin of pure triumph." Marjorie Bowen - The Accident: Murchinson and Bargrave are involved in a car smash. When Murchinson sees the 'grey whisp' that is his enemy emerging from the wreckage, he gloats: "So you were killed, you silly fool!" Pamela Hansford Johnson - The Empty Schoolroom: Maud remains behind with M. Fournier and Marie during the school holidays and encounters the sobbing ghost of an ugly girl in a dunces cap. She had been mistreated and humiliated by the embittered headmistress and now it is time to exact revenge ... Marjorie Bowen - A Persistent Woman:After yet another blazing row, Temple decides to leave his wife, Sarah. She clings to him with a greater tenacity than either would have thought her capable. Margery H. Lawrence - The Haunted Saucepan: London, around St. James' Palace. Anybody who eats anything prepared in the saucepan suffers the most horrible pains consistent with the pangs suffered by those poisoned with arsenic. Connor, Trevanion and a borrowed dog conceal themselves in the kitchen overnight to catch who or what has been setting it on the boil. The denouement is predictable, but the story has some wonderfully atmospheric touches and Strutt, the butler, is a trip. Fay Weldon - Breakages: Poltergeist activity in the unhappy household of the vicar and his "barren" wife. David's prize possessions are forever being broken and mended by Dierdre, who prays that he won't notice the cracks. When he does, the ensuing flare-up is enough to decide her to pluck up the courage and leave, especially as it is now known that his impotence has been responsible for their childlessness. When she goes, her room destroys itself. David remarries. The second time is as joyless as the first. Art Long, jnr. absolutely agree with you on this being a great anthology, and also wanted to comment on "Three Miles Up" which is one of my absolute all time favorite stories. You are right about the ending...one of the best of all time, and this story is a masterpiece of subtle creepiness. I've read it at least five times and it never fails to give me some magnificently delightful shivers! You're probably aware that it originally came from the collection "We Are For the Dark" which contained three stories by Ms. Howard and three by Robert Aickman (who is one of my faves in the horror field). "Three Miles Up" is the only story I've read by Elizabeth Jane Howard, unfortunately. Others have been hard to come by, here in the U.S. at any rate. I've also only managed to find and read about half of Aickman's published short fiction....everything I've read by him has been intriguing, although the meanings of a lot of them were obscure...but then, that is his trademark!
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Post by dem bones on Mar 6, 2009 20:44:05 GMT
As if deliberately setting out to give us another Shadows II versus Shadows 2 situation, there's also: Richard Dalby (ed.) - The Virago Book Of Ghost Stories (Virago, 2006) Cover illustration: Tina Mansuwan at CIA Inside cover blurb: Bringing together vintage tales from the outstandingly successful Virago anthologies The Virago Book of Ghost Storied (Volumes I and II) and Victorian Ghost Stories, comes this chilling new omnibus. Lost loves, past enmities and unwanted memories mingle with the inexplicable as unquiet souls return to repay kindnesses, settle scores and haunt the imagination. Featuring some of the finest writers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, these stories gather to haunt and horrify — an irresistible read for those with a taste for being spooked.Preface - Richard Dalby
