In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe: Classic Tales of Horror, 1816-1914 Kindle Edition

Love the book

A wonderful collection of gothic short stories by authors the editor feels have been forgotten over time as writers of the macabre by falling under the shadow of Poe. A very informative and entertaining introduction is included which gives a history of the "terror" story from ancient times to now with the emphasis being on the latter-half of the 1800s. This is an excellent sampling of Gothic tales of horror from the Victorian era by a wide range of authors. Of course in such collections some stories are better than others, but I found the collection as a whole to be a solid 4-star rating. I had heard of most of the authors, read a good many of them, found some new-to-me authors, but also did not recall having read any of these stories and was particularly pleased to find a couple in the collection that I've wanted to read for ages such as "The Yellow Wallpaper", a classic indeed, that had thus far eluded me. Klinger has done a fine job as editor and this is an highly recommended anthology!

1. The Sand-Man by E.T.A. Hoffmann (1816) - This has all the markings a classic Gothic tale should have, even including a madman, but is quite forward thinking for the times as the man is the innocent, childish, frail one while the woman is the logical, non-emotional one coming up with the reasonable answers to the strange goings on. Hoffman is quite the melodramatic story weaver! (4/5)

2. The Mummy's Foot by Theophile Gautier (1840) - A Frenchman walks into an antique shop and buys an Egyptian mummy's foot. A strange episode ensues. Descriptive to the point of tedium, starts off with pages describing the antique store, then the proprietor before even getting to the purchase then becomes exotic with its descriptions of Egyptian things but, overall, while being a fantastical story pretty boring for today's reader. (2/5)

3. An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (1851) - I like Le Fanu. He's a great writer and very easy to read compared to others from this era. This story is just ok, though. A haunted house story, in which the narrator relates the events which happened to him and a friend when they rented the old manor. The descriptions of the ghost are quite gruesome and it's a nasty thing so I can imagine this being more titillating at the times than it is now, to me. (3/5)

4. The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford (1885) - Loved this! Classic ghost tale! Has a bit of everything. A group of men are sitting around having their usual cigars and drinks, telling stories, when our narrator mentions he has seen a ghost. Then he tells his tale, A splendidly gothic, creepy tale taking place aboard a steamer ship crossing the ocean. My favourite so far. (5/5)

5, His Unconquerable Enemy by W.C. Morrow (1889) Oh sweet revenge! He will have it at all costs. Thievery is punished by the removal of an arm, thence revenge steps in. His re-capture turns his sights upon the Rajah who punishes him with the removal of the second arm and so and so on. This is the type of story that can only be read. Visualization would take away the cringeful moments the imagination can create better. (5/5)

6. In Dark New England Days by Sarah Orne Jewett (1890) - Spinster sisters loose their domineering, miserly father as they enter their senior years. Hoping to find they've been left financially secure now that they are free at last, instead the timid sister curses the man (and his generations) who cause them to remain dependent on what they can earn from garden and spinning wheel. A fairly straightforward story, and predictable, but well-written and atmospheric. I really enjoyed it. (4/5)

7. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1892) - Brilliant story of madness! Fascinating piece for its historical value as Ms. Gilman is protesting the common treatment, at the time the story was written, given to women who were suffering "nervous" disorders. A cautionary tale but extremely frightening because of its reality. Is followed by Gilman's 1913 essay on "Why I wrote The Yellow Wallpaper" (5/5)

8. Desiree's Baby by Kate Chopin (1893) - Whoa! I didn't see that coming. Short, but powerful! (5/5)

9. The Yellow Sign by Robert W. Chambers (1895)- This is a creepy, haunting, otherworldly tale which gets weirder right up to its abrupt ending. One of the best stories in the collection. It leaves you a little baffled; is it ghosts? supernatural? Leaves you thinking. (5/5)

