The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories [Paperback]

Peter Haining (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2000

Vengeful ghosts and kind ones, violent poltergeists and innocent shades, phantasmal victims and evil specters with intentions ranging from the horrific to the erotic -- spirits of every sort haunt the houses in this anthology of tales by such distinguished writers as Joan Aiken, Robert Bloch, Ramsey Campbell, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, L. P. Hartley, James Herbert, M. R. James, Ruth Rendell, Hugh Walpole, and Fay Weldon. As the ghosts in these masterfully haunting tales invade residences as grand as country mansions or as disconcertingly familiar as a city apartment, they also very craftily seduce -- and chill -- the reader's soul.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter Haining is a leading authority on horror fiction, with a particular emphasis on early Gothic and on the classic English ghost story. He has edited a large number of horror, crime and fantasy anthologies published over the past three decades, including The Mammoth Book of 20th Century Ghost Stories.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers (November 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786707917
• ISBN-13: 978-0786707911
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,147,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Varied compilation includes lesser known works, October 5, 2003

By 

Chris K. Wilson "Chris Kent" (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories (Paperback)

"The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories" is one of a very large series of 'Mammoth Books.' It's a fun series, including "Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives," "Mammoth Book of New Erotica," "Mammoth Book of Dracula," so on and so forth.

Clocking in at almost 600 pages, this extensive compilation should enthrall readers of the supernatural for an extended time. What I liked most about this book, besides the 30-plus short stories dealing exclusively with ghosts/haunted houses, was the inclusion of a near Hall of Fame list of great writers, among them Algernon Blackwood, Virginia Woolf, Robert Block, Ramsey Campbell, James Herbert, M.R. James and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Oddly enough, these writers' most famous supernatural stories are not included, but rather their lesser known works. So there are some great discoveries to be had.

I encountered one of the finest haunted house stories I've read in a while with Basil Cooper's "The Grey House." This chilling 1967 tale details a young couple's renovation of an old French manor, where they soon discover the evil history of the home. Once the renovation is complete, hideous forces are in motion as tragedy pays the couple a visit by way of an ancient ladder connected to the terrace. Part Lovecraft, part Blackwood, the terrifying account is a highlight of this compilation.

The stories are separated into chapters including Haunted Places, Avenging Spirits, Shadowy Corners and Phantom Lovers among others. Each story has an enlightening introduction detailing the haunted structure, plus a brief summary of the author's career. The tales are wildly diverse - which is not a recommendation - with a combination of moody 19th century goth and sexually aware modern sensibilities.

For lovers of the haunted house/supernatural genre, "The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories" will be an enjoyable addition. But first-time readers of the genre would be better served to track down the classics before opening these doors.

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Uneven Mix of Haunting and not so haunting Stories, January 14, 2001

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories (Paperback)

Peter Haining has included some very good stories in "The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories" that have been collected elsewhere, e.g. "Lost Hearts" by M.R. James and "The Whistling Room" by William Hope Hodgson. He also included stories that have never (to my knowledge) been included in an anthology--and for a good reason. They usually weren't worth reading (at least, if you're looking for a good scare). There were also too many humorous ghost stories for my taste -- authors always seem to come off as over-arch and coy when they strain for levity in a ghost story.

I'd recommend "Haunted Houses - The Greatest Stories" which was edited by Martin H. Greenburg over this collection of Peter Haining's. Haining seemed to be straining for 'mammoth' rather than for 'haunted'.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something For Everyone, October 11, 2005

By 

D. A Wend (Arlington Heights, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories (Paperback)

The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories is a vast collection of stories touching on hauntings in about every situation one could imagine. The book is divided into topical sections: Haunted Places, Avenging Spirits, Shadowy Corners (restless spirits), Phantom Lovers, Little Terrors (Ghosts of Children), Psychic Phenomena, and Houses of Horror (favorite stories of movie stars like Vincent Price).

For me, the overwhelming majority of the stories were new with The Judge's House (by Bram Stoker) and Lost Heart's (M. R. James) being the most familiar. There are stories that are frightening and others that struck me as quite tame by comparison. The beauty of this volume is that all voices from the literary world are heard and I am sure that some stories that I found less rewarding would appeal to other readers. For me the most frightening was the first story The Haunted and the Haunters by Bulwer-Lytton. It is the kind of story that has one jumping at minor sounds in the house. Equally scary was Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House, a story by Le Fanu that I was not familiar with. The Grey House by Basil Cooper was nicely written and atmospheric but not particularly frightening; it would make an interesting film. The House of Dust is a nicely written story injecting a bit of sex into haunted house tales.

A story that I was very interested in reading was In Letters of Fire by Gaston Leroux (who also wrote The Phantom of the Opera. I would not strictly categorize this story as involving a haunted house but one that has an evil room. The book has a nice selection of stories with an informative introduction to each providing us with the location and peculiarities of the haunted house and some brief biographical data about the author. There also is a helpful appendix that describes haunted house novels that I found intriguing.