Charlotte Bronte - Napoleon And The Spectre Elizabeth Gaskell - The Old Nurse’s Story Amelia B. Edwards - The Story Of Salome Mrs Henry Wood - Reality Or Delusion? Charlotte Riddell - The Old House In Vauxhall Walk Margaret Oliphant - The Open Door Ella D’Arcy - The Villa Lucienne Mary E. Wilkins (Freeman) - The Vacant Lot E. Nesbit - The Violet Car Edith Wharton -The Eyes May Sinclair - The Token Richmal Crompton - Rosalind Margery H. Lawrence - The Haunted Saucepan Margaret Irwin - The Book F. M. Mayor - Miss De Mannering Of Asham Ann Bridge - The Station Road Stella Gibbons - Roaring Tower Elizabeth Bowen - The Happy Autumn Fields Rosemary Timperley - The Mistress in Black Celia Fremlin - Don't Tell Cissie Antonia Fraser - Who's Been Sitting In My Car Ruth Rendell - The Haunting Of Shawley Rectory A. S. Byatt - The July Ghost A. L. Barker - The Dream Of Fair Women Penelope Lively - Black Dog Rosemary Pardoe - The Chauffeur Lisa St. Aubin De Teran - Diamond Jim Angela Carter - Ashputtle Elizabeth Fancett - The Ghost Of Calagou Joan Aikin - The Traitor Dorothy K. Haynes - Redundant
Notes on the authors I don't have the Volume 2 referred to, but here's the details on the first book in the series: Richard Dalby (ed.) - The Virago Book Of Victorian Ghost Stories (Virago, 1988) Preface - Richard Dalby Introduction - Jennifer Uglow
Charlotte Bronte - Napoleon And The Spectre Elizabeth Gaskell - The Old Nurse’s Story Dinah M. Mulock - The Last House In C- Street Catherine Crowe - Round The Fire Mary Elizabeth Braddon - The Cold Embrace Rosa Mulholland - Not To Be Taken At Bedtime Amelia B. Edwards - The Story Of Salome Rhoda Broughton - The Truth, The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth Mrs Henry Wood - Reality Or Delusion? Vernon Lee - Winthrop’s Adventure Charlotte Riddell - The Old House In Vauxhall Walk Margaret Oliphant - The Open Door Lanoe Falconer - Cecilia De Noel Louisa Baldwin - Many Waters Cannot Quench Love Violet Hunt - The Prayer Mary Cholomondeley - Let Loose Ella D’Arcy - The Villa Lucienne Gertrude Atherton - The Striding Place Willa Cattier - The Affair At Grover Station Mary E. Wilkins (Freeman) - The Vacant Lot Isabella Banks - Haunted!
Notes on the authorsComments on some of the stories here: Virago Victorian Ghost Stories.
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Post by paisleycravat on Apr 3, 2009 19:31:58 GMT
Hello. I've got Volume II, if you're interested in the story listing (I'm not able to scan the cover in, unfortunately). This is what's in it:
A. S. Byatt - The July Ghost Mary Butts - With and Without Buttons Celia Fremlin - Don't Tell Cissie Margaret Irwin - The Book Rebecca West - The Grey Men Daphne du Maurier - The Pool Ann Bridge - The Station Road Penelope Lively - Black Dog E. Nesbit - No. 17 Pamela Sewell - Prelude D. K. Broster - The Pestering Jean Rhys - I Used to Live Here Once Clotilde Graves - A Spirit Elopement Eleanor Smith - Whittington's Cat Ruth Rendell - The Haunting of Shawley Rectory Margery Lawrence - Mare Amore Antonia Fraser - Who's Been Sitting in My Car? Elizabeth Fancett - The Ghosts of Calagou Edith Wharton - Afterward Mary Williams - The Thingummajig Mary Elizabeth Counselman - The House of Shadows Richmal Crompton - Rosalind Dorothy K. Haynes - Redundant A. L. Barker - The Dream of Fair Women Rosemary Pardoe - The Chauffeur Joan Aiken - The Traitor Elinor Mordaunt - The Landlady
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Post by dem bones on Apr 3, 2009 21:18:32 GMT
Thank you kindly, Paisley. The one thing i could never understand about this series is why Virago opted for a male editor, albeit one of Richard Dalby's calibre, considering the great tradition of female anthologists in both the UK and America? Still, i guess it doesn't matter so much who edits it when the end result is a series this good. For once, it's the Victorian selection that seems slightly below par to me. It's not that it includes anything 'bad', more that many of the stories are a bit Dracula's Guest if you know what i mean - we all have copies over and over.
