A few years ago, I became fascinated with the tradition of telling ghost stories during the darkest time of the year. What started out as an oral tradition became a popular trend in Victorian England with the development of printing presses.
I devoured the ghost stories of M. R. James, which he wrote and read to his friends every year at Christmas. Then I watched the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas anthology series, many of which adapted James’ stories. I really enjoyed the stories and their adaptations. Last year I read Christmas Gothic Short Stories from Flame Tree Press. It’s a collection of classic and new tales. I loved it as well. This year I’m jumping between a few different collections.
First up is The Turn of the Screw and Other Ghost Stories by Henry James from Penguin Classics. I’m a big fan of Mike Flanagon’s films and mini-series, especially Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Hill House. I decided to finally read Henry James because Flanagan's The Haunting of Bly Manor is based on some stories by James. Not all the stories he adapts are in this collection, so I’ll also be reading a collection I have on Kindle that has everything.
Next is The Haunted Looking Glass - Ghost Stories Chosen by Edward Gorey from New York Review of Books. This includes stories by Charles Dickens, Algernon Blackwood, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker and more. Each story includes an illustration by Gorey. My favorite so far is “The Signalman” by Dickens.
Finally, I have The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton from Wordsworth Editions. I chose this edition over Ghost Stories from New York Review of Books as the Wordsworth edition has four more stories. This is my first time reading anything by Edith Wharton. The prose is beautiful and the themes are deep. I’m four stories in and now I want to read everything she’s ever written.
I hope to finish all three books by the end of the month, but we’ll see.
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