10. A Tragedy of Bones by George MacDonald (1895) - Chapter 17 of the novel "Lilith" - A man out walking in the forest at night happens upon some incidents involving skeletons. MacDonald's work is all very theological and in essence, this is a little tale on the afterlife, taking place in a dream I suppose (I haven't read Lillith) showing the narrator what goes on in Purgatory (or Hell since MacDonald believed Hell was actually more like the Catholic Purgatory). If you don't get the theology going on it's basically just a story of dancing and arguing skeletons. (3/5)

11. A Night of Horror by Dick Donovan (1899) - The classic haunted house ghost story where the ghost is looking for his remains and the truth of his death to be discovered. Well written and very gruesome for the times. (4/5)

12. The Corpse-Rider by Lafcadio Hearn (1900) - This is supposed to be the retelling of a Japanese tale though it's been Anglicized somewhat. The premise of the vengenance of a scorned woman outlasting death is frightful and so is the set-up of the story. But then it plays out to a boring end and let down. (2/5)

13. The Leather Funnel by Arthur Conan Doyle (1902) - A story of the occult which is tied to a real true crime of the 1600s. Very good! (5/5)

14. The Shadows on the Wall by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (1902) - Absolutely delicious little tale of terror; perhaps murder, perhaps ghosts. Brothers and sisters gather at the family home (they all live there except for a married sister) after the abrupt, sudden death of the youngest brother under suspect, but hardly dared spoken of, circumstances. The suspense and tension slowly mount to a chilling end. Loved it! (5/5)

15. Lost Hearts by M.R. James (1895) - In a strange editorial choice this one story has been placed out of chronilogical order; this being because the story gained its popularity once it was reprinted in a collection in 1904. It would have been better placed earlier in the collection. Going back to the early 1800s this story brings together a practitioner of the dark pagan arts and his newly arrived orphan nephew, only 12 years old. I's easy to guess where it goes from there. (3/5)

16. The Moonlit Road by Ambrose Bierce (1907) - I like this author but this story isn't terribly haunting even though it is a ghost story. Told in three parts we read the testimony of three participants; first the son, then the father and finally the mother (through the aid of a medium). (3/5)

17. The Spider by Hanns Heinz Ewers (1915) - Perfectly splendid! Perhaps my favourite in the collection! Expertly told. Some might, but I wouldn't, call this a ghost story, more a tale of the macabre. A medical student registers himself up in a room whose last three occupants have hanged themselves in rather an unnerving manner the past three consecutive Fridays between the hours of five and six pm. These are the journal entries found in his room in which he did stay longer than the next coming Friday. Haunting and well-written for a story in English translation. (5/5)

18. The Woman with the White Hood by L.T. Meade (1908) - Perfect Gothic ghost haunting. A familiar take today but quite shocking for its day especially for the description of the girl's terror. I enjoyed the female protagonist especially in a story written at this time for her pluck. Of course, she was utterly stricken almost mad with terror before the apparition but she was determined to see the affair through and lay the poor spirit to rest no matter her own suffering. Great story! (5/5)

19. The Easter Egg by Saki/H.H. Munro (1911) - Saki is hit and miss with me and this one was pretty good. A Clovis tale (though he doesn't appear) in which a very weak and nervous grown son has one brief shining moment of half-courage before his mother. Rather macabre. (3/5)

20. The Squaw by Brahm Stoker (1893) - Again an editorial choice to place the story out of order because it was published in a collection for the first time in 1914. Stoker is easy to read though and the story not time specific feels good here as the finishing story. The "dumb" American is over-the-top, but I took him to be intentionally so making one have little feeling for his horrific ending. Quite a disturbing story, violent with a disturbing act by one character leading to a final disturbing act by another. A good story with which to end the collection. (4/5)

My thanks to my contacts at Pegasus Books, Iris Blasi, Katie McGuire, and Maia Larson, for my review copy of this book. You ladies rock!

The volume is a collection of short horror fiction written by various co-scary story writers of Edgar Allan Poe. They cover a time period from 1816 to 1914. Some of them were old friends of mine and some I read for the first time in this collection.