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Post by jonathan122 on Apr 3, 2009 22:51:22 GMT
I only own the 2006 edition, and to be honest I was a bit disappointed with it, especially after seeing the contents of the original 1987 edition. Presumably somebody (I'm giving Mr. Dalby the benefit of the doubt and assuming it was the publishers) decided to ditch the most interesting stories and aim for a much more traditional market.
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Post by allthingshorror on Jul 22, 2009 21:25:14 GMT
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Post by jamesdoig on Jul 23, 2009 0:29:51 GMT
Nice interview! Strange how he didn't have much success in the '70s when Hugh Lamb, Haining, Parry etc were prolific. On a similar note, I'm in a book blog with some like-minded fellows, which might be of interest: www.wormwoodiana.blogspot.com/
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Post by dem bones on Sept 9, 2010 12:29:26 GMT
I only own the 2006 edition, and to be honest I was a bit disappointed with it, especially after seeing the contents of the original 1987 edition. Presumably somebody (I'm giving Mr. Dalby the benefit of the doubt and assuming it was the publishers) decided to ditch the most interesting stories and aim for a much more traditional market. Have had a dip into the 2nd book and already think i can see what you're getting at, Jonathan. Nothing remotely 'bad', of course, but so far, so cosy. Dorothy K. Haynes - Redundant: Throughout his life, the lumbering Hamish moved down and down the employment ladder due to his unhappy propensity for making mistakes. In death he finally achieves job satisfaction when, as the last to be laid to rest in the cemetery, he fills the vacancy nobody wants - the watcher of the dead. Hamish thrives on this new responsibility, but, of course, come the next funeral and he finds himself redundant for the last time. Rosemary Pardoe - The Chauffeur: Only recently wrote some notes around this for The Angry Dead thread and they weren't that good that they bear repeating. Will just say The Chauffeur is as sweet and gentle a ghost story as you could find but hardly representative of the cracking Jane Bradshawe series. Penelope Lively - Black Dog: Brenda Case sees the black dog watching her through the garden window. Her husband John dismisses this as idle fancy - there's nothing there! - a handy excuse for her not to leave the house or do anything much other than stay rooted to the couch. Her high-flying daughters take dad's side. The reader realises that she has become entirely dislocated from all the rubbish that constitutes a "fulfilled" suburban 20th century life. The doctor prescribes Prozac and this seems to help - the daughters smugly put her recovery down to the drug - but it's not the pills, it's Brenda bravely facing up to her fear of the spectral hound that pulls her through. But John Case has grown increasingly edgy and barely recognises this new, cheerful, confident Brenda. And looking through the window, he spots a black dog watching him from the lawn ... Rosemary Timperley - The Mistress In Black: Miss Joanna Carey was an excellent teacher, popular with staff and pupils until the collapse of her ten year affair with a married man. Miss Carey became so disillusioned with her lot that she soaked the gym curtains in petrol and attempted to burn down the school. Tragically, Jane Hanley, a girl who had developed an obsessive crush on her, died along with the mad mistress. Miss Anderson, the young woman who takes over her class, has no inkling of this tragedy when she begins her new job but she's not to be kept in the dark for long. Happy ending put me in a bad mood.
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Post by monker on Sept 10, 2010 0:07:43 GMT
I must get Volume II. I just can't resist a story with a title of the likes of "The Thingummajig".
