Madam Crowl's Ghost & Other Stories by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

* Ghost Stories of the Tiled House, (ex) Dublin University Magazine Nov 1861 chapters 8 and 9 of The House by the Churchyard.Madam Crowls Ghost and Other Tales of Mystery, Sheridan Le Fanu, Wordsworth 1994.* Ghost Stories of Chapelizod, (gp) Dublin University Magazine Jan 1851.Italo Calvino, Random House/Pantheon 1997 Fantastic Tales: Visionary and Everyday, ed.Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg & Martin H. * The Ghost and the Bone-Setter, (ss) Dublin University Magazine Jan 1838.The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories 2, ed.* The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh, (ss) Dublin University Magazine Mar 1838 also revised as Sir Dominicks Bargain.LE FANU, JOSEPH SHERIDAN (books) (chron.) (continued) Three stars out of five.Stories, Listed by Author The Locus Index to Science Fiction: 1984-1998

I read this as my spooky Halloween entry for the Fall into Reading Challenge. Over all, a pleasant read as I head into October and Halloween season. And the final twist at the end of the story is nicely done. The descriptions serve the story well and, unlike some of the stories which appear later in the book (but were written earlier), do not go on forever and bore the reader with too much of a good thing. The best of the lot is the title story, 'Madam Crowl's Ghost.' It is the longest and the best thought out. Meant to make you just a little bit uncomfortable, but not enough to give you the screaming heebie-jeebies and prevent sleep. Some of the stories (for instance, 'Dickon the Devil' and 'The Vision of Tom Chuff') remind me of ghost stories told around the camp fire or at sleep-overs. Perfect for snuggling under the covers late at night and giving oneself a mild case of the shivers.

But for those of us who aren't looking for truly horrific ghost stories, these are just right. This collection of ghost stories, originally written in the mid- to late-1800s is a bit verbose and slightly dated and the work is a bit uneven. When Harriet returns to Oxford to help track down a poison pen in Gaudy Night, she uses research into Le Fanu's writings as a plausible cover for her return to college. I first learned about Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu through Harriet Vane, the detective novelist love interest for Lord Peter Wimsey in Dorothy L Sayers' mystery stories. Mini-Challenge Fall Catch Up Read-A-Thon.Ready for Another Challenge: Dueling Monsters Roun.Booking Through Thursday: The Series & the Shark.

Madam Crowl's Ghost & Other Stories by J. Sheridan Le Fanu