General FictionLarge Print EditionThis book of delicate but distrubing hauntings provides welcome variety . . . Readers will appreciate these new additions to an ageless genre. Publishers WeeklyThe field of horror fiction has recently been dominated by blood and gore, but the suspense and terror in Gothic Ghosts, an anthology consisting of nineteen superior chillers, although much more gentle, is incredibly real. The writers include many award-winning fantasy/horror authors such as Rick Hautala, Robert Vardeman, and Englands Brian Stableford.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Editors Charles Grant and Wendy Webb explain that they were looking, in this anthology, for stories with mood and atmosphere, for traditional, character-driven stories. They also sought to showcase the ways in which the Gothic terror genre, which originated in 1765 with Horace Walpole's Castle of Otranto, has evolved into a contemporary form:
Some have said that the principal elements of Gothic are the presence of the supernatural and a quality inherent in the world that arouses such feelings as fear or terror. To some degree, that's still true, but instead of castles and stark terror, today's Gothic atmosphere, and what we sought, can be found in narrow alleyways, a moonless waterfront, or in the corner of a familiar room where light always falls short. And it can be found deep within each of us.And so these 19 tales are steeped in melancholy, in an oddly gentle form of despair. Carrie Richardson's "Nuestra Señora" is told by a man who helps two lovers, a man and a ghost, meet once a year in the eerie spaces of a flooded church. Jessica Amanda Salmonson's well-crafted "A Mirror for Eyes of Winter" is about an aged widow caught in a winter storm: "It seemed to me that death was an icy terror that displaced the soul; it was a dark, dark cloud, iron hard even though insubstantial." Other tales feature ghosts that lure people into facing long-buried secrets, ghosts that seek to pull their loved ones into death, and even the hoary image of ghosts haunting crumbling ruins.
If this anthology has a drawback, it's only that the artistically conservative style may seem a bit tame to some readers. But the stories in Gothic Ghosts are subtle and well crafted, and will definitely please fans of understated horror. --Fiona Webster --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
Anthology of 19 new ghostly tales, although few whomp up any sort of gothic atmosphere or induce shivers. The more effective tales: Brian Stableford's ``Seers,'' about an old woman imprisoned by the ghosts she sees even though they can't physically affect her; ``Unexpected Attraction,'' a rather waggish tale of a duped lover gaining his revenge upon a conniving ghost (Matthew J. Costello); and the one genuinely haunting piece here, Russell J. Handelman's ``And the City Unfamiliar,'' about the motives and perceptions of a ghost who, pathetically, doesn't realize that he is a ghost. Elsewhere the offerings are more or less standard: several who's-the-ghost variations, a woman saved from death by the ghost of a dog, evil children's ghosts trapped in fireplaces, a hotel resort fire, a vengeful stonecutter, a possessive homicidal house, storytelling ghosts, the ghost of an old woman's youth, a mother's ghost who seeks replacements for her own vanished children, a dominating mother, a sick joke that goes awry, a philandering father, and more. Except for the few noted above: a bland assortment without much range or depth. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent introduction to the literary ghost story genre,
By
This review is from: Gothic Ghosts (Thorndike Paperback) (Paperback)
More people should know about literary ghost stories, which I like to describe as "wonder tales from the shadow side." They tend not to be tales of graphic horror. True, if the term "gothic" suggests terror and violence to the reader, that reader might be disappointed. But stories like the ones in GOTHIC GHOSTS take the reader away, and have enduring power.
5.0 out of 5 stars
subtle hauntings,
By
This review is from: Gothic Ghosts (Paperback)
These are not all blood and gore--thanks goodness. They are stories meant to haunt you, not to make you sick to your stomach. Thank you for this collection. The genre deserves to be preserved and it is being hashed-up with slashers and evil doers. Horror is as much an internally generated experiences as it is fear of others. This is a nice collection.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
For Shame...,
By Pipinz (Phoeniz, AZ) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Gothic Ghosts (Hardcover)
This is a compilation of short gothic (in this case, read: dull & simplistic) ghost stories. Practically all of them set up a weak plot that is never followed through. Invariably, all of them are presented with a weak and sometimes absurd premise, to then be cut short 5 pages later with no closure whatsoever. Don't expect thrills, or much less chills from this book. There is one sweet story, Dust Motes, but for 10 pages, keep your money in your pocket.
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