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Sept 22, 2012 16:58:49 GMT
It's very difficult to pick a 'best' from such a strong, varied selection, but if pushed, I'd probably opt for Elizabeth Jane Howard's Three Miles Up which has one of the most jaw-dropping finales in this - or any other - form of literature. I'm most of the way through The Virago Book of Ghost Stories, and so far I would agree with you on this. I can see the Aickman connection in the way that the story's mundane initial scenario takes subtle, and then increasingly unsubtle, turns into something not quite definable but definitely wrong. A truly excellent tale, and one that I'm sure I'll want to reread. they maybe should have asked how she spells her name Damn, now I feel slow on the uptake. Stella Gibbons - Roaring Tower: Clara's parents disapprove of her lover, and pack her off to Aunt Julia in Cornwall to recuperate. Clara is instrumental in releasing the trapped spirit of a ghostly bear, imprisoned in a pit at the base of the roaring tower, so named after the tormented creature's bellows for assistance. This was another one of my favorites. I thought the author's name sounded familiar but was gobsmacked when I turned to the notes at the end and saw that she also wrote Cold Comfort Farm (which is great, but very different in tone). For me, some of the other standouts are the aforementioned The Crimson Blind, The Haunted Saucepan, The Follower, and The Empty Schoolroom. Not described above, but also good in an old-fashioned and melodramatic way, is F. M. Mayor's Miss de Mannering of Asham, which is by turns eerie, tragic, and moving. I'm not an Edith Wharton fan, but I sort of liked her The Eyes; at the very least, it presents an interesting concept for a ghost. The real clunker so far has been Winifred Holby's painfully unfunny satire, The Voice of God.
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Post by ripper on May 24, 2015 10:46:10 GMT
Delafield's 'Sophie Mason comes Back.' This one didn't end as I was expecting. Very sad and bleak story. Also interesting that when the ghost appeared all present were aware of it to different degrees.
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Post by ripper on Jun 24, 2021 11:00:57 GMT
Roaring Tower by Stella Gibbons. I liked the set-up and description of the tower and its surrounding area. I thought that the pay-off, however, was a little slight. A few kind words to the bear's spirit and that was it. Perhaps I was just expecting more.
The Haunting of Shawley Rectory by Ruth Rendell. An interesting take on ghosts, with the traditional past impinging on the present type of haunting giving way to something less well defined. It was almost as if the rectory had 'decided' that it was to be haunted with manifestations being experienced by various occupants, but having to wait for the right people to move in before the incident creating the haunting to occur, with effect taking place prior to cause. I really enjoyed this one.
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Post by dem bones on Jun 25, 2021 9:43:51 GMT
The Haunting of Shawley Rectory by Ruth Rendell. An interesting take on ghosts, with the traditional past impinging on the present type of haunting giving way to something less well defined. It was almost as if the rectory had 'decided' that it was to be haunted with manifestations being experienced by various occupants, but having to wait for the right people to move in before the incident creating the haunting to occur, with effect taking place prior to cause. I really enjoyed this one. Thanks for putting me onto ... Shawley Rectory, Rip. Thought I'd read it, but would surely have remembered Patsy the gossip and Mr. Joseph Lamb, the local historian, had that been the case. Ruth Rendell - The Haunting of Shawley Rectory: ( Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, 17 Dec. 1979). Dorset, present day. Carriage wheels on gravel, phantom footsteps, doors opening and closing of their own accord - those who've lived there agree the eighteenth century rectory is haunted, but no-one seems to mind, as the ghosts keep to themselves and no harm done. That is, until Rev. Stephen Galton arrives in the village with his very young wife and her mother, Mrs. Grainger. They are driven from the premises after only two nights, a terrified Mrs. Grainger having witnessed the spectral reenactment of a woman on younger woman murder. The alleged "Haunting of Shawley Rectory" makes the local news, after which the Vicarage is offered for sale on the open market. Carol Marcus, a middle-aged American meets the asking price. A genuine haunted house in the English countryside - It is just too perfect to miss. Wait 'til her 19-year-old daughter gets to see it! Very entertaining. The ghostly reenactment of a murder yet to be recalls Hester Holland's The Scream. Ann Bridge - The Station Road: ( The Song in the House: Stories, 1936). While Dr. Freeland is out of town, his wife agrees to meet his former patient. Mr. Macmurdo, a stranger to her, at Hedgworth Junction. Driving along the Station Road, Mrs. Freeland sees a man in stained light raincoat with a cast over his eye stood on the pavement. And again, further along the route. And a third time, stood beneath a signpost. Understandably shaken, she reaches the station in time to meet the train. Mr. Macmurdo's luggage has arrived, but there is no sign of him. Unless my mind's playing tricks, there's an urban legend runs very much like this - possibly reported in Mike Dash's phantom hitch-hiker book?.
