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Hadley (567 KP) rated Ghostly Tales: Spine-Chilling Stories of the Victorian Age in Books
Jan 20, 2021
Ghost stories (1 more)
Well-written
This collection of tales will transport you to a time when staircases creaked in old manor houses, and a candle could be blown out by a gust of wind, or by a passing ghost. Penned by some of the greatest Victorian novelists and masters of the ghost story genre, these stories come alive alongside exquisitely eerie art in this special illustrated edition.
Since this is a short story collection, I will list the stories with a short synopsis and what I liked and disliked about them.
"Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" by M.R. James
A professor decides to go on vacation to work on his golf game while doing a little side work in the town's archaeology, but when he digs up an old whistle and blows into it, he instantly regrets what the whistle brings.
Liked: the buildup to the climax was done masterfully, and the superstition that was used as the premise of the story
Disliked: that the ending is never explained
"The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell
When a governess and her ward are taken to a haunted house, they found out that everyone has to pay for their misdeeds.
Liked: the perfect example of what Victorian ghost stories were
Disliked: Nothing; I really enjoyed this one
"The Signalman" by Charles Dickens
A railroad signalman tells a co-worker that he is seeing a ghost that warns him of future accidents, but his co-worker can't tell if he's telling the truth or losing his mind.
Liked: an excellent ghost story; I wish it were an entire novel
Disliked: nothing
"The Body-Snatcher" by Robert Louis Stevenson
When a medical student realizes that the 'donated' bodies are murder victims, he's not so sure he can live with the consequences.
Liked: the ending wasn't predictable
Disliked: at the start, there's a little confusion among who is who
" The Captain of the Pole-Star" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A group of whalers are stuck in the middle of the ocean because of ice burgs, but the ice is the least of their problems when they begin to hear and see supernatural things out on the ice.
Liked: the plot of the story was really good
Disliked: the run-on sentences, some of the accents were hard to decipher, and the ending wasn't explained
"The Phantom Coach" by Amelia B. Edwards
A young man loses his way while on a hunt, but soon finds help with an old man that is convinced the supernatural is real, and when he senses the young man does not, he puts him up against forces from the other side.
Liked: the story never lulled, and the descriptions of the undead were amazing
Disliked: nothing, I thought the story was really good
"The Screaming Skull" by F. Marion Crawford
When the friend of a family finds a skull in the latter's home, he begins to question whether or not the husband murdered his wife.
Liked: I love that this story is actually based off an urban legend
Disliked: the way the author kept breaking away from the story to talk to the audience; it caused the flow of the story to stop
Overall, the Victorian-era authors knew how to write a ghost story. I absolutely loved this collection of short stories. I highly recommend this book to people who love a good 'ol fashioned ghost story (not the gory ones we have today).
Since this is a short story collection, I will list the stories with a short synopsis and what I liked and disliked about them.
"Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" by M.R. James
A professor decides to go on vacation to work on his golf game while doing a little side work in the town's archaeology, but when he digs up an old whistle and blows into it, he instantly regrets what the whistle brings.
Liked: the buildup to the climax was done masterfully, and the superstition that was used as the premise of the story
Disliked: that the ending is never explained
"The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell
When a governess and her ward are taken to a haunted house, they found out that everyone has to pay for their misdeeds.
Liked: the perfect example of what Victorian ghost stories were
Disliked: Nothing; I really enjoyed this one
"The Signalman" by Charles Dickens
A railroad signalman tells a co-worker that he is seeing a ghost that warns him of future accidents, but his co-worker can't tell if he's telling the truth or losing his mind.
Liked: an excellent ghost story; I wish it were an entire novel
Disliked: nothing
"The Body-Snatcher" by Robert Louis Stevenson
When a medical student realizes that the 'donated' bodies are murder victims, he's not so sure he can live with the consequences.
Liked: the ending wasn't predictable
Disliked: at the start, there's a little confusion among who is who
" The Captain of the Pole-Star" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A group of whalers are stuck in the middle of the ocean because of ice burgs, but the ice is the least of their problems when they begin to hear and see supernatural things out on the ice.
Liked: the plot of the story was really good
Disliked: the run-on sentences, some of the accents were hard to decipher, and the ending wasn't explained
"The Phantom Coach" by Amelia B. Edwards
A young man loses his way while on a hunt, but soon finds help with an old man that is convinced the supernatural is real, and when he senses the young man does not, he puts him up against forces from the other side.
Liked: the story never lulled, and the descriptions of the undead were amazing
Disliked: nothing, I thought the story was really good
"The Screaming Skull" by F. Marion Crawford
When the friend of a family finds a skull in the latter's home, he begins to question whether or not the husband murdered his wife.
Liked: I love that this story is actually based off an urban legend
Disliked: the way the author kept breaking away from the story to talk to the audience; it caused the flow of the story to stop
Overall, the Victorian-era authors knew how to write a ghost story. I absolutely loved this collection of short stories. I highly recommend this book to people who love a good 'ol fashioned ghost story (not the gory ones we have today).
Sarah Betts (103 KP) rated And Another Thing...(Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #6) in Books
Dec 31, 2019
Roxanne (13 KP) rated The Harrowing in Books
Nov 14, 2018
The Harrowing is a great Ghost Story, very gripping and entertaining. The beginning was great and the ending was even better, at one point I was holding my breath and I just couldn't put the book down. I was so close to giving this book 5 stars but I was disappointed with some of the filler and unfortunately at times I did lose interest...however this only happened a couple of times. Overall, this was a great book with very likable characters in which I sometimes felt connected to so a very good emotional ride of a story. I highly recommend this book to fans of gripping ghost stories.
AT (1676 KP) rated The Regrets in Books
Mar 3, 2020
The Regrets is an interesting, yet strange story about love, life, death, desire, certainty, and uncertainty. I thought it was going to be a straight-up love story between a ghost and a human, because I'd only skimmed the jacket synopsis, but it ended up being more complicated than that. It was a quick read. I'm not sure I'd nominate it for my book club to read, but it was an oddly interesting story, in its own right.
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) created a post
Jan 1, 2019 (Updated Jan 1, 2019)
Dean (6926 KP) rated The Orphanage (2007) in Movies
Feb 22, 2018
A great Spanish ghost story/thriller which I'm sure said it was directed by Guiilermo Del Toro? I saw the trailer and had to see this. It's very creepy at times, largely due to the spooky location. It's a very good story well told and directed. Reminded me of The Others, The 6th sense most of all, so if you like those you'll love this.
JD Lewis (4 KP) rated Ghost in the Shell (2017) in Movies
Apr 22, 2017
Action sequences had meaning. They weren't gratuitous (5 more)
Great casting
Scarlett was believable as a ghost in the shell
Makeup and CGI
Didn't sexualize Scarlett
Didn't force a love story
Went astray from the original anime (1 more)
Sets up for a sequel that I don't think is going to come
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Dork_knight74 (881 KP) rated Frágiles (Fragile) (2005) in Movies
Jul 14, 2019
Not too bad
Nor the best body story but not too bad. The acting was decent and the cinematography worked well. The storyline was interesting but the explanation for the 'ghost" and the ending were a little weak. The story moved along a little slower than I normally like but it turned out ok. It kept my attention and entertained well enough to say it's worth a watch.