Horror fiction can be about ghosts, the supernatural, vampires, werewolves, zombies and other dwellers in the dark. The can be about strange cities, haunted houses, deserted towns, ships, trains, buses, cars, and a gentle stroll by the sea.

There can be actual evil forces active in the story or the whole can take place inside a person’s head. Whether dreams or delusions, the mind can cause horror like no other.

And now to the stories:

“The Sand-Man” by ETA Hoffmann (1816) deals with dabbling into alchemy and the terrors wrought by an evil person from the narrator’s past returning for vengeance…

“The Mummy’s Foot” by Théophile Gautier (1840) concerns a mummy’s foot bought for a paperweight by someone browsing a bric-a-bac shop, with strange consequences…

“An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street” by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1853) details the experiences of two friends who occupy a house that is possibly haunted…

“The Upper Berth” by F Marion Crawford (1886) takes place at a dinner party, when a guest named Brisbane recounts the story of his encounter with a ghost aboard the freighter Kamtschatka. Something that always occupies the upper berth in stateroom 105…

“His Unconquerable Enemy” by WC Marrow (1889) is the tale of a Rajah whose mortal enemy has lost over time both of his arms and both of his legs. The man is kept in a cage ten feet off the floor in the Rajah’s chambers. The Rajah feels free from danger from the man, Neranya, but hatred is a very strong emotion…

“In Dark New England Days” by Sarah Orne Jewett (1890) recounts how some elderly women find treasure which is stolen from them. Their curse strikes the thief down…

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1891)… Concerning this story, I have read it several times over the years and I have never understood it. I thought maybe watching the movie would help. No. Even the author’s explanation at the end doesn’t help. I think it is a woman slowly going insane but—

“Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin (1893) is about slavery…and how much “tainted blood” could cause a horror beyond reason…

“The Yellow Sign” by Robert W Chambers (1895) tells the tale of an artist and his nude model. They eventually marry, but an onyx pin with the yellow sign made into it draws a creature out of horror…

“A Tragedy of Bones” by George McDonald (1895) recounts the story of skeletons that walk in the moonlight…

“A Night of Horror” by Dick Donavan (1899) deals with Bleak Hill Castle and the zombie-like ghost of a woman that leads searchers to her bricked-up body…

“The Corpse Rider” by Lafcadio Hern (1900) thrills the reader with a tale of a vengeful corpse…

“The Leather Funnel” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1902) deals with a man visiting a friend who collects objects of historic horror. One such object is a leather funnel, with ragged marks around the spout. A believer in dream magic, the friend suggests that the man sleep next to the funnel. What dreams may come… This was always one of my favorites!

“The Shadows on the Wall” by Mary Wilkins Freeman (1903) brings us the tale of Henry and Edward. Henry argued with Edward the night the latter died. While preparing for the funeral, a shadow hangs for three days on the wall of the house that resembles the dead man…

“Lost Hearts” by MR James (1904) is the saga of a madman and child ghosts missing their hearts…

“The Moonlit Road” by Ambrose Bierce (1907) gives us the tale of three men haunted by their past whose nightmares take place on the moonlit road…

“The Spider” by Hans Heinz Ewers (1907) deals with the suicides by hanging of four young men in room #7 of the Hotel Stevens on Rue Alfred Stevens. The first three take place before this story begins. The story is recounted in the young man’s journal found after he hanged himself in the same place the first three hanged themselves…

“The Woman with the Hood” by LT Meade (1908) gives us the story of a little girl haunted by a female ghost that only she can see…

“The Easter Egg” by Saki (1911) in which the author, real name HH Munro tells of horror that takes place at a child’s Ester egg hunt…

“The Squaw” by Brom Stoker (1914) From the man who gave us all the shakes with the novel Dracula comes a short story concerning Elias P Hutchenson. The American has fought bears and Indians, including a squaw who skinned a man who stole her papoose. Now Hutchenson accidentally kills a cat’s kitten—and she may be worse than the squaw!

The stories vary in subject, length, and skill. The book has one of my favorites and one story I cannot stand. I give the volume four stars…

Quoth the Raven…