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Post by ripper on Jun 25, 2021 13:58:51 GMT
The Haunting of Shawley Rectory by Ruth Rendell. An interesting take on ghosts, with the traditional past impinging on the present type of haunting giving way to something less well defined. It was almost as if the rectory had 'decided' that it was to be haunted with manifestations being experienced by various occupants, but having to wait for the right people to move in before the incident creating the haunting to occur, with effect taking place prior to cause. I really enjoyed this one. Thanks for putting me onto ... Shawley Rectory, Rip. Thought I'd read it, but would surely have remembered Patsy the gossip and Mr. Joseph Lamb, the local historian, had that been the case. Ruth Rendell - The Haunting of Shawley Rectory: ( Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, 17 Dec. 1979). Dorset, present day. Carriage wheels on gravel, phantom footsteps, doors opening and closing of their own accord - those who've lived there agree the eighteenth century rectory is haunted, but no-one seems to mind, as the ghosts keep to themselves and no harm done. That is, until Rev. Stephen Galton arrives in the village with his very young wife and her mother, Mrs. Grainger. They are driven from the premises after only two nights, a terrified Mrs. Grainger having witnessed the spectral reenactment of a woman on younger woman murder. The alleged "Haunting of Shawley Rectory" makes the local news, after which the Vicarage is offered for sale on the open market. Carol Marcus, a middle-aged American meets the asking price. A genuine haunted house in the English countryside - It is just too perfect to miss. Wait 'til her 19-year-old daughter gets to see it! Very entertaining. The ghostly reenactment of a murder yet to be recalls Hester Holland's The Scream. Ann Bridge - The Station Road: ( The Song in the House: Stories, 1936). While Dr. Freeland is out of town, his wife agrees to meet his former patient. Mr. Macmurdo, a stranger to her, at Hedgworth Junction. Driving along the Station Road, Mrs. Freeland sees a man in stained light raincoat with a cast over his eye stood on the pavement. And again, further along the route. And a third time, stood beneath a signpost. Understandably shaken, she reaches the station in time to meet the train. Mr. Macmurdo's luggage has arrived, but there is no sign of him. Unless my mind's playing tricks, there's an urban legend runs very much like this - possibly reported in Mike Dash's phantom hitch-hiker book?. I haven't read Dash's book, but recall reading at least one account of something quite similar. A vehicle passing a figure at the side of the road, only to pass the same figure a few minutes later further up the road. Have a feeling it was a lorry driver who reported it and it might also have been featured on Michael Aspel's Strange...but True? in the 90s.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jun 25, 2021 15:32:58 GMT
Ann Bridge - The Station Road: ( The Song in the House: Stories, 1936). While Dr. Freeland is out of town, his wife agrees to meet his former patient. Mr. Macmurdo, a stranger to her, at Hedgworth Junction. Driving along the Station Road, Mrs. Freeland sees a man in stained light raincoat with a cast over his eye stood on the pavement. And again, further along the route. And a third time, stood beneath a signpost. Understandably shaken, she reaches the station in time to meet the train. Mr. Macmurdo's luggage has arrived, but there is no sign of him. Unless my mind's playing tricks, there's an urban legend runs very much like this - possibly reported in Mike Dash's phantom hitch-hiker book?. I haven't read Dash's book, but recall reading at least one account of something quite similar. A vehicle passing a figure at the side of the road, only to pass the same figure a few minutes later further up the road. Have a feeling it was a lorry driver who reported it and it might also have been featured on Michael Aspel's Strange...but True? in the 90s. When I was a teenager, some of my friends and I would talk about trying to revive this urban legend by dressing in identical outfits and standing at intervals along a dark country road. waiting for passing cars. We never went through with the plan, however, on account of not wanting to get shot. After all, this was rural Kentucky.
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