Victorian Ghost Stories: An Oxford Anthology

by Michael Cox

Book Overview

The Victorians excelled at telling ghost stories. In an age of rapid scientific progress, the idea of a vindictive past able to reach out and violate the present held a special potential for terror.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019214202X
• Release Date: October 1991
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 520 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 1.5" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

I absolutely love these stories and I honestly wish there were more anthologies of Victorian ghost s

While I don’t think kids under around 12 should be reading this (it’s a little spooky and some of the stories are probably unpalatable for younger kids), I loved the varied collections of stories. Apparently telling ghost stories was a popular pastime around Christmas which I think is absolutely fascinating, and this book fits the bill! It’s a perfect mix of spooky, chilling, and interesting at the same time. Only one was a little out of place but it was still a good story though I probably wouldn’t have suggested it alongside the rest.

Perfect autumnal night companion

There is no getting around it, once you begin one of these short stories, you're awake until completion...especially when you hear something

Ghostly Goodness

When I was a kid my mom got me a book of ghost stories written by victorian women authors, but I just wasn't ready for it then. I recently purchased this book and I just fell in love with it. I particularly loved John Charrington's Wedding. They should turn that into a movie but change the title. I love it that the stories are short and full of atmosphere. This is the book to get if you love ghost stories.

Fun, fascinating, and creepy too...

This is an exceptional anthology of Victorian ghost stories; all are short stories which are easily read in a brief sitting. The book serves as a remarkable spyglass into another era, one wholly foreign to our own. I enjoy each creepy tale and find the mix of authors to be effectively selected and simply organized. A truly fun read. Recommended.

Just the thing for a rainy thunderous autumn evening

I have to say these sorts of stories have gotten me through grad school... Though I own more than one Victorian horror anthology, this was my latest acquisition and undoubtedly high ranking amongst my favorites...most of the time I'd study all day and just want something relaxing to read a 20 minute getaway and since most of the stories are short enough to not be imposing and if you have quite an imagination about you, you'll enjoy the ornate details which will carry you back to a more decadent era filled with mystery... I felt thoroughly entertained by the eloquence and detailed verbal imagery. I was able to sustain myself through yet another day...The book is a compilation of many authors such as sir Arthur Conan Doyle... it is a nice medley... so you'll always have a "surprise me" trust me you will not regret this buy.. If you want a break from the politics, economics, social structure of the world around you to your private little sanctuary... then just turn on a few candles on a chilly autumn evening and prepare to be delighted with any one of these tales...

EXCELLENT ATMOSPHERE AND SUSPENSE

These stories offer layer upon layer of Victorian manners, Victorian attitudes, and sumptuous settings. Nineteenth century England through the eyes of its contemporaries is fascinating--and uncomfortably familiar. The befuddled rich and the harried servants. Being afraid to tell someone what you saw. Being afraid of rocking the boat. These stories are really about the consequences of one's deeds--how even the grave cannot set one free of one's angst. Two sisters in love with the same man. The domineering father who disapproves of his daughter's choice in a husband. The amoral medical student who will do anything to stay in the spotlight. The terrible vow uttered in a moment of passion, which echoes throughout one's entire life. The secret obsession we all have about what really happens after we close our eyes for the last time. If you're fascinated by the endless labyrinth of the human heart, and relish the sensation of the hair on your neck standing up, then this book's for you.

Excellent choices

Victorian Ghost Stories: An Oxford Anthology has some of the best constructed and most chilling stories I have ever laid my eyes on. The characters, the settings, the plots and the dialogue from each of the stories all seem well thought out and written. I never lost my interest and always wanted to "read just one more page", from the simple to the complex, each story was wonderful in it's own way. I am sure, that if you are interested in ghosts, or just enjoy a good story now and then, this is for you. This is not a bunch of kiddy stories either, the pages are full of real talent and are portrayed with disturbing grace. I cannot say enough for this book and I am saddened that I am the only one who has written a review on such an extraordinary anthology. Please look into this one, it's worth anyone's money...this is the stuff that needs to be taught in schools.